The Information

A restaurant in San Francisco serves a take-out customer in February. Startups that help restaurants take online orders have flourished during the pandemic. Photo: Bloomberg

Tiger Global Leads Deal for Restaurant Startup Popmenu at $525 Million Valuation

By Berber Jin · May 25, 2021 3:22pm PDT · 1 comment

The pandemic shutdowns prompted more people than ever to order online from restaurants, lifting the fortunes of startups selling software to the sector. Now, even as in-person gatherings resume, venture investors are betting diners will still want to use these digital tools. Popmenu, an Atlanta-based startup that provides website design services... The pandemic shutdowns prompted more people than ever to order online from restaurants, lifting...

Nisa Leung. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Qiming Venture Launches $500 Million Fund to Invest in Listed Companies

By Juro Osawa · May 25, 2021 7:31am PDT · 1 comment

Qiming Venture Partners, a prominent China-focussed VC firm whose portfolio includes TikTok owner ByteDance, has expanded into public stock market investments for the first time, with a recently launched $500 million fund that bets primarily on Chinese healthcare companies listed outside mainland China, people with knowledge of the matter... Qiming Venture Partners, a prominent China-focussed VC firm whose portfolio includes TikTok owner...

Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young during yesterday's game against the New York Knicks. Photo by AP

Discovery Deal Deepens Uncertainty Over WarnerMedia’s Bleacher Report

By Sahil Patel and Jessica Toonkel · May 24, 2021 9:07am PDT

Shortly after Jason Kilar took over WarnerMedia a year ago, he met with executives at Bleacher Report to discuss the future of the scrappy digital sports business, according to people familiar with the discussions. In the meeting, Kilar and the team discussed how Bleacher Report could play a role in the company’s upcoming HBO Max streaming... Shortly after Jason Kilar took over WarnerMedia a year ago, he met with executives at Bleacher...

Photos by Bloomberg, Stripe. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Stripe Founders’ Right-Hand Man

By Kate Clark · May 24, 2021 6:01am PDT · 9 comments

Photos by Bloomberg, Stripe. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Stripe Founders’ Right-Hand Man

By Kate Clark · May 24, 2021 6:01am PDT · 9 comments

A few years ago, a saying started to ricochet around Stripe’s brick-faced headquarters in San Francisco: If Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison, both licensed pilots, were to ever get in a plane crash on one of their jaunts, Will Gaybrick would be first in line to succeed them. The morbid banter, recounted by former staff,... A few years ago, a saying started to ricochet around Stripe’s brick-faced headquarters in...

Axios co-founder Mike Allen. Photo by Bloomberg.

Axel Springer Is in Talks to Buy Axios

By Sahil Patel and Jessica Toonkel · May 21, 2021 7:40am PDT · 3 comments

German media conglomerate Axel Springer is in talks to acquire Axios, according to people familiar with the matter, continuing a consolidation of the digital media sector. The valuation under discussion is around $400 million, said one of the people. Axel Springer already owns Insider and is an investor in Group Nine Media, owner of digital... German media conglomerate Axel Springer is in talks to acquire Axios, according to people...

A still from "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch." Image by Stuart Hendry/Netflix

Netflix Seeks Executive to Expand Game Efforts

By Nick Wingfield and Jessica Toonkel · May 21, 2021 6:00am PDT · 16 comments

Netflix is looking to hire an executive to oversee an expansion into videogames, a sign it is stepping up its efforts to grow beyond traditional filmed entertainment, according to people familiar with the situation. In recent weeks, Netflix has approached veteran game industry executives about joining the company, the people said. While the... Netflix is looking to hire an executive to oversee an expansion into videogames, a sign it is...

MGM's headquarters in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Pondering Deal to Buy MGM

By Jessica Toonkel and Nick Wingfield · May 17, 2021 2:58pm PDT · 4 comments

Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM Holdings, said a person familiar with the situation, in what would be the ecommerce giant’s biggest move yet to expand in entertainment. MGM owns a major film library, with interests in the long running James Bond franchise as well as other well known titles such as Rocky and Pink Panther. It... Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM Holdings, said a person familiar with the situation,...

David Ebersman, cofounder and CEO of Lyra Health. Photo courtesy of Lyra Health.

Mental Health Startup Lyra Health Valued at $4.6 Billion in Coatue-Led Round

By Berber Jin · May 17, 2021 1:58pm PDT · 1 comment

David Ebersman, cofounder and CEO of Lyra Health. Photo courtesy of Lyra Health.

Mental Health Startup Lyra Health Valued at $4.6 Billion in Coatue-Led Round

By Berber Jin · May 17, 2021 1:58pm PDT · 1 comment

Lyra Health, which provides mental health benefits such as virtual therapy sessions to employees of large companies, is raising a new, $200 million round of funding that will value it at nearly $4.6 billion, according to two people familiar with the deal. Hedge fund Coatue Management is leading the financing as a new investor, the people said. ... Lyra Health, which provides mental health benefits such as virtual therapy sessions to employees...

Photo: Bloomberg

Google Struggles to Match Apple on Smartphone Privacy Changes

By Sarah Krouse · May 17, 2021 6:02am PDT

Pressured by Apple’s recent iPhone privacy initiative, Google is accelerating work to limit how app developers can track the 2.5 billion people who use phones powered by its Android software. The efforts are still in flux and have been delayed by internal concerns that such moves will diminish the $130 billion a year spent on U.S. mobile... Pressured by Apple’s recent iPhone privacy initiative, Google is accelerating work to limit...

Incoming FTC antitrust enforcement chief Eyitayo St. Matthew-Daniel. Credit: DOJ. Art by Mike Sullivan.

FTC Picks New Antitrust Top Cop to Battle Facebook, Probe Amazon

By Josh Sisco · May 15, 2021 11:58am PDT

A little-known criminal antitrust prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Eyitayo St. Matthew-Daniel, is expected to be named the top antitrust enforcer at the department’s sister agency, the Federal Trade Commission, say three people familiar with the situation. The previously unreported pick comes from current Acting FTC Chair... A little-known criminal antitrust prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Eyitayo St....

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed in Talks to Acquire Complex Networks

By Jessica Toonkel · May 11, 2021 9:07am PDT

BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks as part of its plan to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company 890 Fifth Avenue Partners, according to three people familiar with the situation. The Complex acquisition would increase BuzzFeed’s revenue by about 30%, giving it more scale and... BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks as part of its plan...

A photo (top left) of a suspected detention center next to Artux Kunshan Industrial Park in Xinjiang, where an Apple supplier operated. Apple CEO Tim Cook (right). Photos by AP; Bloomberg. Collage by Mike Sullivan

Seven Apple Suppliers Accused of Using Forced Labor From Xinjiang

By Wayne Ma · May 10, 2021 6:00am PDT

A photo (top left) of a suspected detention center next to Artux Kunshan Industrial Park in Xinjiang, where an Apple supplier operated. Apple CEO Tim Cook (right). Photos by AP; Bloomberg. Collage by Mike Sullivan

Seven Apple Suppliers Accused of Using Forced Labor From Xinjiang

By Wayne Ma · May 10, 2021 6:00am PDT

Advanced-Connectek has made unglamorous but critical computer components for Apple for more than a decade. For two of those years, it operated a factory inside an industrial park on the edge of the deserts of Xinjiang, a region of western China populated by a predominantly Muslim group known as Uyghurs. The industrial park is surrounded by walls... Advanced-Connectek has made unglamorous but critical computer components for Apple for more than...

Photos by Bloomberg; Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Zuckerberg’s Plan to Repair Facebook’s Image: More Zuckerberg

By Alex Heath and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · May 6, 2021 12:53pm PDT · 3 comments

During a companywide Q&A with Facebook employees last Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned to a question about a recent uptick in posts on his Facebook page, including a joke he made referencing the actor Vin Diesel a few days prior. He acknowledged that his public persona has been “really serious,” bordering on “squarely... During a companywide Q&A with Facebook employees last Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned to...

Didi’s offices in Hangzhou, China. Photo: Bloomberg

China’s Ride-Hailing Giant Didi Plans Separate IPO of Grocery Business

By Yunan Zhang · May 6, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Didi Chuxing, a Chinese ride-hailing giant that plans to go public in New York this summer, is already making plans to spin off its newly created grocery-delivery service a year or two after the initial public offering. Didi executives have told investors in the grocery service that it intends to take the grocery business public sometime between... Didi Chuxing, a Chinese ride-hailing giant that plans to go public in New York this summer, is...

Apple's App Store is increasingly facing antitrust accusations. Illustration by Jesus Escudero.

The Guardians of Apple’s App Store Gird for Battle

By Josh Sisco · Apr 29, 2021 11:53am PDT

For the next three weeks, one of Apple’s most senior executives, Phil Schiller, will spend his days in a sterile courtroom in Oakland, Calif., 50 miles from Apple’s gleaming spaceship-like headquarters in Cupertino. Schiller, who helped launch the App Store 13 years ago and still oversees it, is the designated “corporate... For the next three weeks, one of Apple’s most senior executives, Phil Schiller, will spend...

Illustration by Jonathan Holt

Spotify’s Next Dilemma: Grappling With Hate Speech

By Jessica Toonkel and Mark Di Stefano · Apr 29, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Illustration by Jonathan Holt

Spotify’s Next Dilemma: Grappling With Hate Speech

By Jessica Toonkel and Mark Di Stefano · Apr 29, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

At a Spotify employee workshop held in late 2018, participants were presented with a series of statements which they were told came from a podcast on the service, urging violence against the police. The participants were asked if the statements amounted to hate speech and should be removed from Spotify. Most everyone attending agreed they should... At a Spotify employee workshop held in late 2018, participants were presented with a series of...

Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba. Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba Frets Over Apple Privacy Policy

By Juro Osawa · Apr 28, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last week, Alibaba invited half a dozen marketing industry executives to discuss a growing worry: Apple’s new privacy policy on its mobile software threatens to cut off the Chinese e-commerce giant and its advertising partners from troves of user data that fuel the company’s all-important ad business. The private meeting at Alibaba... Last week, Alibaba invited half a dozen marketing industry executives to discuss a growing worry:...

Justin Zhu, Former Iterable CEO. Photo provided by Iterable

Before CEO’s Ouster for LSD Use, Iterable Investor Sold Stake to Silver Lake

By Kate Clark · Apr 27, 2021 4:47pm PDT · 6 comments

Weeks before the board of Iterable pushed out its CEO Justin Zhu for violating a company drug policy, one of the company’s biggest investors sold about half its stake in an unusual move that could signal its dissatisfaction with his leadership. Earlier this month, venture capital firm Index Ventures sold about $92 million worth of shares... Weeks before the board of Iterable pushed out its CEO Justin Zhu for violating a company drug...

Image: Gopuff

Gopuff Revenue Triples, but Growing Competition to Test Expansion

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 26, 2021 9:01am PDT · 1 comment

Online delivery service Gopuff more than tripled revenue last year to $340 million as the pandemic sent demand for deliveries soaring, according to a person familiar with the matter and an internal presentation viewed by The Information. Gopuff has told employees it expects to nearly triple revenue again this year to about $1 billion, as it... Online delivery service Gopuff more than tripled revenue last year to $340 million as the...

Stripe's offices in San Francisco, left, and a Lyft drivers' lounge in Oakland, Calif. Photos: Bloomberg

Stripe and Lyft Speed Up Equity Payouts to First Year

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Sarah Krouse · Apr 26, 2021 6:01am PDT · 12 comments

Stripe's offices in San Francisco, left, and a Lyft drivers' lounge in Oakland, Calif. Photos: Bloomberg

Stripe and Lyft Speed Up Equity Payouts to First Year

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Sarah Krouse · Apr 26, 2021 6:01am PDT · 12 comments

Lyft and Stripe have changed their compensation packages so employees vest their entire stock awards in one year, doing away with a long-standing Silicon Valley custom of requiring staff to stick around for four years before they have their full compensation in hand. Stripe, an electronic payments startup that could go public as soon as this... Lyft and Stripe have changed their compensation packages so employees vest their entire stock...