The Information

Google CEO Sundar Pichai

What the Google Ads Antitrust Lawsuit Doesn’t Say

By Amir Efrati, Alex Heath and Christopher Stern · Dec 16, 2020 7:28pm PST · 6 comments

Antitrust lawsuits are meant to make their targets look bad, and the Texas attorney general’s long-anticipated case filed on Wednesday against Google for allegedly using advertising technology to muscle out competitors is no exception. There are the “Star Wars”–related code names Google used to describe its secret plans... Antitrust lawsuits are meant to make their targets look bad, and the Texas attorney...

Alibaba's Jack Ma and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. Photos by Bloomberg and AP

How Alibaba Lost India: A Tale of Missed Opportunities and Bad Luck

By Juro Osawa · Dec 16, 2020 10:22am PST · 4 comments

In the fall of 2016, Cyrus Mistry, then chairman of India’s biggest conglomerate, Tata Group, flew to China for a crucial meeting with Joe Tsai, Alibaba’s co-founder and executive vice chairman, according to two people with direct knowledge of the visit. Alibaba had been courting Tata, hoping an alliance would jump-start its business... In the fall of 2016, Cyrus Mistry, then chairman of India’s biggest conglomerate, Tata...

A sign outside Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook to Let Users Book Services in Potential Rivalry to Angie’s List

By Alex Heath · Dec 16, 2020 6:01am PST

Facebook is planning to let its users find and book services through its app, a move that could position the social media giant as a competitor to gig economy marketplaces such as TaskRabbit, Fiverr, and Angie’s List. The social network is building a team to focus on services, potentially including home repairs or freelance jobs, within... Facebook is planning to let its users find and book services through its app, a move that could...

Social Finance CEO Anthony Noto, shown in 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

SoFi Q3 Revenue Hit $200 Million, Aided by Low Rates

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 15, 2020 10:54am PST

Social Finance CEO Anthony Noto, shown in 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

SoFi Q3 Revenue Hit $200 Million, Aided by Low Rates

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 15, 2020 10:54am PST

Social Finance CEO Anthony Noto has spent nearly three years trying to turn around the online lender after internal turmoil. The business now appears to be on a stronger footing as low interest rates drive more borrowing and refinancing across the U.S. Social Finance, known as SoFi, pulled in about $200 million in revenue in the third quarter... Social Finance CEO Anthony Noto has spent nearly three years trying to turn around the online...

Steve Huffman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Reddit Inc., in 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

Reddit to Buy TikTok Rival Dubsmash in New Video Push

By Alex Heath and Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 13, 2020 6:16pm PST · 1 comment

Reddit, the 15-year-old online news aggregator and discussion forum, has agreed to buy lip-synching video app Dubsmash, one of the few remaining startups to rival TikTok, according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal. The acquisition, originally set to be announced on Monday, marks an unexpected push by Reddit into mobile video,... Reddit, the 15-year-old online news aggregator and discussion forum, has agreed to buy...

OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely. Photo by OnlyFans.

OnlyFans Is Not Only Popular, But Hugely Profitable

By Tom Dotan · Dec 11, 2020 9:30am PST · 2 comments

OnlyFans is having a moment in the tech world as investors and executives marvel at the site’s transition from a seemingly niche, under-the-radar outfit into a mainstream phenomenon. But what is even more impressive is just how good a business OnlyFans is proving to be. This year, the subscription-based social media service will earn $300... OnlyFans is having a moment in the tech world as investors and executives marvel at the...

Workers at a Foxconn assembly line in Shenzhen, China. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Turned Blind Eye to Supplier Breaches of Chinese Labor Laws

By Wayne Ma · Dec 9, 2020 6:00am PST · 2 comments

In 2014, Apple executives became alarmed when China enacted a new labor law meant to protect workers’ rights. The law required that no more than 10% of a factory’s workforce be temporary workers. Typically these employees have fewer benefits and legal protections than permanent ones, but Apple’s suppliers increasingly relied on... In 2014, Apple executives became alarmed when China enacted a new labor law meant to protect...

Groceries being distributed from a local shop working with Didi Chuxing. Photo provided by Didi Chuxing.

Shaved Heads, 84-Hour Work Week as China Tech Gets Into Groceries

By Yunan Zhang · Dec 8, 2020 6:01am PST · 5 comments

Groceries being distributed from a local shop working with Didi Chuxing. Photo provided by Didi Chuxing.

Shaved Heads, 84-Hour Work Week as China Tech Gets Into Groceries

By Yunan Zhang · Dec 8, 2020 6:01am PST · 5 comments

When Didi Chuxing, China’s biggest ride-hailing app, launched its online grocery business six months ago, some operations employees shaved their heads to show their commitment. In Chengdu, a city of 16 million in the southwestern province of Sichuan, these employees worked until midnight, slept in cots in their office and toiled... When Didi Chuxing, China’s biggest ride-hailing app, launched its online grocery business...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Record Number of U.S. Firms Invested in Europe Tech This Year

By Mark Di Stefano · Dec 7, 2020 10:20am PST · 3 comments

Alex Lim, a partner at Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture firm IVP, flew to Europe six times in the 12 months before the coronavirus outbreak to visit founders and startups in the region. The pandemic abruptly halted those visits. But Lim’s interest in Europe didn’t flag. In the course of six months, he led his firm’s two... Alex Lim, a partner at Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture firm IVP, flew to Europe six times...

Mike Sullivan

Airbnb’s Biggest IPO Winners

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 7, 2020 6:00am PST · 15 comments

Sequoia Capital’s early bet on Airbnb will likely propel it to one of the greatest hauls in the history of venture capital, turning a $260 million investment made over the past 11 years into a stake that is now worth about $4.8 billion. But what hasn’t been previously reported is that the firm’s relationship with its portfolio... Sequoia Capital’s early bet on Airbnb will likely propel it to one of the greatest hauls in...

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. Photo by Bloomberg.

WarnerMedia Considering CNN Streaming Service

By Jessica Toonkel · Dec 4, 2020 11:15am PST · 2 comments

AT&T’s WarnerMedia, long a giant in cable TV, was a late arrival to streaming video. Under its new CEO, Jason Kilar, Warner is trying to make up for lost time. Warner executives are discussing launching two new streaming services. One would be a subscription offering based on content from CNN and could launch next year. Another would... AT&T’s WarnerMedia, long a giant in cable TV, was a late arrival to streaming video....

Cue Health Monitoring System for testing for COVID-19 virus. Image by Cue Health

Covid Test Startup Cue Health in Talks for $2 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Kate Clark · Dec 4, 2020 10:00am PST

Cue Health Monitoring System for testing for COVID-19 virus. Image by Cue Health

Covid Test Startup Cue Health in Talks for $2 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Kate Clark · Dec 4, 2020 10:00am PST

Cue Health, a startup that makes handheld coronavirus tests, is in discussion with investors about a new round of capital that could boost the company’s valuation to more than $2 billion, or at least four times the valuation in a fundraising just six months ago, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The San Diego... Cue Health, a startup that makes handheld coronavirus tests, is in discussion with investors...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks remotely during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook Splits Up Unit At Center of Contested Election Decisions

By Alex Heath · Dec 3, 2020 1:28pm PST

Facebook is breaking up its unit focused on the social network’s role in elections globally, dispersing the team of roughly 300 through a sweeping reorganization beginning this week, according to internal memos seen by The Information. Employees from Civic Integrity, who have been at the center of Facebook’s contested decisions on... Facebook is breaking up its unit focused on the social network’s role in elections...

Jill Hazelbaker. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Uber’s Image Maker Emerges as Key Power Player

By Jessica E. Lessin and Amir Efrati · Dec 3, 2020 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Minutes after Dara Khosrowshahi learned from a news report that he would be the next CEO of Uber, his phone rang. It was Uber’s head of communications, Jill Hazelbaker, who said “Welcome on board. Let’s get to work,” he recalls. Her next piece of advice was also very direct: “Get yourself a board of directors that... Minutes after Dara Khosrowshahi learned from a news report that he would be the next CEO of Uber,...

Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in the U.K. sit behind partition screens in a break room in October. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Drops Pandemic Test to Track Warehouse Workers Through Wi-Fi

By Mark Di Stefano · Nov 30, 2020 6:01am PST

Amazon has promised to spend billions of dollars this year on safety precautions to protect the workers in its warehouse facilities from the coronavirus pandemic. But it has quietly abandoned a test of one such safety measure that involved tracking the location of warehouse workers through their personal cell phones, The Information has learned.... Amazon has promised to spend billions of dollars this year on safety precautions to protect the...

Nick Clegg, Facebook’s VP of Global Affairs and Communications. Photo: AP.

Facebook Researchers Found Its ‘Political Whitelist’ Influenced Misinformation Spread

By Alex Heath · Nov 24, 2020 10:30am PST

Nick Clegg, Facebook’s VP of Global Affairs and Communications. Photo: AP.

Facebook Researchers Found Its ‘Political Whitelist’ Influenced Misinformation Spread

By Alex Heath · Nov 24, 2020 10:30am PST

During a September 2019 speech in Washington, D.C., Facebook’s global policy and communications chief Nick Clegg gave an ardent defense of the company’s policy to not fact-check politicians, saying that it wasn’t the social network’s role to “intervene when politicians speak.” Behind the scenes that summer,... During a September 2019 speech in Washington, D.C., Facebook’s global policy and...

Brex co-CEO Henrique Dubugras, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and Splunk CEO Doug Merritt. Photos: Bloomberg

Tech CEOs Are Saying Goodbye to San Francisco

By Cory Weinberg, Kate Clark and Zoë Bernard · Nov 23, 2020 6:02am PST · 2 comments

Splunk, Dropbox and Brex followed similar formulas as they grew from small startups to established companies. To attract employees and customers, each set up elaborate San Francisco offices and plastered billboards for its services around the city. Dropbox three years ago leased a giant new office building on the city’s eastern edge.... Splunk, Dropbox and Brex followed similar formulas as they grew from small startups to...

A lidar sensor made by Hesai on an experimental self driving car in San Francisco last year. Photo by AP

Chinese Self-Driving Startups Plus and Hesai Considering Going Public

By Yunan Zhang · Nov 20, 2020 12:30pm PST

High-profile Chinese autonomous driving tech startups are getting ready to go public, tempted by special purpose acquisition companies and heady valuations on Wall Street and in China’s own booming domestic stock markets. Autonomous trucking startups Plus and TuSimple, as well as lidar sensor maker Hesai Technology, are considering... High-profile Chinese autonomous driving tech startups are getting ready to go public, tempted by...

A help wanted sign hangs on the door of a Target store in Uniontown, Pa. Photo: AP

Job Site Hired, Once Valued at $500 Million, Discusses Winding Down

By Zoë Bernard · Nov 19, 2020 2:26pm PST · 2 comments

Hired, a recruitment service for tech jobs, has started a process to sell assets, pay off creditors and wind down the company, according to people familiar with the plans and a document seen by The Information. The company’s chief financial officer, Edward Schaffer, told some shareholders last week that the board has been unsuccessfully... Hired, a recruitment service for tech jobs, has started a process to sell assets, pay off...

The Loon team's Autolauncher. Photo by Loon

Alphabet’s Internet Balloon Subsidiary ‘Loon’ Hit Financing Turbulence

By Nick Bastone · Nov 18, 2020 6:02am PST · 3 comments

The Loon team's Autolauncher. Photo by Loon

Alphabet’s Internet Balloon Subsidiary ‘Loon’ Hit Financing Turbulence

By Nick Bastone · Nov 18, 2020 6:02am PST · 3 comments

Doubts are growing about one of the first and most high-profile efforts by Google owner Alphabet to show that it can be more than an advertising cash machine. Loon, a decadelong project to provide internet to rural areas and islands around the world using high-altitude helium balloons, earned the company years of fawning coverage in the press... Doubts are growing about one of the first and most high-profile efforts by Google owner Alphabet...