The Information

Zoom Executives Have Discussed an Expansion Into Contact Center Market

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb. 25, 2021 6:00 AM PST

Zoom Video Communications’ pockets are full of cash after a $2 billion secondary offering of its shares last month. But where will it spend the money? One possibility: an acquisition of one or more companies in the contact center market, a fast-growing software business that helps companies field customer service requests through phone,... Zoom Video Communications’ pockets are full of cash after a $2 billion secondary offering...

Briefing

Cloud Enterprise

Biden Administration to Sanction Russia Over SolarWinds Hack

Feb. 23, 2021 · 2:40 PM PST

Sanctions and other punishments will aim to show Russia that its longstanding campaign of cyberattacks won't be tolerated.

Clockwise from top-left: Alicia Boler Davis, Dilip Kumar, Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec and Rohit Prasad. Photos by Bloomberg

Enterprise E-commerce

Amazon’s Bench: Ten Executives From the Company’s Next Generation of Leaders

By Mark Di Stefano · Feb. 17, 2021 6:00 AM PST · 2 comments

Get ready to hear more from a new cast of Amazon executives. That includes people in the most senior leadership positions at the internet giant, including Andy Jassy, the longtime head of its cloud unit, who will replace Jeff Bezos as CEO later this year, and Dave Clark, its logistics head, who will become the new chief of its worldwide consumer... Get ready to hear more from a new cast of Amazon executives. That includes people in the most...

Briefing

Amazon COVID-19

Amazon Sues NY AG Over Covid Demands

Feb. 12, 2021 · 12:53 PM PST

Amazon is suing the New York state attorney general over her office’s probe into its Covid-19 response.

Briefing

Cloud Startups

Fourteen Healthcare Providers Form Startup to Analyze Patient Data

Feb. 11, 2021 · 10:57 AM PST

Fourteen top U.S healthcare providers said they’ve created a new startup called Truveta to analyze anonymous patient health data.

A worker at a cell center in South Africa last July. Photo by Bloomberg

Exclusive

Enterprise COVID-19

Sales of Amazon Call Center Service Increased 150% in 2020

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb. 11, 2021 6:01 AM PST · 4 comments

A few years ago, Amazon released a cloud service that used some of the same software smarts behind Alexa—its voice assistant—to automate customer service call centers for other companies. Amazon’s senior leaders were so bullish on the service, called Amazon Connect, that they made an internal forecast that it could reach... A few years ago, Amazon released a cloud service that used some of the same software smarts...

Bird and Lime scooters in downtown San Jose, Calif. Photo: Bloomberg

Exclusive

Startups COVID-19

After Tough Year, SPACs Tempt Bird, Lime

By Cory Weinberg · Jan. 27, 2021 6:00 AM PST

Dogged by questions of financial viability and then a pandemic that crippled demand for scooter rentals, Bird and Lime are taking steps to repair the damage. Bird is finalizing a deal to raise more than $100 million in convertible debt, led by existing investors Sequoia Capital and Valor Equity Partners, people familiar with the matter said. The... Dogged by questions of financial viability and then a pandemic that crippled demand for scooter...

SoftWear Automation CEO Raj Rajan. Photo provided by the company

‘Made in the USA’ Apparel Gets a Tech Boost

By Malique Morris · Jan. 21, 2021 6:01 AM PST · 1 comment

Startups E-commerce

‘Made in the USA’ Apparel Gets a Tech Boost

By Malique Morris · Jan. 21, 2021 6:01 AM PST · 1 comment

When Covid-19 began spreading in China last winter, the global apparel supply chain was thrown into disarray and overseas production in the category ground to a halt. That’s when Marta Miller—owner of Lefty Production Co., a Los Angeles–based company that manufactures clothing for clients—began seeing a surge in inquiries... When Covid-19 began spreading in China last winter, the global apparel supply chain was thrown...

Briefing

Amazon COVID-19

Amazon Offers to Help Biden Distribute Vaccines

Jan. 20, 2021 · 1:13 PM PST

In a letter to President Joseph Biden, Amazon offered to aid the new administration in its efforts to vaccinate 100 million Americans.

Startups COVID-19

The Information’s Return to the Office Tracker

By The Information Staff · Jan. 14, 2021 6:00 AM PST · 8 comments

Of the companies most opposed to continuing remote work after the pandemic fades, Netflix stands out for the intensity of its stance. Last fall co-CEO Reed Hastings said working from home was a “pure negative.” Even so, in a previously unreported move, Netflix started advertising more than 40 job openings for engineers who could opt... Of the companies most opposed to continuing remote work after the pandemic fades, Netflix stands...

Hipcamp campers at a site in Maryland last year. Photo: AP

Exclusive

Travel Startups

Hipcamp, ‘Airbnb of the Outdoors,’ Raises $57 Million

By Cory Weinberg · Jan. 7, 2021 9:45 AM PST · 1 comment

Hipcamp, a VC-backed startup that offers people places to stay or pitch a tent in rural areas, closed a $57 million funding round that values it at more than $300 million, according to financial filings, more than double the valuation of its last major financing in 2019. New investors in the round include Index Ventures and Mary Meeker’s... Hipcamp, a VC-backed startup that offers people places to stay or pitch a tent in rural areas,...

Hinge Health co-founders Daniel Perez (left) and Gabriel Mecklenburg. Photo courtesy of Hinge Health

Hinge Health Valued at $3 Billion by Tiger Global, Coatue

By Kate Clark · Jan. 5, 2021 3:27 PM PST · 3 comments

Exclusive

Venture Capital Startups

Hinge Health Valued at $3 Billion by Tiger Global, Coatue

By Kate Clark · Jan. 5, 2021 3:27 PM PST · 3 comments

Hinge Health, which sells virtual physical therapy sessions for customers with back and joint pain, has raised a financing round led jointly by Coatue Management and Tiger Global Management at a valuation of $3 billion, or seven times its last financing in April, according to two people familiar with the matter. The San Francisco–based... Hinge Health, which sells virtual physical therapy sessions for customers with back and joint...

Briefing

Enterprise COVID-19

Eventbrite Used for Vaccine Appointments in Florida

Jan. 5, 2021 · 11:45 AM PST

County health departments enlisted the event platform to deal with the surge in demand for vaccininations.

A pedestrian near the Times Square area of New York, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 31. Photo: Bloomberg

The Takeaway

Venture Capital Policy

What Comes After the New Tech Boom

By Laura Mandaro · Jan. 2, 2021 7:45 AM PST

Since March, our reporters have been chronicling how startups and their backers were responding to the pandemic. First there was the wave of layoffs and collapsed deals. Then came the emergency backstops from bond investors and the government. Finally there was the rebound, marked by record startup investments, breathtaking IPO debuts and such a... Since March, our reporters have been chronicling how startups and their backers were responding...

Photos: Bloomberg. Art illustration by Jesse Howe.

Venture Capital Startups

How Silicon Valley Turned a Doomsday Scenario Into the Hottest Year for Deals

By Kate Clark · Dec. 30, 2020 6:01 AM PST · 1 comment

In June, Rahul Vohra was cooped up in his San Francisco apartment, finding it difficult to concentrate on work as he recovered from Covid-19. After U.S. infections spiked in early March, Vohra had begun preparing for a recession lasting at least two years, stopping most hiring at his email subscription startup, Superhuman, and advising other... In June, Rahul Vohra was cooped up in his San Francisco apartment, finding it difficult to...

Briefing

Policy Economy

Senate Leader McConnell Ties Stimulus Checks to Section 230 Repeal

Dec. 29, 2020 · 3:36 PM PST

Silicon Valley is caught in the middle as the Republican leader plays politics with Covid-19 relief payments.

Real Estate Policy

The Information’s Techodus List

By The Information Staff · Dec. 29, 2020 11:31 AM PST · 26 comments

The exodus of prominent technology figures from the Bay Area is gathering steam. With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing a shift to remote work, some executives have seized the moment to move elsewhere in California in search of a different lifestyle, or an escape from the region’s charged politics. Others, often citing high taxes, are leaving... The exodus of prominent technology figures from the Bay Area is gathering steam. With the...

Data Point

Startups Markets

Poshmark, Wish Marketing Splurges Could Make Profits Elusive

By Paris Martineau · Dec. 28, 2020 6:01 AM PST · 2 comments

Poshmark and Wish, the latest e-commerce companies to stage initial public offerings, spend far more aggressively on marketing than many of their peers, according to an analysis by The Information. And while their marketing costs as a percentage of revenue have gone down over the past year, those costs could go right back up as post-pandemic... Poshmark and Wish, the latest e-commerce companies to stage initial public offerings, spend far...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan last year. Photo by Bloomberg

The Briefing

Google Enterprise

Will the Zoom Boom Last?: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By The Information Staff · Dec. 23, 2020 5:32 PM PST

We broke the news today that Zoom Video Communications is starting to map out a post-pandemic future, one where society is no longer constantly tethered to videoconferencing to connect with colleagues, friends and family. Under consideration, Kevin reports, are email and calendar services that could compete with giants Microsoft and Google. Yet... We broke the news today that Zoom Video Communications is starting to map out a post-pandemic...

Briefing

E-commerce Amazon

Amazon Germany Facility Sees Mass Coronavirus Outbreak

Dec. 22, 2020 · 10:04 AM PST

An Amazon distribution center in the German region of Hannover has been hit by a mass coronavirus outbreak.