The Information

Redbird's Gerry Cardinale next to a statute of the Incredible Hulk. Photo by Bloomberg

Sports Media Investor RedBird Capital Is In Talks to Invest in LeBron James’ SpringHill

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Sep 15, 2021 11:06am PDT · 1 comment

RedBird Capital Partners, an investment firm specializing in sports media, is in advanced talks to buy a minority stake in NBA superstar LeBron James’ entertainment firm, SpringHill Company, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks are the latest sign of investor appetite for independent entertainment businesses, sparked by... RedBird Capital Partners, an investment firm specializing in sports media, is in advanced talks...

Reddit COO Jen Wong.

Reddit’s Ad Revenue Expected to Double to at Least $350 Million This Year

By Sahil Patel · Sep 15, 2021 6:01am PDT

The “meme stock” rally that sent shares of companies like GameStop and AMC Entertainment soaring earlier this year was driven in large part by discussion on Reddit, the 16-year-old online news aggregator and discussion forum. That reflects the size of Reddit’s audience, which runs to 430 million monthly users globally,... The “meme stock” rally that sent shares of companies like GameStop and AMC...

A container ship sailing past the city of Qingdao in east China's Shandong province last month. Photo by AP.

Former Ant Executive’s Fintech Startup in Funding Talks at $1 Billion Valuation

By Juro Osawa · Sep 14, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

XTransfer, a Chinese cross-border payment startup headed by a former Ant Group executive, is in advanced talks with Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners and other investors to raise capital at a pre-money valuation of $1 billion, more than triple its previous funding round in January, people familiar with the matter said. The funding would... XTransfer, a Chinese cross-border payment startup headed by a former Ant Group executive, is in...

Illustration by Josh Brill

Startup Founders Use Record-High Valuations to Cash Out Earlier

By Berber Jin · Sep 13, 2021 6:01am PDT · 20 comments

Illustration by Josh Brill

Startup Founders Use Record-High Valuations to Cash Out Earlier

By Berber Jin · Sep 13, 2021 6:01am PDT · 20 comments

Earlier this year, Pipe raised a new round of funding led by investment firm Greenspring Associates that valued the financial software startup at $2 billion. As part of the round, Pipe co-CEO Harry Hurst also sold an undisclosed number of his own shares in the company, which he had co-founded two years before. Such a share sale would have been... Earlier this year, Pipe raised a new round of funding led by investment firm Greenspring...

Ted Lasso poster by Apple. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Apple, a Streaming Punchline No More?

By Jessica Toonkel · Sep 10, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

When Apple launched its Apple TV+ service nearly two years ago, executives throughout Hollywood and Silicon Valley snickered about the streaming video service. This dilettante—which knew everything about making phones and nothing about making movies and television—would surely lose interest in the business before long, they wagged. ... When Apple launched its Apple TV+ service nearly two years ago, executives throughout Hollywood...

Konstantin Richter, CEO and Founder of Blockdaemon. Photo courtesy of Blockdaemon. Art by Mike Sullivan.

SoftBank Values Cryptocurrency Startup Blockdaemon at $1.2 Billion

By Berber Jin and Hannah Miller · Sep 9, 2021 12:42pm PDT

Cryptocurrency startup Blockdaemon is raising new capital that will value the company at $1.2 billion including the investment, said a person familiar with the matter. SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the $30 billion venture fund of SoftBank Group, is leading the investment. Los Angeles–based Blockdaemon manages hardware and software to help... Cryptocurrency startup Blockdaemon is raising new capital that will value the company at $1.2...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Facebook Develops New Machine Learning Chip

By Wayne Ma · Sep 9, 2021 6:01am PDT

Google, Amazon and Microsoft have all been hiring and spending millions of dollars to design their own computer chips from scratch, with the goal of squeezing financial savings and better performance from servers that handle and train the companies’ machine-learning models. Facebook has joined the party too, and is developing a chip that... Google, Amazon and Microsoft have all been hiring and spending millions of dollars to design...

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son stands next to a robot. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Leads $220 Million Round Into Chinese-German Robotics Startup Amid China Worries

By Shai Oster · Sep 9, 2021 4:48am PDT · 1 comment

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son stands next to a robot. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Leads $220 Million Round Into Chinese-German Robotics Startup Amid China Worries

By Shai Oster · Sep 9, 2021 4:48am PDT · 1 comment

SoftBank is leading a $220 million round into Agile Robots, a startup based in Munich and Beijing that says its systems will be deployed by Foxconn, the assembler of iPhones, to help build smartphones. The company will be worth about $1 billion after the fresh capital, according to a person familiar with the matter, as investors look to... SoftBank is leading a $220 million round into Agile Robots, a startup based in Munich and Beijing...

Google's Mountain View campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google’s Answer To Overheated Job Market: Demanding Proof of Rival Offers

By Sarah Krouse · Sep 8, 2021 6:01am PDT · 7 comments

Google has a message for job candidates who say rival companies are offering them higher pay: Prove it. In a competitive market for talent in which some technology workers are soliciting employment offers from several companies, Google recruiters increasingly take the unusual step of asking candidates for written proof of what rivals are... Google has a message for job candidates who say rival companies are offering them higher pay:...

Photo by Bloomberg

ByteDance in Talks to Borrow Up to $5 Billion to Fund Overseas Expansion

By Juro Osawa · Sep 7, 2021 11:30pm PDT

TikTok owner ByteDance is in talks with banks to borrow up to $5 billion in a syndicated loan to refinance debt and pay for overseas expansion, people with knowledge of the matter said, as the path to an initial public offering appears unlikely this year. ByteDance plans to use more than half of the money to refinance its existing debt to take... TikTok owner ByteDance is in talks with banks to borrow up to $5 billion in a syndicated loan to...

Fidji Simo. Photos by AP; art by Mike Sullivan

Can Instacart’s New CEO Deliver?

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Berber Jin · Sep 6, 2021 11:57am PDT

In late June, Instacart CEO and founder Apoorva Mehta had a message for DoorDash: After weeks of discussions between the two companies about a possible merger, Mehta told his counterparts at the meal-delivery company that the talks were off, according to several people with knowledge of the matter. But the talks weren’t off. In early July,... In late June, Instacart CEO and founder Apoorva Mehta had a message for DoorDash: After weeks of...

Photo of Agnes Chu by AP. Art by Mike Sullivan

Agnes Chu Tries to Bring Some Disney to Condé Nast. It’ll Be a Challenge.

By Sahil Patel and Mark Di Stefano · Sep 3, 2021 6:01am PDT

Photo of Agnes Chu by AP. Art by Mike Sullivan

Agnes Chu Tries to Bring Some Disney to Condé Nast. It’ll Be a Challenge.

By Sahil Patel and Mark Di Stefano · Sep 3, 2021 6:01am PDT

A year ago, executives at Condé Nast turned some heads when they hired Agnes Chu, a rising star who helped launch the Disney+ streaming service, to bring some entertainment mojo to magazine brands including The New Yorker, Vogue and Vanity Fair. The idea was to develop more films and long-form shows and documentaries that the company... A year ago, executives at Condé Nast turned some heads when they hired Agnes Chu, a rising...

Apple's campus. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s AR/VR Headset Will Need Connection to Other Device Such as iPhone

By Wayne Ma · Sep 2, 2021 9:08am PDT · 1 comment

New details of the custom chips designed by Apple for its forthcoming virtual reality and augmented reality headset indicate it will need to be wirelessly tethered to a phone or a similar device for the most advanced features, just as early versions of the Apple Watch required users to carry their iPhone with them. Apple completed work last year... New details of the custom chips designed by Apple for its forthcoming virtual reality and...

Photo of Katrina Lake (left) by Bloomberg; photo of Elizabeth Spaulding (right) by Stitch Fix; art by Mike Sullivan.

At Stitch Fix, Stylists and Algorithms Face Off

By Malique Morris · Sep 2, 2021 6:01am PDT · 7 comments

Last May, a Stitch Fix customer visited a section of the internet apparel retailer’s site called Complete Your Looks, where algorithms are supposed to recommend sweaters, shirts and other items that complement clothing the customer has bought in the past. On this visit, though, Stitch Fix didn’t offer any recommendations, a glitch... Last May, a Stitch Fix customer visited a section of the internet apparel retailer’s site...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Be Like Thiel: How Affluent Tech Workers Mimic the Tax Tricks of the Mega-Rich

By Sarah Krouse · Sep 1, 2021 6:01am PDT · 6 comments

Billionaire Peter Thiel turned heads when it was revealed that he had used a retirement account intended for the middle class to shelter some $5 billion in savings that grew from his investments in PayPal shares purchased at a discount. But similar tax-sheltering techniques have become commonplace among a less rarefied group of Silicon Valley... Billionaire Peter Thiel turned heads when it was revealed that he had used a retirement account...

An employee working at Alibaba's logistics unit Cainiao. Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba Rival J&T Express in Talks to Raise $1 Billion from Tencent and Other Investors

By Juro Osawa · Aug 31, 2021 10:15am PDT

An employee working at Alibaba's logistics unit Cainiao. Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba Rival J&T Express in Talks to Raise $1 Billion from Tencent and Other Investors

By Juro Osawa · Aug 31, 2021 10:15am PDT

J&T Express, a fast-growing Asian startup that is challenging Alibaba’s logistics network in a brutal price war, is in talks to raise more than $1 billion from Tencent and other investors at a pre-money valuation of $20 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The investment could make J&T one of Asia’s most highly... J&T Express, a fast-growing Asian startup that is challenging Alibaba’s logistics...

FTC chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg.

FTC Chief Khan Faces New Pressure on Amazon Deal—From Progressives

By Josh Sisco · Aug 31, 2021 7:49am PDT

Two weeks ago, a $2.5 billion merger of two big U.S. food distributors closed without an in-depth antitrust review by the Federal Trade Commission. That surprised both of the companies, as well as some of FTC Chair Lina Khan’s key allies, who had expected her to challenge any major attempt at corporate consolidation. In a sign that... Two weeks ago, a $2.5 billion merger of two big U.S. food distributors closed without an in-depth...

Vice cofounder Shane Smith. Photo by Bloomberg

Vice Raises $85 Million as SPAC Talks End, Smith Yields Control

By Jessica Toonkel · Aug 31, 2021 6:00am PDT

Vice Media is raising over $85 million in fresh capital from existing investors, as talks to go public via a special purpose acquisition company have ended for now, according to people familiar with the situation. As part of the fundraising, Vice’s co-founder, Shane Smith, has agreed to give up his voting control, said the people. He... Vice Media is raising over $85 million in fresh capital from existing investors, as talks to go...

Melio chief operating officer Ziv Paz (left) CEO Matan Bar (center) and chief technology officer Ilan Atias (right) Photo: Business Wire

Payments Startup Melio to Triple Valuation to $4 Billion

By Kate Clark · Aug 30, 2021 2:23pm PDT

Melio Payments is tripling its valuation in a new funding round that will value the financial software company at $4 billion, according to three people with direct knowledge of the deal. Thrive Capital, the New York–based investment firm founded by Josh Kushner, and existing backer General Catalyst are co-leading the financing, one of the... Melio Payments is tripling its valuation in a new funding round that will value the financial...

Startup investor Elad Gil. Photo by Bloomberg, Illustration by Joanna Lin Su.

The Rise of Elad Gil, Silicon Valley’s Biggest Solo Venture Capitalist

By Berber Jin · Aug 30, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments

Startup investor Elad Gil. Photo by Bloomberg, Illustration by Joanna Lin Su.

The Rise of Elad Gil, Silicon Valley’s Biggest Solo Venture Capitalist

By Berber Jin · Aug 30, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments

When venture capital investors shied from funding travel startups in the months after the pandemic hit last year, Elad Gil sensed an opportunity. The investor asked TripActions CEO Ariel Cohen if he could invest in his startup, which provides travel-related expense management software for businesses. The deal didn’t happen—Gil... When venture capital investors shied from funding travel startups in the months after the...