Mark Di Stefano — The Information

Mark Di Stefano

Reporter

Mark Di Stefano is a London-based reporter for The Information covering Europe tech and Amazon. He previously covered the media, tech and politics beats at BuzzFeed News, the Financial Times and ABC News in Australia. He is the author of a book about Australia’s 2016 election, "What A Time To Be Alive: That and Other Lies of the 2016 Election Campaign." He grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. You can reach him at [email protected]

Italy Fines Google And Apple In Latest US Tech Fines

Nov. 26, 2021 · 10:00 AM PST

The latest fines show that U.S. tech firms will continue to be penalized by individual European nations in addition to the European Commission.

A Rivian truck being tested by Amazon. Photo YouTube via Amazon.

Amazon’s Testing of Rivian Vans Reveals Questions About Battery Power and Cameras

By Mark Di Stefano · Nov. 19, 2021 10:11 AM PST · 2 comments

The Amazon executive overseeing development of Rivian electric delivery vans says the company is on schedule to put 10,000 of the vans on the road next year, following months of testing in 15 cities. But according to one of the drivers involved with testing the vans, their range is more limited than what Rivian disclosed ahead of its blockbuster... The Amazon executive overseeing development of Rivian electric delivery vans says the company is...

Apple Sets Feb. 1 for Return to Office

Nov. 18, 2021 · 9:33 AM PST

Apple will let employees work for up to four weeks remotely each year, twice what was previously allowed.

Amazon Will Stop Accepting Visa Credit Cards In UK Over Fee Charges

Nov. 17, 2021 · 6:42 AM PST · 2 comments

Amazon will no longer accept Visa credit cards as payment from U.K. shoppers starting in January.

U.K. Orders Full Antitrust And Security Review Into Nvidia-Arm Deal

Nov. 16, 2021 · 5:30 AM PST

The Nvidia-Arm deal could reshape the global chip industry but looks increasingly imperiled by overlapping regulatory reviews in several countries.

Google Loses Appeal Against Landmark Antitrust Fine in Europe

Nov. 10, 2021 · 2:58 AM PST

Google may appeal the ruling by the European court upholding a $2.6 billion fine.

Art by Mike Sullivan. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Papers Show a Company Locked in Zuckerberg’s Stranglehold

By Mark Di Stefano and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Nov. 4, 2021 6:00 AM PDT · 6 comments

It’s no secret that Mark Zuckerberg runs Facebook with an iron fist. But what hasn’t been fully understood is how he frequently became the single point of control for many decisions at a sprawling company with more than 60,000 employees, leading to some of the problems the company faces today, internal company documents and... It’s no secret that Mark Zuckerberg runs Facebook with an iron fist. But what hasn’t...

Autonomous Vehicles

Waymo, Nuro Veteran Dan McCloskey Joins London-based AV Startup Wayve

Oct. 27, 2021 · 1:15 AM PDT

tthe firm will begin a pilot with U.K. grocery delivery firms Ocado and Asda next year.

Jennifer Stout, vice president of global public policy at Snap, and Michael Beckerman, Americas vice president and head of public policy at TikTok, in a Senate hearing Tuesday.

Creator Economy

Google Facebook

TikTok in the Dock; YouTube’s Big Quarter

By Mark Di Stefano · Oct. 26, 2021 3:18 PM PDT

Remember that surreal Finsta moment from Facebook’s congressional hearing a few weeks ago? If you somehow missed it: Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked Facebook’s global head of safety: “Would you commit to ending finsta?” Twitter commentators went nuts over Blumenthal’s seeming ignorance that finsta was slang for a second private... Remember that surreal Finsta moment from Facebook’s congressional hearing a few weeks ago? If you...

German Scooter Company Raises $200 Million From Softbank, Mubadala

Oct. 25, 2021 · 10:35 AM PDT

Tier is one of a host of start-ups to emerge from the scooter start-up craze of recent years.

Art by Mike Sullivan

Media/Telecom Facebook

New Facebook Storm Nears as CNN, Fox Business and Other Outlets Team Up on Whistleblower Docs

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Mark Di Stefano · Oct. 22, 2021 2:55 PM PDT · 6 comments

It’s not often that major news organizations coordinate to sift through a large trove of leaked company documents and agree not to publish stories about them until a certain date. But in the world of news related to Facebook, these are extraordinary times. Something similar happened in 2016 when the International Consortium of... It’s not often that major news organizations coordinate to sift through a large trove of...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Atomico Values Customer Engagement Startup Commsor at $450 Million

By Berber Jin and Mark Di Stefano · Oct. 20, 2021 11:55 AM PDT

Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Venture Capital Startups

Atomico Values Customer Engagement Startup Commsor at $450 Million

By Berber Jin and Mark Di Stefano · Oct. 20, 2021 11:55 AM PDT

Commsor, a two-year-old startup that sells software to help companies track user engagement, is raising $50 million at a $450 million valuation, a price that includes the investment, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. London-based Atomico is leading the round, the people added. The valuation is nearly three times higher than... Commsor, a two-year-old startup that sells software to help companies track user engagement, is...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Finnish Cloud Database Firm Aiven Doubles Valuation to $2 Billion in Latest Funding

By Mark Di Stefano · Oct. 18, 2021 12:19 PM PDT

Finnish data management startup Aiven has more than doubled its valuation to $2 billion in a fresh fundraising just six months after its last funding, according to a person familiar with the matter, reflecting investor enthusiasm for the enterprise software sector. Aiven raised $60 million in an extension of a Series C round in March in which... Finnish data management startup Aiven has more than doubled its valuation to $2 billion in a...

Stock Chart Website TradingView Valued At $3 Billion

Oct. 14, 2021 · 6:42 AM PDT

TradingView is one of a number of European-based fintech firms that have benefited from the influx of individual investors to the public markets in the past year.

Will Shu. Photo courtesy of Deliveroo

The Big Interview

E-commerce Amazon

Deliveroo CEO Sees Echoes of Scooter Fad in Ultrafast Delivery

By Mark Di Stefano · Oct. 13, 2021 6:01 AM PDT · 2 comments

Every few weeks, Will Shu takes a night off as CEO of Amazon-backed Deliveroo to bike through London, delivering restaurant meals or groceries in the place of one of the newly public company’s 110,000 gig workers. Things changed this year, as Shu noticed Deliveroo couriers were jostling with many more rivals: venture-backed startups... Every few weeks, Will Shu takes a night off as CEO of Amazon-backed Deliveroo to bike through...

Apple Faces European Antitrust Charges Over Apple Pay

Oct. 6, 2021 · 6:59 AM PDT

This will be the second antitrust shoe to drop for Apple in Europe, where the EC has been conducting a long running investigation into the App Store and Apple Pay.

European Commission Moving to Charge Apple with Antitrust Violations Over Apple Pay

Oct. 6, 2021 · 6:55 AM PDT

This will be the second antitrust shoe to drop for Apple, following the EC's long running investigation into how the company runs the App Store and Apple Pay.

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

Startups Amazon

Instacart Raids Another Tech Giant for Ad Talent: Amazon

By Mark Di Stefano and Sahil Patel · Oct. 1, 2021 6:00 AM 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...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Media/Telecom Amazon

The Mystery Man Who Made Amazon an Ad Giant

By Sahil Patel and Mark Di Stefano · Sept. 30, 2021 6:00 AM 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...

Gorillas founder Kağan Sümer. Photo provided by Gorillas

Gorillas Raising $950 Million Amidst European Delivery Wars

By Mark Di Stefano and Kate Clark · Sept. 23, 2021 11:45 AM PDT

Gorillas founder Kağan Sümer. Photo provided by Gorillas

Venture Capital E-commerce

Gorillas Raising $950 Million Amidst European Delivery Wars

By Mark Di Stefano and Kate Clark · Sept. 23, 2021 11:45 AM 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,...