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At the AWS summit in San Francisco last April. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s ‘Ironman’ to Take On Google, Microsoft in AI

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 13, 2017 7:02am PST

Amazon Web Services is mounting a broad push to upgrade its artificial intelligence products, which includes building its own technology and working closely with several AI startups, according to multiple people with knowledge of AWS’ plans. AWS is hoping to shore up a rare weak spot against competitors like Google and Microsoft and win... Amazon Web Services is mounting a broad push to upgrade its artificial intelligence products,...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg

Cisco Cuts More Jobs—This Time in the Cloud

By Barbara Darrow · Nov 10, 2017 10:58am PST

Cisco Systems laid off about 60 people this week, including the bulk of employees that came to the company via its acquisition of two cloud computing firms, Metacloud in 2014 and Piston Cloud the following year, according to two people close to the company. The layoffs reflect Cisco’s shift away, under CEO Chuck Robbins, from operating its... Cisco Systems laid off about 60 people this week, including the bulk of employees that came to...

Kater Gordon. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Former ‘Mad Men’ Writer Starts Nonprofit After Alleged Harassment

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 9, 2017 1:17pm PST · 10 comments

Eight years ago, then 27-year-old Kater Gordon stood before the who’s who of Hollywood and accepted an Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, together with “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner. The young writer—who had been hired a few years before as Mr. Weiner’s personal assistant—seemed to be on... Eight years ago, then 27-year-old Kater Gordon stood before the who’s who of Hollywood and...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi after a meeting with Brazil's Finance Minister last month. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s U.S. Business Hits Bumps as New CEO Stresses Humility

By Amir Efrati · Nov 9, 2017 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi after a meeting with Brazil's Finance Minister last month. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s U.S. Business Hits Bumps as New CEO Stresses Humility

By Amir Efrati · Nov 9, 2017 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick once compared his mission and disruptive impact on society to that of Martin Luther King Jr.—saying so in front a top MLK scholar. Uber’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, is more self-effacing. He told employees at a weekly all-hands meeting Tuesday that “a great team can always beat... Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick once compared his mission and disruptive impact on...

Photo by Bloomberg

Snap’s Head of Engineering to Step Down

By Tom Dotan · Nov 7, 2017 5:57pm PST

Snap’s vice president of engineering Tim Sehn is stepping down from the company, say people familiar with the matter. His departure is expected to be announced Wednesday when the company files details of its quarterly results with securities regulators.Mr. Sehn has headed up the company’s engineering team since 2013, according to his... Snap’s vice president of engineering Tim Sehn is stepping down from the company, say people...

VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger. Photo by Bloomberg.

VMware Eyes Big Move in Security Market

By Sarah Kuranda · Nov 7, 2017 10:02am PST

VMware has been on the hunt for acquisitions in recent months as the data center software maker looks to expand its security business, people familiar with the matter said.VMware this summer held discussions with a security vendor, Carbon Black, about a possible acquisition, according to three people familiar with the matter. The talks ended... VMware has been on the hunt for acquisitions in recent months as the data center software maker...

Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Toutiao Tried to Buy Reddit

By Juro Osawa, Serena Saitto and Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 7, 2017 7:02am PST · 2 comments

Jinri Toutiao, the fast-growing $20 billion Chinese news and entertainment giant, tried to buy Reddit last year, according to people familiar with the offer. The previously unreported move reveals the Chinese company’s ambitions to become a global media juggernaut, according to people familiar with the matter.The Chinese startup... Jinri Toutiao, the fast-growing $20 billion Chinese news and entertainment giant, tried to buy...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg

Cisco Replaces Cloud Collaboration Unit Chief Amid Weak Sales

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Nov 2, 2017 12:01pm PDT

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg

Cisco Replaces Cloud Collaboration Unit Chief Amid Weak Sales

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Nov 2, 2017 12:01pm PDT

Cisco has replaced the head of its cloud collaboration unit, which sells software that lets teams of workers communicate via text, voice and video, as it looks to boost the unit’s sluggish sales, said people familiar with the matter. Intense competition from rivals like Slack and Microsoft have hurt sales of the unit’s flagship... Cisco has replaced the head of its cloud collaboration unit, which sells software that lets teams...

VMWare CEO Pat Gelsinger. Photo: Bloomberg

VMware to Acquire VeloCloud, Doubling Down on Networking

By Kevin McLaughlin and Sarah Kuranda · Nov 1, 2017 3:05pm PDT

VMware has struck a deal to acquire software-based networking startup VeloCloud Networks, according to a person close to VeloCloud, in a move that is likely to escalate VMware’s rivalry with Cisco Systems. Terms of the deal couldn’t be learned. For VMware, a data center software company, acquiring VeloCloud is a sign of its... VMware has struck a deal to acquire software-based networking startup VeloCloud Networks,...

Photo by Flickr/Open Grid Schedular

Airbnb China Chief Was Ousted Over Relationship With Subordinate

By Yunan Zhang and Cory Weinberg · Oct 26, 2017 7:45am PDT · 1 comment

Hong Ge, vice president of Airbnb’s China division, resigned earlier this week after the company learned of allegations about an inappropriate personal relationship between him and a subordinate, a person briefed on the decision said.Mr. Ge, who reported directly to CEO Brian Chesky as Airbnb’s first China chief, left after about... Hong Ge, vice president of Airbnb’s China division, resigned earlier this week after the...

Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell. Photo by Bloomberg.

Dell’s EMC Bet Looking Shaky

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Oct 26, 2017 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

When Michael Dell bought EMC a year ago for $67 billion, he was betting he could defy the shift towards public cloud services like Amazon Web Services that’s eroding sales of older hardware like EMC’s data storage equipment. He hoped to sell Dell’s servers with EMC’s equipment and dominate the market for traditional... When Michael Dell bought EMC a year ago for $67 billion, he was betting he could defy the shift...

Snap Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when Snap went public in March. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Snap Is Putting a Lid on Costs

By Tom Dotan · Oct 25, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Snap Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when Snap went public in March. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Snap Is Putting a Lid on Costs

By Tom Dotan · Oct 25, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

In the summer of 2016, a team of Snap engineers began building a feature known as Snap Map, which would display people’s locations and publicly posted stories on a map. Then, a month before its release to the public last June, Snap acquired Zenly, a French company that had a similar mapping product.The news took many people who worked on... In the summer of 2016, a team of Snap engineers began building a feature known as Snap Map, which...

DFJ founding partner Steve Jurvetson. Photo by Bloomberg.

DFJ Investigating Allegations About Jurvetson

By Serena Saitto and Amir Efrati · Oct 24, 2017 4:23pm PDT · 8 comments

DFJ, the 32-year-old venture capital firm that backed Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX, has hired an external law firm to investigate allegations against founding partner Steve Jurvetson, the firm said.The Menlo Park, Calif. based firm started the investigation in August after rumors began circulating about Mr. Jurvetson, prompting press... DFJ, the 32-year-old venture capital firm that backed Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX, has...

Uber's headquarters in San Francisco. Photo by AP.

Two Women File Complaints Against Uber Over Unequal Pay

By Priya Anand · Oct 24, 2017 9:08am PDT

Two women have filed complaints with the state of California against Uber for allegedly paying them less than men in similar roles. The previously unreported claims were filed with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency this summer through the Private Attorneys General Act, in what is typically the first step toward a public... Two women have filed complaints with the state of California against Uber for allegedly paying...

Sources: theBoardlist and Qualtrics

Boards Stay Silent on Sexual Harassment

By Serena Saitto · Oct 24, 2017 7:01am PDT · 8 comments

Only 23% of company boards have discussed sexual harassment or gender discrimination in recent months, according to a survey of 600 company directors done in August. And only 12% of boards have taken any action to address the issues in their companies. The findings suggest that an onslaught of sexual harassment allegations against business... Only 23% of company boards have discussed sexual harassment or gender discrimination in recent...

Photo: Bloomberg

After Beating Uber, Didi Faces New Rivals in China

By Yunan Zhang, Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Oct 23, 2017 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

Photo: Bloomberg

After Beating Uber, Didi Faces New Rivals in China

By Yunan Zhang, Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Oct 23, 2017 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing is facing fresh competition at home, as companies such as on-demand services app Meituan-Dianping see an opportunity to leverage their huge customer base in new areas. When Uber abandoned China last year, many thought Didi had won the battle to become the country’s dominant ride-hailing service.... Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing is facing fresh competition at home, as companies such...

Customers standing outside Snap's Spectacles store in New York in December last year. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap’s Misfire on Spectacles

By Tom Dotan and Reed Albergotti · Oct 23, 2017 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Snap badly overestimated demand for its Spectacles and now has hundreds of thousands of unsold units sitting in warehouses, either fully assembled or in parts, according to two people close to the company. The disclosure undercuts Snap CEO Evan Spiegel’s recent contention that Spectacles sales of more than 150,000 had topped the... Snap badly overestimated demand for its Spectacles and now has hundreds of thousands of unsold...

WeWork CEO Adam Neumann. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Deal Hurdles for WeWork: Neumann’s Style and Rich Stock Price

By Alfred Lee · Oct 20, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

When executives at office space provider WeWork considered expanding into China two years ago, they discussed buying a fledgling Chinese co-working firm called UrWork. A deal didn’t get done, in part because WeWork offered stock, which UrWork didn't want to accept, a UrWork adviser said.That was due to WeWork's rich stock value.... When executives at office space provider WeWork considered expanding into China two years ago,...

An Uber autonomous vehicle. Photo by AP.

Ex-Uber Map Execs Develop Routing Service for Self-Driving Cars

By Amir Efrati · Oct 19, 2017 4:27pm PDT

Three recently departed Uber managers have started a mapping company to help ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft introduce autonomous vehicles to the public, according to two people briefed about it. The startup, which is called rideOS, will focus on something few others are focused on: determining whether an autonomous vehicle is able... Three recently departed Uber managers have started a mapping company to help ride-sharing...

People walk past Google Fiber's store in Austin, Texas in April, 2015. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Fiber Loses Key Wireless Executive

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 19, 2017 12:09pm PDT

People walk past Google Fiber's store in Austin, Texas in April, 2015. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Fiber Loses Key Wireless Executive

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 19, 2017 12:09pm PDT

Charles Barr, founder and president of Webpass, the high-speed wireless internet provider acquired by Google Fiber last year to help fuel its expansion, abruptly left the company last week, according to two people close to Webpass. The circumstances of his departure aren’t known. But it adds to uncertainty surrounding Google Fiber’s... Charles Barr, founder and president of Webpass, the high-speed wireless internet provider...