The Big Interview

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Xilinx CEO Victor Peng. Photo by Xilinx
The Big Interview

Chip Maker Xilinx Sees Breakout Moment in AI

By Aaron Tilley · Oct 24, 2018 7:01am PDT
For most of Xilinx’s 34 years in existence, the company was a little-known provider of specialized chips, lacking the star power of Silicon Valley chip giants like Intel and Nvidia. Thanks to a surge in applications for artificial intelligence, though, Xilinx products are now making their way into hot new tech categories, from autonomous... For most of Xilinx’s 34 years in existence, the company was a little-known provider of...
Walmart Senior Vice President Andy Dunn. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Big Interview

Walmart Builds, Buys Digital Brands in Search for Shoppers

By Priya Anand · Oct 17, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment
Andy Dunn, the founder and then-CEO of menswear company Bonobos, declared two years ago that big companies were nearly incapable of creating cool online brands aimed at millennials. Then a funny thing happened: He sold Bonobos to Walmart last year and became responsible for doing just that for the world’s largest retailer. At Walmart, Mr.... Andy Dunn, the founder and then-CEO of menswear company Bonobos, declared two years ago that big...
Hulu CEO Randy Freer.
The Big Interview

Hulu Looks to Make Its Skinny Bundle Skinnier

By Jessica Toonkel · Oct 16, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments
Just 18 months after launching its live TV service, Hulu is looking to winnow down its live offerings, replacing them with more on-demand programming.Hulu CEO Randy Freer told The Information in an exclusive interview that he wants to drop some live entertainment channels to be able to create smaller bundles of live sports, news and on-demand... Just 18 months after launching its live TV service, Hulu is looking to winnow down its live...
Uxin founder Dai Kun
Why China’s Electric Car Market Is Falling Short
By Shai Oster · Oct 1, 2018 10:01am PDT · 2 comments
Uxin founder Dai Kun
The Big Interview

Why China’s Electric Car Market Is Falling Short

By Shai Oster · Oct 1, 2018 10:01am PDT · 2 comments
Can China, already the world’s biggest market for electric vehicles, get even bigger? With a mix of quotas and billions of dollars of state and private investment, the government wants one out of every five cars made and sold in China by 2025 to be electric. That would mean annual sales of seven million a year. But the government’s... Can China, already the world’s biggest market for electric vehicles, get even bigger? With...
Barry Silbert, founder and CEO, Digital Currency Group
The Big Interview

One Investor’s Outsize Role in the Crypto Market

By Alfred Lee · Jul 9, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment
In 2013, Barry Silbert asked the board of directors at SecondMarket, a startup he founded that connected buyers and sellers of private company stock, to let him spend $3 million of the company’s cash on buying bitcoin. It had almost nothing to do with the company’s business, and not all of the board was enthusiastic. “I thought... In 2013, Barry Silbert asked the board of directors at SecondMarket, a startup he founded that...
FuboTV CEO David Gandler
The Big Interview

For Streaming Sports Upstart, a Potential World Cup Boost

By Matt Pressberg · Jun 15, 2018 7:02am PDT
For soccer fans, the World Cup that kicked off Thursday in Russia is one of the signature events of international sports. For fuboTV, an upstart battling for share in the burgeoning television streaming market, there is no better moment to lure more cord-cutters to join the growing number of subscribers it has in the U.S.FuboTV has launched an... For soccer fans, the World Cup that kicked off Thursday in Russia is one of the signature events...
Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra
The Big Interview

Poshmark Gains on eBay by Going Narrow

By Priya Anand · Jun 13, 2018 10:02am PDT
When he founded Poshmark, Manish Chandra chose not to compete directly with eBay by creating a broad platform for selling everything from cars to toys. Instead, he built a site for buying and selling fashion, demonstrating how niche ecommerce startups can still thrive in the shadow of eBay, the giant online marketplace.  In doing so, Mr.... When he founded Poshmark, Manish Chandra chose not to compete directly with eBay by creating a...
Forrest Norrod.
Intel’s Manufacturing Glitch Opens Door for AMD
By Aaron Tilley · Jun 8, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments
Forrest Norrod.
The Big Interview

Intel’s Manufacturing Glitch Opens Door for AMD

By Aaron Tilley · Jun 8, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments
Advanced Micro Devices’ battle with chip giant Intel has often seemed like a gnat fighting an elephant, with AMD struggling in recent years to gain even a tenth of the market for the chips that power PCs and data center servers. Forrest Norrod, a senior executive who joined AMD four years ago, says the company suffered from “little... Advanced Micro Devices’ battle with chip giant Intel has often seemed like a gnat fighting...
Naveen Rao. Art by Mike Sullivan
The Big Interview

Intel’s AI Chief Says Chip Giant “Has to Shift”

By Aaron Tilley · May 3, 2018 10:02am PDT
Soon after Intel spent $400 million to buy Nervana, a startup building artificial intelligence hardware and software, Nervana CEO Naveen Rao had a run-in with his new colleagues. Executives of Intel’s data center group balked at the idea of selling Nervana’s specialized AI chip for servers, Mr. Rao said in an interview. Instead, the... Soon after Intel spent $400 million to buy Nervana, a startup building artificial intelligence...
Meituan founder Wang Xing. Photo: AP
The Big Interview

A Chinese Startup’s Big Ambition: Amazon for Services

By Shai Oster and Yunan Zhang · Mar 27, 2018 11:35am PDT · 2 comments
Since Wang Xing founded Meituan as a Groupon clone eight years ago, he has transformed the startup into a one-of-a-kind online services marketplace valued at $30 billion. Now, in his quest to become the next king of China's Internet, he is going head-to-head with China’s biggest and best-funded tech companies, including Alibaba and... Since Wang Xing founded Meituan as a Groupon clone eight years ago, he has transformed the...
Richard Liu. Art by Mike Sullivan
The Big Interview

For Xiaomi’s Earliest Backer, IPO Could Mark End of Era

By Shai Oster and Yunan Zhang · Mar 15, 2018 10:33am PDT
Chinese venture capitalist Liu Qin has made a lot of bets in his life. None is likely to pay off better than his investment in Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker that is preparing for one of the most anticipated tech IPOs of this year. Mr. Liu is the co-founder of Morningside Venture Capital, the earliest backer and now largest institutional... Chinese venture capitalist Liu Qin has made a lot of bets in his life. None is likely to pay off...
Gillian Tans. Art by Matt Vascellaro.
How Priceline’s Booking.com Plans to Move Onto Airbnb’s Turf
By Cory Weinberg · Feb 15, 2018 7:00am PST · 1 comment
Gillian Tans. Art by Matt Vascellaro.
The Big Interview

How Priceline’s Booking.com Plans to Move Onto Airbnb’s Turf

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 15, 2018 7:00am PST · 1 comment
A long-simmering battle between Airbnb and Priceline’s Booking.com, the two most popular travel accommodation apps in the world, is about to explode.In an interview with The Information, Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans said the firm, which specializes in hotel listings, is determined this year to become more of a force in short-term home and... A long-simmering battle between Airbnb and Priceline’s Booking.com, the two most popular...
Phil Chen
The Big Interview

Games Over: Virtual Reality’s Future Is in Healing

By Shai Oster · Nov 15, 2017 10:47am PST · 6 comments
Phil Chen, founder of what became the HTC Vive, one of the first attempts at a mass-market virtual reality headset, has a surprising assessment of the technology he once worked to popularize. “I’m not a big fan of what’s going on in the consumer entertainment space,” he said in an interview in his office overlooking Hong... Phil Chen, founder of what became the HTC Vive, one of the first attempts at a mass-market...
JD.com founder Richard Liu. Photo: Bloomberg
The Big Interview

China’s JD.com Fights Alibaba With Robots, Drones

By Juro Osawa · Nov 10, 2017 7:01am PST · 2 comments
BEIJING—Richard Liu, the founder of e-commerce company JD.com, long labored in the shadows of his bigger and more famous rival Alibaba. In early 2011, when JD was much smaller than it is now, Alibaba tried to persuade Mr. Liu to open a JD store inside Alibaba’s online marketplace instead of competing head on against the giant. If Mr.... BEIJING—Richard Liu, the founder of e-commerce company JD.com, long labored in the shadows...
Deliv CEO Daphne Carmeli. Photo by Bloomberg
The Big Interview

Amazon’s Growth Speeds Demand for Deliv

By Priya Anand · Oct 30, 2017 10:52am PDT · 1 comment
Daphne Carmeli, CEO of same-day delivery startup Deliv, freely admits that demand for her business is driven almost entirely by retailers’ fear of Amazon. Now that the e-commerce giant is offering delivery as fast as one hour, brick-and-mortar retailers such as Macy’s and Best Buy are increasingly using Deliv to offer speedy delivery... Daphne Carmeli, CEO of same-day delivery startup Deliv, freely admits that demand for her...
Art: Matt Vascellaro
Cornell Tech’s Balancing Act Between Industry and Academia
By Cory Weinberg · Oct 4, 2017 7:01am PDT · 1 comment
Art: Matt Vascellaro
The Big Interview

Cornell Tech’s Balancing Act Between Industry and Academia

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 4, 2017 7:01am PDT · 1 comment
Daniel Huttenlocher is one of Amazon.com’s 10 board directors and dean of Cornell University’s nascent, tech-focused graduate school in New York City—roles that give him a unique vantage point on technology companies’ influence. On one hand, he says companies like Amazon deserve the benefit of the doubt from critics who... Daniel Huttenlocher is one of Amazon.com’s 10 board directors and dean of Cornell...
Art by Matt Vascellaro.
The Big Interview

Nutanix Takes on Microsoft, VMware in Cloud

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 28, 2017 10:01am PDT
Dheeraj Pandey, CEO and chairman of Nutanix, always wanted to build a big company. That’s why he turned down acquisition offers from Cisco Systems and the former Hewlett-Packard in the years prior to Nutanix’s initial public offering 12 months ago. It isn’t known how much Cisco and H-P offered, and while Mr. Pandey... Dheeraj Pandey, CEO and chairman of Nutanix, always wanted to build a big company. That’s...
James Murdoch. Art by Matt Vascellaro.
The Big Interview

James Murdoch: We’re in a ‘Silly Land’ in the Video Business

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 26, 2017 7:01am PDT · 4 comments
James Murdoch wants you to know that he is in the media business. It’s an obvious statement from a man who sits atop a $50 billion media company with a global cable, broadcasting and film footprint.  But, as tech companies invest billions in programming to lure customers to their businesses, the CEO of 21st Century Fox doesn’t... James Murdoch wants you to know that he is in the media business. It’s an obvious statement...
Art by Matt Vascellaro
The Big Interview

Waymo CEO to Automakers: Your Future Is Tied to Us

By Amir Efrati · Sep 10, 2017 7:41pm PDT · 10 comments
Alphabet’s Waymo division sits on top of the nascent self-driving car industry in terms of reputation, experience and talent. Yet in an interview with The Information, Waymo CEO John Krafcik seemed determined to broadcast to the traditional car industry that he isn’t the enemy. In fact, he says, Waymo can be car makers’... Alphabet’s Waymo division sits on top of the nascent self-driving car industry in terms of...
Art by Matt Vascellaro
Opendoor Searches for ‘Mainstream’ Success
By Cory Weinberg · Aug 21, 2017 10:01am PDT · 3 comments
Art by Matt Vascellaro
The Big Interview

Opendoor Searches for ‘Mainstream’ Success

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 21, 2017 10:01am PDT · 3 comments
Opendoor CEO Eric Wu is straightforward about one of his company’s competitive shortcomings: It isn’t typically giving home sellers the best deal. That’s something Opendoor is trying to remedy as it plans its first significant expansion. Opendoor, a richly funded startup that runs a service for people to sell their houses... Opendoor CEO Eric Wu is straightforward about one of his company’s competitive...