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Andy Jassy and Adrian Cockcroft of Amazon Web Services. Photos by Bloomberg; Linux Journal/Flickr

Big Customers Pressure AWS to Step Up Open Source Support

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Aug 19, 2019 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

In some parts of the open source community—the loosely affiliated bands of developers who work on free software projects—Amazon Web Services is viewed as a mooch, a company that makes money from those projects without contributing enough to their advancement. It turns out executives at AWS, as the cloud computing unit of the internet... In some parts of the open source community—the loosely affiliated bands of developers who...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Developers Call Apple Privacy Changes Anti-Competitive

By Aaron Tilley · Aug 16, 2019 12:54pm PDT

Apple has said upcoming changes to its iPhone operating system will better protect the privacy of users. But a group of app developers recently told Apple some of those changes will hurt their businesses, while accusing the company of anti-competitive behavior in the way it subjects its own software to the new rules.In an email to Apple CEO Tim... Apple has said upcoming changes to its iPhone operating system will better protect the privacy of...

JD.com headquarters in Beijing. Photo by Bloomberg.

JD.com Joint Venture in Talks to Raise $500 Million in U.S. IPO

By Yunan Zhang and Shai Oster · Aug 16, 2019 7:02am PDT

Chinese online retailer JD.com is in talks with bankers to list shares of its online supermarket joint venture in the U.S. next May, looking to capitalize on the growth of China’s e-commerce sector, which is a bright spot in the country’s otherwise weakening economy.Dada-JD Daojia, a joint venture controlled by JD.com and 10% owned... Chinese online retailer JD.com is in talks with bankers to list shares of its online supermarket...

Axios co-founder Mike Allen. Photo by Bloomberg

Axios Joins Media Push Into Software With Newsletter Product

By Jessica Toonkel · Aug 15, 2019 11:13am PDT · 2 comments

Axios co-founder Mike Allen. Photo by Bloomberg

Axios Joins Media Push Into Software With Newsletter Product

By Jessica Toonkel · Aug 15, 2019 11:13am PDT · 2 comments

Digital media publisher Axios is planning to enter a new business that includes selling software for helping companies create newsletters for their employees. The move comes at a moment when more media businesses are seeking to diversify their revenue through software sales.Axios wants to sell the software, which it is beta testing, to... Digital media publisher Axios is planning to enter a new business that includes selling software...

Bungalow CEO Andrew Collins, left, and Keith Rabois, now general partner at Founders Fund, in 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

Housing Startup Eyes Valuation Over $100 Million With New Round

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 15, 2019 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

A host of startups have sought to build residential housing’s answer to office giant WeWork: a modern property manager that offers flexible leases and a friendly atmosphere for residents. One of the tech industry’s most prominent investment firms is backing a newer entrant to the field, even as the concept as a whole has struggled to... A host of startups have sought to build residential housing’s answer to office giant...

Toptal CEO, Taso Du Val. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Flickr

At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

By Ross Matican and Amir Efrati · Aug 15, 2019 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Toptal, a service that connects companies with freelance software engineers, is a Silicon Valley success story. Founded in 2010, it soon attracted funding from well-known investors including Andreessen Horowitz and hired scores of employees who were promised stock if things went well and the company raised more money.And things did go well. So... Toptal, a service that connects companies with freelance software engineers, is a Silicon Valley...

Ben Kaufman, BuzzFeed CMO. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed Chief Marketing Officer to Step Down

By Jessica Toonkel and Beejoli Shah · Aug 14, 2019 3:41pm PDT

BuzzFeed Chief Marketing Officer and commerce leader Ben Kaufman is stepping down from his position at the end of the year, a move that comes at a delicate time for the digital media company as it seeks to boost revenue and return to profit. Like many of its peers, BuzzFeed has been looking for new sources of revenue, after relying too... BuzzFeed Chief Marketing Officer and commerce leader Ben Kaufman is stepping down from his...

Postmates CEO Bastian Lehmann. Photo by Bloomberg

Postmates Ad Spending Surges Ahead of IPO

By Priya Anand · Aug 14, 2019 7:00am PDT

Postmates CEO Bastian Lehmann. Photo by Bloomberg

Postmates Ad Spending Surges Ahead of IPO

By Priya Anand · Aug 14, 2019 7:00am PDT

When Postmates raised $300 million last September—roughly five months before the company filed confidential paperwork with regulators to go public—the meal delivery startup’s CEO Bastian Lehmann pledged to use the money to grow faster. Sure enough, Postmates hit the gas pedal on advertising, one of its primary tools for... When Postmates raised $300 million last September—roughly five months before the company...

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Photos by Bloomberg

Apple, Spotify Discuss Siri Truce, as Antitrust Battle Looms

By Aaron Tilley and Jessica Toonkel · Aug 13, 2019 10:09am PDT

An issue that has long vexed many iPhone users—the inability to play music from Spotify using Siri, Apple’s voice assistant—may soon be a thing of the past.Spotify, the world’s most popular streaming service, is currently discussing a plan with Apple to let iPhone users tell Siri to play songs, playlists and albums with... An issue that has long vexed many iPhone users—the inability to play music from Spotify...

Disney's Kevin Mayer. Photo by AP.

Disney Stumbles in Ad Sales Shift

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Aug 13, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Two years ago, Walt Disney Co. decided to unify the ad sales operations of most of its TV networks and websites. The idea was to make it easier for advertisers to buy spots across all Disney properties.But the transition didn’t go smoothly, as Disney struggled to integrate new technology. The episode, which hasn’t previously been... Two years ago, Walt Disney Co. decided to unify the ad sales operations of most of its TV...

Bing Gordon. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Secret Weapon in Gaming: EA Veteran Bing Gordon

By Priya Anand · Aug 7, 2019 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon has assembled all the pieces necessary to become a force in the video game industry. And to help put those pieces together, Amazon has turned to video game veteran Bing Gordon.Gordon, a former Amazon board director who is best known for helping build video-game maker Electronic Arts into one of the industry’s dominant companies, has... Amazon has assembled all the pieces necessary to become a force in the video game industry. And...

Illustration by Josh Brill

Facebook Hit by Apple’s Crackdown on Messaging Feature

By Aaron Tilley · Aug 6, 2019 10:35am PDT · 1 comment

Illustration by Josh Brill

Facebook Hit by Apple’s Crackdown on Messaging Feature

By Aaron Tilley · Aug 6, 2019 10:35am PDT · 1 comment

Apple is taking a swipe at Facebook and other messaging apps by making a small but significant change to its mobile operating system. The change will restrict a feature that apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp used to make voice calls over the internet. Right now, the calling feature in these apps runs in the background even when... Apple is taking a swipe at Facebook and other messaging apps by making a small but significant...

Kevin Reilly, HBO Max's Chief Content Officer, at a briefing for TV reporters earlier this year. Photo by AP

HBO Max’s First Drama: Its Name

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Aug 6, 2019 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

WarnerMedia’s HBO used to market itself with the tagline “It’s not TV. It’s HBO.” to signal that the premium cable channel, known for such hits as “The Sopranos” and “Game of Thrones,” was special. But the company’s forthcoming streaming service, HBO Max, faces a more complicated... WarnerMedia’s HBO used to market itself with the tagline “It’s not TV....

Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Chairman Warns Directors of Duties as Kalanick Hires Uber Staff

By Amir Efrati · Aug 5, 2019 2:39pm PDT · 3 comments

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick lately has gone on a hiring spree to staff his latest startup, CloudKitchens—snapping up at least four senior engineers from Uber. And that appears to have sparked an unusual warning from Uber Chairman Ron Sugar at the company’s latest board meeting two weeks ago.Mr. Sugar told his fellow... Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick lately has gone on a hiring spree to staff his latest startup,...

Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz, center, and Kevin Hartz, right center, her husband and company chairman, celebrate as she rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, to mark the company's IPO. Photo by AP.

Inside ‘Briteland’: Stalled Growth and Slumping Morale at Eventbrite

By Matt Drange · Aug 5, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

In mid-January, Eventbrite co-founder and CEO Julia Hartz gathered staff at the company’s San Francisco headquarters to lay out her strategy for the year ahead. A few months removed from the excitement of going public, Ms. Hartz described ambitious plans to expand into dozens of overseas markets and grow faster in existing ones.But these... In mid-January, Eventbrite co-founder and CEO Julia Hartz gathered staff at the company’s...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook to Add Its Name to Instagram, WhatsApp

By Alex Heath · Aug 2, 2019 2:46pm PDT · 7 comments

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook to Add Its Name to Instagram, WhatsApp

By Alex Heath · Aug 2, 2019 2:46pm PDT · 7 comments

In a big shift, Facebook plans to signal its control of Instagram and WhatsApp by adding its name to both apps, according to three people familiar with the matter. The social network will rebrand the apps to “Instagram from Facebook” and “WhatsApp from Facebook,” the people said.Employees for the apps were recently... In a big shift, Facebook plans to signal its control of Instagram and WhatsApp by adding its name...

Thomas Laffont and Dan Rose of Coatue. Photo by Erin Beach.

In Ambitious Gamble, Hedge Fund Coatue Launches $700 Million Early-Stage Venture Fund

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 1, 2019 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

In 1999, Philippe Laffont opened a small tech hedge fund called Coatue that withstood the dot-com bust, thanks to smart investments in companies like Tencent and Apple. Today, he is one of the industry’s hottest managers—with $17 billion under management. Now, Mr. Laffont and his brother Thomas are making another big bet: a $700... In 1999, Philippe Laffont opened a small tech hedge fund called Coatue that withstood the dot-com...

Stacey Lysik speaking at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference early last month. Photo by AP.

Apple’s ‘Bug Wrangler’ Moves to AR Team

By Aaron Tilley · Jul 31, 2019 11:01am PDT

Apple has moved a high-profile software executive into the company’s secretive augmented reality team, a shift seen internally as intended to bring some order to the team developing a long-anticipated AR headset. Kim Vorrath, who led program management in the software team for more than 15 years, has moved over to the team headed by Mike... Apple has moved a high-profile software executive into the company’s secretive augmented...

Facebook's Portal device. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Approached Netflix, Disney to Support TV Chat Device

By Alex Heath · Jul 31, 2019 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

Facebook has approached Netflix, Disney and other media companies about putting their streaming services on a new Facebook device for making video calls from televisions, The Information has learned. The device, which Facebook is aiming to release this fall, will use the same video-calling technology that is in Facebook’s... Facebook has approached Netflix, Disney and other media companies about putting their streaming...

Illustration by Shutterstock

Website Builder Webflow to Exceed $200 Million Valuation in New Funding

By Amir Efrati · Jul 30, 2019 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

Illustration by Shutterstock

Website Builder Webflow to Exceed $200 Million Valuation in New Funding

By Amir Efrati · Jul 30, 2019 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

Website-design software maker Webflow is expected to raise at least $20 million in new funding led by venture firm Accel at a pre-investment valuation of more than $200 million, according to a person briefed on the deal.Initially backed by startup fund Y Combinator, Webflow is one of a class of software companies that develops tools to help... Website-design software maker Webflow is expected to raise at least $20 million in new funding...