The Information

SoFi CEO Anthony Noto. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

‘Winner-Take-Most’: Anthony Noto’s Ambitions for SoFi Take Shape

By Aidan Ryan · Dec 1, 2021 6:01am PST · 1 comment

Anthony Noto has long had a knack for grabbing attention. When he was a top executive at Twitter, Noto struck a deal with the NFL to air Thursday night games, thrusting the social media service into the streaming market, to the surprise of even many Twitter employees, according to people who worked there at the time. More recently, SoFi... Anthony Noto has long had a knack for grabbing attention. When he was a top executive at Twitter,...

Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov. Sequoia Capital is investing in the crypto custodian, one of a trio of recent crypto deals by the VC firm. Photo: Saffello.

Sequoia Capital’s Crypto Frenzy Intensifies With Three New Deals

By Kate Clark · Nov 30, 2021 6:01am PST

Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and crypto trading firm FTX are co-leading an investment of more than $100 million in LayerZero Labs, a 10-month-old crypto firm that has yet to launch its product publicly, at a $1 billion valuation, according to two people familiar with the deal. LayerZero’s rapid rise to unicorn status, unusual for a... Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and crypto trading firm FTX are co-leading an investment of...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed’s Commerce Slowdown Undercuts Its Investor Pitch Ahead of Stock Listing

By Sahil Patel and Jessica Toonkel · Nov 29, 2021 6:00am PST

When BuzzFeed unveiled its planned deal to go public last June, its pitch to investors centered around the high growth potential of its commerce business. BuzzFeed, like many other media companies, makes money by inserting links to merchant websites in its articles. It’s a way for media companies to participate in the rapidly growing... When BuzzFeed unveiled its planned deal to go public last June, its pitch to investors centered...

YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki unveiling YouTube TV in 2017. Photo by Bloomberg.

YouTube TV in Talks to Add More Free Channels in Search for TV Ad Dollars

By Sahil Patel · Nov 23, 2021 6:00am PST

YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki unveiling YouTube TV in 2017. Photo by Bloomberg.

YouTube TV in Talks to Add More Free Channels in Search for TV Ad Dollars

By Sahil Patel · Nov 23, 2021 6:00am PST

You won’t spot the series “Chicken Girls” from Brat TV on your regular cable service. But if all goes well, YouTube’s version of cable TV—its $65 a month YouTube TV service—will carry the comedy about teen girls in high school. Brat TV is one of several midsize digital media firms, including Vox Media and... You won’t spot the series “Chicken Girls” from Brat TV on your regular cable...

Dan Morehead, founder and chief executive officer of Pantera Capital, in Beverly Hills, Calif., in October. Photo by Bloomberg

More Institutional Investors Embrace Crypto VCs as Pantera Capital Raises $600 Million

By Kate Clark · Nov 23, 2021 6:00am PST

Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and other institutional sources of capital used to shy away from cryptocurrencies over concerns about their use in illicit activity. Those reservations increasingly seem to be dissipating. The latest example comes from Pantera Capital, one of the first investment firms to focus exclusively on... Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and other institutional sources of capital used...

FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg.

FTC Privacy Probe of Amazon Ring Puts Khan’s Agenda in the Spotlight

By Josh Sisco · Nov 22, 2021 9:01am PST

Federal Trade Commission staffers earlier this year recommended filing a lawsuit against Amazon over alleged privacy and data security breaches within Amazon’s Ring home security business, according to two people with knowledge of the investigation. But after Amazon lawyers began negotiating a settlement with the FTC, the agency’s... Federal Trade Commission staffers earlier this year recommended filing a lawsuit against Amazon...

A Rivian truck being tested by Amazon. Photo YouTube via Amazon.

Amazon’s Testing of Rivian Vans Reveals Questions About Battery Power and Cameras

By Mark Di Stefano · Nov 19, 2021 10:11am PST · 2 comments

The Amazon executive overseeing development of Rivian electric delivery vans says the company is on schedule to put 10,000 of the vans on the road next year, following months of testing in 15 cities. But according to one of the drivers involved with testing the vans, their range is more limited than what Rivian disclosed ahead of its blockbuster... The Amazon executive overseeing development of Rivian electric delivery vans says the company is...

From left: Walt Disney Co.'s Bob Chapek, Kareem Daniel and Peter Rice. Photos by Disney; art by Mike Sullivan

How Disney’s Streaming Pipeline Got Clogged

By Jessica Toonkel · Nov 19, 2021 6:00am PST

From left: Walt Disney Co.'s Bob Chapek, Kareem Daniel and Peter Rice. Photos by Disney; art by Mike Sullivan

How Disney’s Streaming Pipeline Got Clogged

By Jessica Toonkel · Nov 19, 2021 6:00am PST

Earlier this fall, Peter Rice, a top Walt Disney Co. executive responsible for creating television shows for the entertainment giant, gave his lieutenants a pressing message: They needed to start pumping out more new shows for Disney+, the company’s high-profile streaming service, according to people familiar with the discussions. Last... Earlier this fall, Peter Rice, a top Walt Disney Co. executive responsible for creating...

Sherry Cola, Mark Zuckerberg and Miley Cyrus. Photos by Shutterstock

Facebook Hands Out Cash To Creators To Boost Clubhouse Rival

By Sarah Krouse and Kaya Yurieff · Nov 18, 2021 2:16pm PST

Facebook is offering to pay musicians and other celebrities tens of thousands of dollars to host sessions on its new live audio feature, as the social network beefs up its efforts to woo creators and the young people who follow them. Production companies working for Facebook, owned by Meta Platforms, have contacted music artists and social media... Facebook is offering to pay musicians and other celebrities tens of thousands of dollars to host...

Former Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy, now Amazon's CEO. Photo by Bloomberg

Andy Jassy’s Big Idea for AWS Expansion Marred by Glitches, High Prices

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 18, 2021 6:00am PST

Amazon Web Services became a juggernaut by helping companies move their data and applications to the cloud—meaning data centers run by Amazon. But AWS has increasingly gone after another big business: providing software and hardware to power private data centers operated by customers that aren’t ready or may never be ready to move... Amazon Web Services became a juggernaut by helping companies move their data and applications to...

KKR co-founder and co-executive chair Henry Kravis. Photo: Bloomberg.

KKR Plans to Lead Investment in Crypto Firm Anchorage

By Berber Jin, Kate Clark and Hannah Miller · Nov 17, 2021 6:18pm PST · 1 comment

Private equity giant KKR plans to lead a new investment in crypto startup Anchorage, which offers crypto custody, trading and financing services for financial institutions, said two people familiar with the matter. The Series D funding values the San Francisco-based company at about $3 billion including the investment, one person said. ... Private equity giant KKR plans to lead a new investment in crypto startup Anchorage, which offers...

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer. Photos by Bored Ape Yacht Club; OpenSea

NFT Marketplace OpenSea Offered $10 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark and Berber Jin · Nov 17, 2021 3:44pm PST · 2 comments

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer. Photos by Bored Ape Yacht Club; OpenSea

NFT Marketplace OpenSea Offered $10 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark and Berber Jin · Nov 17, 2021 3:44pm PST · 2 comments

OpenSea, the most popular marketplace for non-fungible tokens, is fielding new investment offers that could increase its valuation roughly six times to $10 billion or higher, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The New York–based company did not initiate the new fundraising process, which comes just four months... OpenSea, the most popular marketplace for non-fungible tokens, is fielding new investment offers...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by AP

Instacart Pushes Off Public Offering to Focus on Grocery Services Growth

By Berber Jin · Nov 16, 2021 6:01am PST

Instacart has pushed off plans for a public listing until next year or later as Fidji Simo, a former Facebook executive who took the reins three months ago, focuses on strengthening its services for grocery retailers beyond delivery, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The decision marks a shift from earlier this year, when... Instacart has pushed off plans for a public listing until next year or later as Fidji Simo, a...

ByteDance headquarters in Beijing. Photo by AP

TikTok Owner ByteDance’s Gross Revenue on Track to Jump 60% This Year

By Juro Osawa · Nov 15, 2021 11:16am PST

ByteDance's gross revenue is on track to rise about 60% to 400 billion yuan (about $63 billion) this year, cementing the TikTok owner’s position as one of the world’s five biggest online ad sellers, according to two people with knowledge of internal projections. The pace of growth is slower than it was last year, when gross... ByteDance's gross revenue is on track to rise about 60% to 400 billion yuan (about $63...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Zoom CEO Opposed Selling Advertising—Until He Didn’t

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 15, 2021 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Of all the ways Zoom Video Communications could squeeze more revenue out of its wildly popular videoconferencing service, the company’s founder and CEO Eric Yuan made it clear there was one thing he didn’t want to do: sell advertising. Yuan voiced his opposition to Zoom ads in meetings with employees who suggested the idea shortly... Of all the ways Zoom Video Communications could squeeze more revenue out of its wildly popular...

From left: Amazon's Drew Herdener, Jeff Bezos and Jay Carney. Photos by Getty; Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Spinmasters: Behind the Internet Giant’s Battle With the Press

By Paris Martineau · Nov 12, 2021 8:01am PST · 3 comments

From left: Amazon's Drew Herdener, Jeff Bezos and Jay Carney. Photos by Getty; Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Spinmasters: Behind the Internet Giant’s Battle With the Press

By Paris Martineau · Nov 12, 2021 8:01am PST · 3 comments

Amazon’s leaders are known for obsessively monitoring data about almost every aspect of its business. Public relations is no exception. In late 2016, the executives in charge of the company’s sprawling PR department came up with a system to address the growing exasperation that Jeff Bezos, then the company’s CEO, felt whenever... Amazon’s leaders are known for obsessively monitoring data about almost every aspect of its...

Jamie Hector and Titus Welliver at a premiere for Amazon Prime Video's Bosch, a spin-off of which is destined for IMDB. Photo by AP.

Amazon Discussing Renaming IMDb TV to Help Draw More Viewers

By Jessica Toonkel · Nov 10, 2021 11:09am PST · 1 comment

First it was called Freedive, then it was dubbed IMDb TV. Now, less than three years after launching its free ad-supported video-streaming service, Amazon is looking to rename it, according to people familiar with the situation. Amazon executives believe the existing name is too hard for people to pronounce, which hurts its popularity, said... First it was called Freedive, then it was dubbed IMDb TV. Now, less than three years after...

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month. Photo by Bloomberg

Does Facebook Make the World Better? Half of Polled Employees Say Yes

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Jessica Toonkel · Nov 9, 2021 1:20pm PST · 2 comments

After months of blistering headlines and late-night TV jokes about Facebook’s struggles to control hate speech and other abuses on its apps, employees don’t seem to feel much worse about the company’s impact on the world. A semi-annual “Pulse Survey” of Facebook employees, which the company is preparing to share... After months of blistering headlines and late-night TV jokes about Facebook’s struggles to...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri, left, and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos by Bloomberg; art by Mike Sullivan.

Inside Facebook’s Struggles to Attract Creators and Their Young Fans

By Kaya Yurieff, Sarah Krouse and Sahil Patel · Nov 9, 2021 6:00am PST

In early May, days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors the company wanted to be the best platform for millions of digital content creators to make a living, researchers at the company spotlighted a major obstacle for its flagship app. Public figures and creators “lack a reason to be on FB,” according to a more than... In early May, days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors the company wanted to be the...

Brex Co-CEO Henrique Dubugras, left, and Ramp CEO Eric Glyman. Photos by Bloomberg, Flickr. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Brex and Ramp Want to Take On Amex. First, They’ll Fight Each Other

By Kate Clark · Nov 5, 2021 12:27pm PDT · 1 comment

Brex Co-CEO Henrique Dubugras, left, and Ramp CEO Eric Glyman. Photos by Bloomberg, Flickr. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Brex and Ramp Want to Take On Amex. First, They’ll Fight Each Other

By Kate Clark · Nov 5, 2021 12:27pm PDT · 1 comment

Brex employees haven’t had to look hard for reminders of their startup’s ambition to reign supreme over the big corporate card companies: The Wi-Fi network password at one of its former offices used to be “BuyAmex.” But Brex is facing increasingly fierce competition, including from a two-year-old copycat named Ramp... Brex employees haven’t had to look hard for reminders of their startup’s ambition to...