The Information

Illustration by Danielle Davis

Heavy Losses, Big Funding: Instant-Delivery Startups Battle for Customers

By Berber Jin · Oct 14, 2021 10:16am PDT · 13 comments

The instant-delivery wars have hit New York City—and they will soon spread across the country. An array of startups, including Jokr, Fridge No More, Buyk and 1520, are pitching investors to raise fresh cash, sometimes totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, on the promise that they can get people groceries in 15 minutes or less. They... The instant-delivery wars have hit New York City—and they will soon spread across the...

Udemy CEO Greg Coccari. Art by Mike Sullivan

As Udemy Plans IPO, Instructors Complain Policy Change Cut Their Pay

By Aidan Ryan · Oct 12, 2021 10:29am PDT · 2 comments

As online education service Udemy prepares to market its initial public offering later this month, Udemy’s instructors are grumbling on the sidelines. They complain that their pay has been slashed in recent months as a result of changes the company made last spring to its pay scales. Those changes helped lift Udemy’s gross profits in... As online education service Udemy prepares to market its initial public offering later this...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, left, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photos by Bloomberg; AP

More Clouds Form Over $55 Billion Nvidia-Arm Merger

By Josh Sisco · Oct 12, 2021 6:00am PDT

Nvidia’s prospects of getting regulatory approval for its $55 billion acquisition of microchip designer Arm Holdings from SoftBank are looking increasingly imperiled, according to two people involved in the process. The deal, which would reshape the global chip industry, has been stuck in regulatory reviews for more than a year.... Nvidia’s prospects of getting regulatory approval for its $55 billion acquisition of...

Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of MoonPay. Photo by Bloomberg

Crypto Startup MoonPay Valued at $3.4 Billion in First VC Funding

By Kate Clark · Oct 11, 2021 11:32am PDT · 7 comments

Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of MoonPay. Photo by Bloomberg

Crypto Startup MoonPay Valued at $3.4 Billion in First VC Funding

By Kate Clark · Oct 11, 2021 11:32am PDT · 7 comments

Crypto payments startup MoonPay is raising its first round of venture capital at a $3.4 billion valuation including the investment, according to two people familiar with the matter. Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management are co-leading the $400 million financing for the bootstrapped startup. MoonPay’s software allows people to use... Crypto payments startup MoonPay is raising its first round of venture capital at a $3.4 billion...

Character actors from Fortnite dance during the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.

Epic Games May Make Fortnite Movie as Part of Entertainment Expansion

By Mathew Olson and Jessica Toonkel · Oct 11, 2021 6:00am PDT

Epic Games is considering launching an entertainment division focused on scripted video programming, said people familiar with the situation. The maker of hit videogame Fortnite is looking to diversify amid legal battles with Apple and Google that have hurt its ability to expand in the mobile market. The division could develop projects including... Epic Games is considering launching an entertainment division focused on scripted video...

FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg.

FTC Weighs Early Retirement Offers for Veteran Staffers As Khan Reshapes Agency

By Josh Sisco · Oct 8, 2021 10:26am PDT

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to make early retirement offers to some of its longtime employees, according to people with knowledge of the discussions, giving FTC Chair Lina Khan the opportunity to fill the ranks with people aligned with the dramatic shift she is overseeing at the 107-year-old agency. Early retirement offers at... The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to make early retirement offers to some of its longtime...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Search Wants to Curate Big News. It Could Be a Minefield

By Sarah Krouse · Oct 8, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Google is trying to learn a tough job that news editors around the world do everyday: curating information about breaking news. A small team inside Google’s search organization has spent more than a year developing a search engine feature called Big Moments that takes a more active role in determining what information to show in search... Google is trying to learn a tough job that news editors around the world do everyday: curating...

Salesforce's Bret Taylor (left) and Marc Benioff. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

At Salesforce, a CEO Shift from Benioff to Taylor Draws Near

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 7, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

Salesforce's Bret Taylor (left) and Marc Benioff. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

At Salesforce, a CEO Shift from Benioff to Taylor Draws Near

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 7, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

What will Salesforce look like when its co-founder and CEO, Marc Benioff, finally passes the baton to someone else? The tech industry may get to find out sooner rather than later. In recent months, the company’s No. 2 executive, Bret Taylor, has confided to people close to him that he expects to be promoted to CEO of Salesforce soon,... What will Salesforce look like when its co-founder and CEO, Marc Benioff, finally passes the...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo: Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

SoftBank’s Prodigal Son Struggles in New Era

By Berber Jin · Oct 6, 2021 6:30am PDT

On a Wednesday just before the start of summer, SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son gave managers of his company’s venture capital arm a list with thousands of VC-backed startups. Frustrated that SoftBank’s two Vision Funds had missed out on investing in some hot tech companies, he wanted the partners to contact as many of the... On a Wednesday just before the start of summer, SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son gave managers of...

Alex Mather. Photo by Erin Beach

The Athletic Burned Through $95 Million Between 2019 and 2020

By Jessica Toonkel · Oct 4, 2021 1:45pm PDT

Digital sports news firm The Athletic hemorrhaged nearly $100 million cash between 2019 and 2020, according to a presentation prepared for investors, exceeding the $73 million in revenue the company brought in over that same period. The heavy losses reflect primarily the cost of building up a 600-person–strong reporting staff to cover... Digital sports news firm The Athletic hemorrhaged nearly $100 million cash between 2019 and 2020,...

Art from the Axie Infinity NFT game. Photo: Axie Infinity

Andreessen Horowitz Values Developer of NFT Game Axie Infinity at $3 Billion

By Kate Clark and Hannah Miller · Oct 4, 2021 1:19pm PDT · 2 comments

Sky Mavis, the developer of the popular crypto-based online game Axie Infinity, is raising approximately $150 million in Series B funding at a valuation near $3 billion in a new round led by Andreessen Horowitz, according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal. The valuation for the three-year-old startup reflects the tremendous growth... Sky Mavis, the developer of the popular crypto-based online game Axie Infinity, is raising...

Instacart chief revenue officer and former Amazon ad sales executive Seth Dallaire in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg

Instacart Raids Another Tech Giant for Ad Talent: Amazon

By Mark Di Stefano and Sahil Patel · Oct 1, 2021 6:00am PDT

Instacart chief revenue officer and former Amazon ad sales executive Seth Dallaire in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg

Instacart Raids Another Tech Giant for Ad Talent: Amazon

By Mark Di Stefano and Sahil Patel · Oct 1, 2021 6:00am PDT

Much has been written about the “Facebookification” of Instacart, after the grocery-delivery firm recruited a string of top executives, including CEO Fidji Simo, from the social media giant. But another Instacart talent raid has been largely overlooked—one it conducted on Amazon, including the retailer’s advertising sales... Much has been written about the “Facebookification” of Instacart, after the...

Deel co-founders Shuo Wang and Alex Bouaziz. Photo provided by Business Wire

Coatue Expected to Invest in Remote Hiring Startup Deel at $5.5 Billion Valuation

By Berber Jin and Kate Clark · Sep 30, 2021 3:37pm PDT · 1 comment

Deel, a startup that develops payroll tools to help companies hire remote workers internationally, is in discussions to raise a new round of funding at a valuation of $5.5 billion, said four people with direct knowledge of the round. Coatue Management, the New York-based investment firm that has raised over $16 billion for private investments... Deel, a startup that develops payroll tools to help companies hire remote workers...

FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg

FTC Chief Khan Resurrects Antitrust Review of Zillow Deal That Staff Previously Cleared

By Josh Sisco · Sep 30, 2021 2:40pm PDT

Zillow Group, an operator of apps for real estate listings, is waking up to the new reality of mergers and acquisitions with Lina Khan in charge of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Even after the agency allows a specific deal to close, that doesn’t mean the antitrust review is over. About two weeks ago, Khan revived a review of... Zillow Group, an operator of apps for real estate listings, is waking up to the new reality of...

Art by Mike Sullivan

The Mystery Man Who Made Amazon an Ad Giant

By Sahil Patel and Mark Di Stefano · Sep 30, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Paul Kotas may be the most important person in internet advertising that almost nobody in advertising has ever heard of. Mention Kotas—the leader of Amazon’s burgeoning, multibillion-dollar ad businesses—around ad agencies, as The Information did to more than a half-dozen senior ad executives, and you’ll get blank stares.... Paul Kotas may be the most important person in internet advertising that almost nobody in...

Photo of AWS CEO Adam Selipsky by Amazon. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

AWS’ Microsoft Problem

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Sep 28, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

Photo of AWS CEO Adam Selipsky by Amazon. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

AWS’ Microsoft Problem

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Sep 28, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

Microsoft has been on Adam Selipsky’s brain for a while. In 2016, Selipsky—who at the time was the No. 2 executive at Amazon’s cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services—helped lead discussions with Salesforce to carry out a joint acquisition of Quip, then an independent startup that had made a collection of productivity... Microsoft has been on Adam Selipsky’s brain for a while. In 2016, Selipsky—who at the...

A high school student works on a laptop computer at home during a remote learning day. Photo by Bloomberg

Online Learning Company Udemy Plans October IPO

By Kate Clark · Sep 24, 2021 10:44am PDT · 1 comment

Udemy, a San Francisco–based startup that sells online courses to individuals and businesses, is preparing to file paperwork for an initial public offering whose listing could come as soon as next month, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The company, which raised $50 million at a $3.3 billion valuation in... Udemy, a San Francisco–based startup that sells online courses to individuals and...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Seeks Search Deals For TikTok and Instagram Videos

By Sarah Krouse and Kaya Yurieff · Sep 24, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

If you’ve ever tried searching on Google for one of those TikTok or Instagram videos all your friends are gushing about—such as sea shanties or the Renegade dance—you’ll notice something. The videos don’t show up. Google is trying to fix that—but there’s no guarantee its efforts will succeed. Google... If you’ve ever tried searching on Google for one of those TikTok or Instagram videos all...

Rendering of the YAM-4 spacecraft bus by Blue Canyon Technologies for Loft Orbital. Image provided by Business Wire

Blackrock Values ‘Space Carpool’ Startup Loft Orbital at $550 Million

By Aidan Ryan and Berber Jin · Sep 23, 2021 12:02pm PDT

Commercial space startups have had a mixed track record as investment prospects: While shares in space tourism outfit Virgin Galactic have doubled in two years, satellite internet provider OneWeb ended up in bankruptcy court last year. Even after that bumpy ride, investors are still keen on the sector, which they see as a way to bet on the next... Commercial space startups have had a mixed track record as investment prospects: While shares in...

Gorillas founder Kağan Sümer. Photo provided by Gorillas

Gorillas Raising $950 Million Amidst European Delivery Wars

By Mark Di Stefano and Kate Clark · Sep 23, 2021 11:45am PDT

Gorillas founder Kağan Sümer. Photo provided by Gorillas

Gorillas Raising $950 Million Amidst European Delivery Wars

By Mark Di Stefano and Kate Clark · Sep 23, 2021 11:45am PDT

Gorillas, one of the biggest of a crop of European startups in the convenience delivery market, has finalized a $950 million series C fundraising round, valuing the company at $3 billion, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. The fundraising is the latest example of the investor frenzy around startups seeking to deliver... Gorillas, one of the biggest of a crop of European startups in the convenience delivery market,...