The Information

A "zombie" Amazon Fresh store in Lodi, N.J. last week. Photo by Theo Wayt.

‘Zombie’ Amazon Grocery Stores Pile Up as Openings Grind to a Halt

By Theo Wayt · Dec 21, 2022 6:00am PST

For the most part, these Amazon Fresh stores look like they’re ready to open: The lights are on; there are signs for meat, seafood, bread and 15-cent bananas. But the shelves are empty, the doors are locked and no employees are around. Amazon’s pivot from rapid expansion to cost-cutting has left “zombie” grocery stores... For the most part, these Amazon Fresh stores look like they’re ready to open: The lights...

A hardware engineer works on argo lidar components. Photo by Argo AI.

Lidar Startups Scramble to Raise Cash, Find Buyers

By Maria Heeter · Dec 20, 2022 12:03pm PST

It’s going to be a busy holiday season for some investment bankers. Anyone with expertise in mobility tech firms, such as electric vehicles or lidar tech for autonomous vehicles, is flooded with work right now. With funding drying up, cash-burning startups are scrambling to find buyers, either by hiring banks to run official processes or... It’s going to be a busy holiday season for some investment bankers. Anyone with expertise...

From left: Ariel Cohen, CEO and founder of TripActions; Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart; Rene Haas, CEO of ARM. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Instacart, Databricks, Arm Could Lead the IPO Market Out of Its Freeze

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 20, 2022 7:30am PST · 1 comment

The IPO market remains frozen for now. But once it starts to thaw, the companies that will likely jump into the public markets first are those that can show a path to profitability, have reconciled themselves to lower valuations and—perhaps just as important—are simply sick of waiting. Grocery-delivery firm Instacart, data-focused... The IPO market remains frozen for now. But once it starts to thaw, the companies that will likely...

A ByteDance employee at the entrance to a ByteDance office in Beijing. Photo by Getty Images.

TikTok Owner Now Aiming to Expand Into U.S. Enterprise Software Market

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Dec 20, 2022 6:00am PST · 4 comments

A ByteDance employee at the entrance to a ByteDance office in Beijing. Photo by Getty Images.

TikTok Owner Now Aiming to Expand Into U.S. Enterprise Software Market

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Dec 20, 2022 6:00am PST · 4 comments

If some American politicians and regulators had their way, TikTok would be banned in the U.S. Executives at TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, though, appear so unconcerned by the threat that they’re trying to expand into a new business in the U.S.—selling software for businesses. ByteDance is stepping up its hiring in the U.S.... If some American politicians and regulators had their way, TikTok would be banned in the U.S....

Photos by Bloomberg.

Inside Meta’s Struggles to Gain an Edge on Apple in AR Race

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Dec 19, 2022 6:00am PST

Before Meta Platforms released its Ray-Ban camera-equipped glasses last September, the team spent months trying to get them to work with Apple’s iPhone. Meta wanted photos taken on the glasses to automatically download to users’ phones without requiring them to open Meta’s app. But because of how Apple’s software... Before Meta Platforms released its Ray-Ban camera-equipped glasses last September, the team spent...

Elon Musk. Photo by Getty

Twitter Lays Off Engineers in Infrastructure Org, Days After Leaders Were Fired

By Erin Woo · Dec 17, 2022 7:24am PST · 23 comments

Twitter laid off engineers in its infrastructure organization on Friday evening, reducing the staff in the part of the company that keeps the social media sevice running, according to a person familiar with the situation. The layoffs, which came days after some leaders in the organization were fired, are the latest in a series of employee... Twitter laid off engineers in its infrastructure organization on Friday evening, reducing the...

Chris Britt, CEO of Chime. Photo by Getty Images.

Chime Made Two Offers to Buy DailyPay, Topping Out at $2 Billion, but Was Spurned

By Kate Clark · Dec 15, 2022 11:20am PST

Chime spent much of this year trying to buy paycheck-advance startup DailyPay, but both of its offers–including a $2 billion bid–were rejected, according to people with direct knowledge of the deal talks. The talks died during the second half of the year, the people said, with one of them characterizing it as a slow wind-down in... Chime spent much of this year trying to buy paycheck-advance startup DailyPay, but both of its...

Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Getty.

Microsoft Squeezed by Growing Resistance to Software Bundles

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 15, 2022 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Getty.

Microsoft Squeezed by Growing Resistance to Software Bundles

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 15, 2022 6:00am PST · 6 comments

It’s been a popular sales tactic at Microsoft for several years now: Approach a corporate customer paying for Microsoft’s popular 365 workplace apps and suggest they sign up for an all-in-one software bundle that also includes cybersecurity and compliance tools, along with a suite of other business apps. It costs 58% more per user a... It’s been a popular sales tactic at Microsoft for several years now: Approach a corporate...

Amazon headquarters in Seattle. Photo by Getty.

Amazon Delays New Hire Start Dates in Latest Effort to Tame Headcount

By Theo Wayt · Dec 12, 2022 1:51pm PST · 1 comment

Amazon is pushing back start dates for some new graduate hires by around six months, a company spokesman confirmed. The delays are another way Amazon is trying to rein in its corporate headcount, in addition to rescinding offers and layoffs that started last month. They also impact a range of roles at the most junior level, while job cuts... Amazon is pushing back start dates for some new graduate hires by around six months, a company...

Art by Mike Sullivan

From Zoox to AR and VR, Tech Firms Are Still Splurging on Pet Projects

By Theo Wayt, Amir Efrati and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Dec 12, 2022 6:00am PST

You might think, with headlines blaring news of mass layoffs by Meta Platforms, Amazon and other tech companies in the past few weeks, that big tech has heard the message from investors and has started to cut back. Not so fast. A quick review of what companies like Amazon and Meta Platforms are up to shows that they’re still increasing... You might think, with headlines blaring news of mass layoffs by Meta Platforms, Amazon and other...

Art by Mike Sullivan/Shutterstock

Inside SpaceX’s Lucrative New Government Satellite Program

By Becky Peterson · Dec 9, 2022 6:00am PST

Every two hours or so, a satellite that SpaceX built for the Department of Defense circles Earth. The exact purpose of the satellite isn’t clear: The project is confidential. But its significance for SpaceX, the rocket company founded and led by Elon Musk, is coming into focus. That satellite is part of Starshield, a business SpaceX... Every two hours or so, a satellite that SpaceX built for the Department of Defense circles Earth....

Photo by Bloomberg.

Walmart Plans to Offer Buy Now, Pay Later Loans Through its Fintech Venture

By Ann Gehan · Dec 8, 2022 2:47pm PST

Photo by Bloomberg.

Walmart Plans to Offer Buy Now, Pay Later Loans Through its Fintech Venture

By Ann Gehan · Dec 8, 2022 2:47pm PST

The ambitious fintech venture backed by Walmart is planning to launch buy now, pay later loans as soon as next year, three people familiar with the matter said. That could put the world’s largest retailer in competition with fintech lenders like Affirm and Klarna, as well as Apple, another consumer giant set to launch its own installment... The ambitious fintech venture backed by Walmart is planning to launch buy now, pay later loans as...

Albert Wenger of Union Square Ventures. Photo by Getty Images. Art by Shane Burke.

Union Square Ventures Doubles Down on Climate With $200 Million Fund

By Kate Clark · Dec 8, 2022 10:58am PST

Union Square Ventures, the venture capital firm known for its early stakes in Twitter, Coinbase and Etsy, has raised $200 million for its second fund focused on early investments in climate tech startups, managing partner Albert Wenger confirmed to The Information. The fund amounts to a doubling down on the sector for the New York firm, a sign... Union Square Ventures, the venture capital firm known for its early stakes in Twitter, Coinbase...

From left: Stewart Butterfield, Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor. Photos by Getty; Bloomberg.

How Slack’s Marriage to Salesforce Crumbled

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 8, 2022 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Two years ago, Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff gushed about his software company’s $28 billion purchase of messaging app Slack, describing it as a “match made in heaven.” It was also the most expensive subscription software acquisition of all time, with Salesforce paying around 26 times Slack’s forward... Two years ago, Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff gushed about his software...

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg

Twitter to Change Blue Pricing After Apple Spat

By Erin Woo · Dec 7, 2022 6:30pm PST

Twitter has informed some employees that it plans to charge customers $11 a month if they subscribe to Twitter Blue through Twitter’s app for iPhones and $8 if they do so through the web, according to a person briefed on the plans. Twitter’s owner Elon Musk had previously said the company would charge $8 a month for a new version of... Twitter has informed some employees that it plans to charge customers $11 a month if they...

Abraham Shafi, CEO of IRL (left), and Masayoshi Son, CEO of Softbank.

SEC Probes Whether SoftBank-Backed Messaging App Misled Investors

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · Dec 7, 2022 12:59pm PST · 2 comments

Abraham Shafi, CEO of IRL (left), and Masayoshi Son, CEO of Softbank.

SEC Probes Whether SoftBank-Backed Messaging App Misled Investors

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · Dec 7, 2022 12:59pm PST · 2 comments

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating whether SoftBank-backed messaging app IRL violated securities laws, including in the way the startup described its business performance during talks with investors, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The SEC investigation began after The Information reported in May... The Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating whether SoftBank-backed messaging...

Art via Shutterstock.

TikTok Pushes Social Features as Growth Cools

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Dec 7, 2022 6:00am PST

For the past year or so, Meta Platforms has been fiddling with its Instagram app to make it look more like TikTok, the short-video juggernaut that has been siphoning away its audience. Lately, though, TikTok has started borrowing a few social media tricks from the likes of Meta’s Instagram and upstart photo-sharing app BeReal. One of the... For the past year or so, Meta Platforms has been fiddling with its Instagram app to make it look...

Crypto and AI-Focused Sequoia Partner Is Leaving the Firm

By Aidan Ryan · Dec 6, 2022 5:15pm PST · 6 comments

Sequoia Capital partner Divya Gupta is leaving the firm just weeks after the storied venture capital firm apologized to limited partners about its $214 million investment in the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. Gupta worked on seed- and early-stage investments in cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence at Sequoia, and has worked at the firm... Sequoia Capital partner Divya Gupta is leaving the firm just weeks after the storied venture...

Zhang Lei, chairman and chief executive officer of Hillhouse Capital Group. Photo by Bloomberg.

Chinese Investment Giant Hillhouse Capital Seeks to Expand Outside China

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Dec 6, 2022 10:42am PST · 2 comments

Hillhouse Capital Group, the Chinese sprawling investment powerhouse that has drawn comparisons to Tiger Global Management, has a new challenge: growing outside China. The firm is best known for investments in Chinese tech giants such as Tencent, JD.com, Didi Global and TikTok owner ByteDance. But the devastation of China’s private equity... Hillhouse Capital Group, the Chinese sprawling investment powerhouse that has drawn comparisons...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft Eyes ‘Super App’ to Break Apple and Google’s Hold on Mobile Search

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Dec 6, 2022 6:00am PST · 7 comments

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft Eyes ‘Super App’ to Break Apple and Google’s Hold on Mobile Search

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Dec 6, 2022 6:00am PST · 7 comments

Microsoft recently considered building a “super app” that could combine shopping, messaging, web search, news feeds and other services in a one-stop smartphone app, in what would be an ambitious move by the software giant to expand further into consumer services, according to people with direct knowledge of the discussions. Microsoft... Microsoft recently considered building a “super app” that could combine shopping,...