Q&A

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Oracle CEO Mark Hurd at an event last year. Photo by Bloomberg
Q&A

Oracle’s Hurd Touts Apps, Plays Down AWS Threat

By Nick Wingfield and Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 27, 2018 7:02am PST · 4 comments
Oracle CEO Mark Hurd would prefer not to talk about Amazon. In an interview with The Information, Mr. Hurd was eager to discuss another topic, Oracle’s applications for running corporate finances and other back-office functions, which are showing strong growth. But he bristled when asked about Amazon, which is becoming an increasingly... Oracle CEO Mark Hurd would prefer not to talk about Amazon. In an interview with The Information,...
Blockchain CEO Peter Smith. Photo: Bloomberg
Q&A

Blockchain CEO Eyes IPO Amid Crypto Rout

By Jon Victor · Dec 26, 2018 10:01am PST
2018 was a tough year for the cryptocurrency industry, as the total market capitalization of all digital tokens plummeted from $800 billion in January to around $130 billion in late December. But Peter Smith, the CEO of Blockchain, says businesses like his, which earn revenue off people (and businesses) buying and selling tokens, can still do... 2018 was a tough year for the cryptocurrency industry, as the total market capitalization of all...
Sam Yam and Jack Conte. Photos by Patreon
Q&A

Patreon’s $400 Million Promise: To Expand From Donations to Services

By Tom Dotan · Nov 13, 2018 7:02am PST · 2 comments
Patreon has become known in the online media industry as the place to go if you want to send your favorite podcaster or musician a few dollars a month in exchange for extra content or access to exclusive chats. But the company has much bigger ambitions. It wants to offer creators a variety of services for creators, such as loans, so they can... Patreon has become known in the online media industry as the place to go if you want to send your...
Reddit COO Jen Wong.
Reddit’s Plan for Growth
By Tom Dotan · Nov 1, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments
Reddit COO Jen Wong.
Q&A

Reddit’s Plan for Growth

By Tom Dotan · Nov 1, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments
Reddit Chief Operating Officer Jen Wong has only been at the company for six months, but she has big ambitions for its ad business. In an interview with The Information, the former Time Inc. COO says Reddit should be able to build an ad business that’s “comparable” to social media networks Twitter, Snap and Pinterest.... Reddit Chief Operating Officer Jen Wong has only been at the company for six months, but she has...
Discord CEO Jason Citron.
Q&A

Why Tencent-Backed Gaming Chat App Is Taking On Steam

By Tom Dotan · Sep 7, 2018 7:00am PDT
One of the hottest startups in gaming isn’t a game developer. It’s a chat app called Discord.While little known outside the gaming world, Discord is hugely popular with gamers, boasting 150 million users,19 million of whom use it daily. That has drawn the attention of investors: backers include Tencent and venture capitalists such as... One of the hottest startups in gaming isn’t a game developer. It’s a chat app called...
AT&T's John Donovan. Illustration by Mike Sullivan, from photo by Bloomberg.
Q&A

AT&T’s Plans for Changing TV

By Martin Peers and Tom Dotan · Aug 30, 2018 9:45am PDT · 1 comment
AT&T has transformed itself into a telecom and entertainment conglomerate with the purchase of Time Warner and, before that, the DirecTV satellite service. Now the company wants to change a key part of the television business. AT&T wants audience size to determine how much cable TV-like streaming services such as DirecTV Now pay to carry... AT&T has transformed itself into a telecom and entertainment conglomerate with the purchase...
Indochino CEO Drew Green. Photo by Indochino
Q&A

Why This Online Retailer Is Expanding Its Chain of Stores

By Priya Anand · Aug 23, 2018 10:01am PDT
Even before Amazon.com bought Whole Foods last year, smaller ecommerce companies like eyeglasses seller Warby Parker and custom suit maker Indochino had seen the value of opening their own brick-and-mortar stores. For one thing, the stores make it much easier to lure new customers, according to Indochino CEO Drew Green.In an interview, Mr. Green... Even before Amazon.com bought Whole Foods last year, smaller ecommerce companies like eyeglasses...
SAP CEO Bill McDermott. Photo by Bloomberg
SAP Passes Cloud Barrier, Targets Salesforce
By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 14, 2018 7:00am PDT · 1 comment
SAP CEO Bill McDermott. Photo by Bloomberg
Q&A

SAP Passes Cloud Barrier, Targets Salesforce

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 14, 2018 7:00am PDT · 1 comment
As the old guard of enterprise software such as Microsoft and Oracle reinvented themselves for the cloud market in recent years, SAP took its time. Companies used its software for handling sensitive areas like supply chain management and finance, which made them reluctant to put it into the public cloud. But the German firm, the third largest... As the old guard of enterprise software such as Microsoft and Oracle reinvented themselves for...
Datta Dave. Photo by Tulsea. Art by Mike Sullivan
Q&A

Netflix’s Next Challenge: Rural India

By Beejoli Shah · Aug 10, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment
In the U.S., Netflix and Amazon are locked in a heated battle for customers. In India, they have more than 40 other rivals to contend with. Companies ranging from Sony-owned Liv to local firms like Reliance Entertainment’s BigFlix are competing for online viewers. And that number is likely to grow, according to Datta Dave, the... In the U.S., Netflix and Amazon are locked in a heated battle for customers. In India, they have...
Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden
Q&A

Bird CEO Passes on Uber, Takes Aim at Cars

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 20, 2018 7:00am PDT · 4 comments
Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden seemed to be making all the right moves recently. His launch of an electric scooter service last year kicked off a larger wave of investment in the sector and spawned clones, as he calls other scooter startups. He already has made a lot of money from Bird, selling shares in the company’s latest $300 million... Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden seemed to be making all the right moves recently. His launch of an...
Harald Wester. Photo by Dennis van Tine/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)
Q&A

Why Waymo’s Best Friend Doesn’t Always Agree With Waymo

By Amir Efrati · Jun 6, 2018 11:23am PDT
Fiat Chrysler stands out as the first automaker to agree to supply cars to self-driving car developers in Silicon Valley in its deal with Waymo. But in an interview with The Information, Fiat Chrysler chief technical officer Harald Wester made clear Fiat Chrysler disagrees with its partner on some key subjects, including whether Waymo will be... Fiat Chrysler stands out as the first automaker to agree to supply cars to self-driving car...
Salesforce COO Keith Block. Art by Mike Sullivan
Salesforce’s Keith Block Is Still Cautious About AI
By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 23, 2018 10:01am PDT · 1 comment
Salesforce COO Keith Block. Art by Mike Sullivan
Q&A

Salesforce’s Keith Block Is Still Cautious About AI

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 23, 2018 10:01am PDT · 1 comment
Salesforce COO Keith Block is as effusive as any sales executive when discussing Salesforce’s “amazing” culture or the potential of digital technology to reinvent businesses. But when it comes to the impact of artificial intelligence, Mr. Block is much more restrained. AI has significant promise, he says, but Salesforce is... Salesforce COO Keith Block is as effusive as any sales executive when discussing...
John Chambers. Photo by Bloomberg.
Q&A

How John Chambers Looks at Deals

By Serena Saitto · Apr 5, 2018 7:01am PDT · 6 comments
When John Chambers ran Cisco Systems, acquisitions were one of his favorite ways to grow the company. By his own estimate, Cisco did 180 deals in his time there. But as he said in an interview with The Information this week, Cisco executives expected that one third would not succeed. It was a surprising admission for a former CEO, given how... When John Chambers ran Cisco Systems, acquisitions were one of his favorite ways to grow the...
McAfee CEO Chris Young. Photo: Bloomberg
Q&A

A Reborn McAfee Faces Tough Competition in Evolving Security Market

By Sarah Kuranda · Mar 28, 2018 10:02am PDT
Ten years ago, McAfee was one of the most recognizable brands in cybersecurity. Now, a year after its spinout from Intel, the company is looking to reclaim its former glory. Under the helm of Chris Young, a former Cisco executive who ran the business when it was a division of Intel and now leads it as CEO, McAfee has taken significant steps to... Ten years ago, McAfee was one of the most recognizable brands in cybersecurity. Now, a year after...
Shawn Carolan.
Q&A

For a Key Uber Investor, Lessons in Corporate Governance

By Serena Saitto · Mar 19, 2018 7:01am PDT · 9 comments
Shawn Carolan, who co-led Menlo Ventures’ investment in Uber, says his firm made $1 billion selling almost half of its stake in Uber to SoftBank. That eye-popping return, which Menlo hadn’t previously confirmed, on an original investment of $26 million in 2011, marks the firm’s largest redistribution of capital to its limited... Shawn Carolan, who co-led Menlo Ventures’ investment in Uber, says his firm made $1 billion...
Salesforce's Richard Socher. Photo: Bloomberg
The Scientist Behind Salesforce’s AI Push
By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 12, 2018 10:00am PDT · 1 comment
Salesforce's Richard Socher. Photo: Bloomberg
Q&A

The Scientist Behind Salesforce’s AI Push

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 12, 2018 10:00am PDT · 1 comment
Artificial intelligence scientist Richard Socher might seem like an odd fit for Salesforce, a juggernaut in sales and marketing software for businesses. But in nearly two years at Salesforce, Mr. Socher has helped develop new AI-powered software that helps its customers identify promising sales leads and monitor their brands on social media. His... Artificial intelligence scientist Richard Socher might seem like an odd fit for Salesforce, a...
Art: Matt Vascellaro
Q&A

Draper Says VCs Are ‘Missing Out’ on Crypto Opportunities

By Serena Saitto · Feb 26, 2018 7:01am PST · 1 comment
Prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper says initial coin offerings are both a “challenge and an opportunity” for venture capitalists, noting that more than one-third of the companies he looks at nowadays are “tied to bitcoin or crypto in some way.”In an interview with The Information, Mr. Draper said that... Prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper says initial coin offerings are both a...
Art by Mike Sullivan. Photo by Bloomberg.
Q&A

Microsoft’s Cloud Chief Wields Blockchain in Battle With AWS

By Kevin McLaughlin and Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 23, 2018 7:01am PST · 2 comments
Microsoft is having early success selling a blockchain service to companies, Microsoft’s cloud chief Scott Guthrie says, giving the company an edge over its public cloud rival Amazon Web Services, which doesn’t have its own blockchain offering.Microsoft introduced a blockchain service on its public cloud in 2015 and has been adding... Microsoft is having early success selling a blockchain service to companies, Microsoft’s...
Bridget van Kralingen. Photo: IBM
Q&A

IBM’s Blockchain Infusion

By Sarah Kuranda · Feb 13, 2018 7:01am PST · 5 comments
A year and a half ago, the IBM blockchain business was just a piece of paper. Now, Bridget van Kralingen has assembled a team of 1,500 people, all tasked with figuring out how blockchain technology can be applied to many types of businesses. That’s a big question to answer. Blockchain technology has gained a lot of attention in recent... A year and a half ago, the IBM blockchain business was just a piece of paper. Now, Bridget van...
Amazon Prime head Akshay Sahi. Art: Matt Vascellaro
Amazon Prime’s Rapid Growth in India Yields Lessons
By Priya Anand · Jan 24, 2018 7:02am PST
Amazon Prime head Akshay Sahi. Art: Matt Vascellaro
Q&A

Amazon Prime’s Rapid Growth in India Yields Lessons

By Priya Anand · Jan 24, 2018 7:02am PST
Last year was a big year for Amazon Prime in India. Membership doubled from January to June, and then doubled again from June to October. Driving the fast growth, said Akshay Sahi, Amazon’s head of Prime in India, are exclusive deals, a strategy the company might deploy elsewhere.The expansion in India has been costly, and the company is... Last year was a big year for Amazon Prime in India. Membership doubled from January to June, and...