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Marvin Kaplan and William Emanuel, President Trump's two nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, at the Senate hearing considering their nomination. Photo by AP.
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Damore Faces Long Odds in Challenging Google on Firing

By Reed Albergotti · Aug 15, 2017 7:00am PDT · 1 comment
Former Google software engineer James Damore has become a favorite of conservative voices on the internet in the past week, since he was fired for writing a memo that blamed in part biological differences for women’s underrepresentation in software engineering. But his chances of winning a labor complaint and getting reinstated are clouded... Former Google software engineer James Damore has become a favorite of conservative voices on the...
Until it suspended operations, parking app Luxe let customers order a valet to pick up and park their cars in San Francisco and a few other cities. Photo by Mike Sullivan
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Volvo in Talks to Acquire Luxe Assets

By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 14, 2017 12:24pm PDT · 3 comments
Volvo, the Chinese-owned car brand, has been in talks to acquire the assets and intellectual property of Luxe, the recently suspended on-demand parking valet app, according to two people with knowledge of the pending deal.The purchase price and the components of the proposed deal couldn’t be learned. Luxe had a private valuation of more... Volvo, the Chinese-owned car brand, has been in talks to acquire the assets and intellectual...
Earnest co-founder and CEO Louis Beryl. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Online Lender Earnest Seeks to Raise $50 Million or Find Buyer

By Serena Saitto · Aug 8, 2017 10:49am PDT · 1 comment
Earnest, the online lending startup, is seeking to raise $50 million in new equity as it simultaneously looks for a buyer, according to people familiar with the situation.The San Francisco-based company hired Barclays as an adviser to pursue the so-called “dual-track” process, the people said. One of the people confirmed a Bloomberg... Earnest, the online lending startup, is seeking to raise $50 million in new equity as it...
Benchmark partner Bill Gurley (left) and former CEO Travis Kalanick. Photos by Bloomberg.
Kalanick Took Steps to Regain Board Control at Uber
By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 5, 2017 3:20pm PDT · 3 comments
Benchmark partner Bill Gurley (left) and former CEO Travis Kalanick. Photos by Bloomberg.
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Kalanick Took Steps to Regain Board Control at Uber

By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 5, 2017 3:20pm PDT · 3 comments
Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick recently asked some former colleagues, including early employees still at the company, whether they would support him in a potential shareholder battle, according to one person with direct knowledge of the effort and two people briefed about it. The requests were the latest indication that Mr. Kalanick has... Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick recently asked some former colleagues, including early employees...
SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg.
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At $45 Billion Price, SoftBank Talks Enflame Uber Tensions

By Jessica E. Lessin, Serena Saitto and Amir Efrati · Aug 4, 2017 1:10pm PDT · 2 comments
Three weeks ago, Benchmark partners Matt Cohler and Peter Fenton flew into Sun Valley, Idaho for a private meeting with Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, according to three people told about it. On the outskirts of the annual Allen & Co. media confab, the group tried to hammer out a deal for SoftBank to buy shares in Uber from existing investors... Three weeks ago, Benchmark partners Matt Cohler and Peter Fenton flew into Sun Valley, Idaho for...
Huawei's consumer electronics division chief Richard Yu at CES this January. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Huawei Expected to Gain U.S. Foothold With AT&T

By Juro Osawa · Aug 4, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments
AT&T has tentatively agreed to sell Huawei’s upcoming flagship smartphone in the U.S. in the first half of next year, people familiar with the matter said, allowing the Chinese company to battle Apple and Samsung in the U.S. for the first time.Huawei is the third-biggest smartphone maker in the world by market share and has lately... AT&T has tentatively agreed to sell Huawei’s upcoming flagship smartphone in the U.S....
Source: SEC filings
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Online Lender Prosper Sees Valuation Plummet 70%

By Tom Dotan and Alfred Lee · Aug 3, 2017 2:36pm PDT · 1 comment
Prosper, the second-largest online lending startup, is close to raising a new round of financing that will see its valuation cut by 70%, according to two people familiar with the matter. It is the latest sign of how the online lending industry has struggled after its rapid initial growth.The new financing round for around $50 million will value... Prosper, the second-largest online lending startup, is close to raising a new round of financing...
Google's cloud chief Diane Greene. Photo by Bloomberg.
Cisco, Google Team Up on ‘Goodzilla’ Cloud Project
By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Aug 3, 2017 7:01am PDT · 4 comments
Google's cloud chief Diane Greene. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Cisco, Google Team Up on ‘Goodzilla’ Cloud Project

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Aug 3, 2017 7:01am PDT · 4 comments
Cisco Systems and Google are working together to let companies that buy Cisco’s servers run online applications both in their private data centers and in Google’s public cloud, according to two people with knowledge of the plan. The joint effort is aimed at giving each company something it had been craving: for Cisco, access to more... Cisco Systems and Google are working together to let companies that buy Cisco’s servers run...
Sand Hill Road, where Greylock is based. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Greylock COO Tom Frangione Left Firm After ‘Lapse of Judgment’

By Serena Saitto · Aug 2, 2017 3:19pm PDT · 15 comments
Greylock Partners COO Tom Frangione stepped down at the firm’s request last month, after Greylock “learned of some behavior which would represent a significant lapse of judgment,” a Greylock spokeswoman said.According to a person familiar with the situation, Mr. Frangione had an inappropriate relationship with an... Greylock Partners COO Tom Frangione stepped down at the firm’s request last month, after...
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Snap in Talks to Buy Chinese Maker of Selfie Drones

By Yunan Zhang and Tom Dotan · Aug 1, 2017 12:32pm PDT · 4 comments
Snap is in talks to acquire Zero Zero Robotics, a Beijing-based maker of selfie drones, according to people familiar with the matter. If the deal goes through, it would mark a major expansion of Snap’s hardware ambitions as it seeks new ways to get users to share more pictures and videos.Zero Zero sells its $500 Hover Camera Passport Drone... Snap is in talks to acquire Zero Zero Robotics, a Beijing-based maker of selfie drones, according...
Sources: Second Measure and SEC filings. Charts by Mike Sullivan.
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Data Suggest More Trouble Ahead for Blue Apron

By Alfred Lee · Jul 31, 2017 7:02am PDT · 4 comments
The looming Amazon-Whole Foods merger might not be Blue Apron’s biggest problem.The meal-kit provider is on track to see declines in sales and customers in the second quarter, according to credit card transaction data compiled by research firm Second Measure. The data might help explain why investors have heavily bet against Blue... The looming Amazon-Whole Foods merger might not be Blue Apron’s biggest problem.The...
Southeast Asia's online travel market is expected to more than quadruple to $90 billion by 2025 , driven in part by strong demand for low-cost flights. Photo by AP.
Expedia to Invest $350M in Indonesia’s Traveloka
By Juro Osawa · Jul 27, 2017 8:44am PDT · 1 comment
Southeast Asia's online travel market is expected to more than quadruple to $90 billion by 2025 , driven in part by strong demand for low-cost flights. Photo by AP.
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Expedia to Invest $350M in Indonesia’s Traveloka

By Juro Osawa · Jul 27, 2017 8:44am PDT · 1 comment
Expedia is investing about $350 million in Southeast Asia’s biggest local online travel portal, as the U.S. company tries to increase its presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, people familiar with the matter said. Indonesia-based Traveloka, which operates in six countries in Southeast Asia, is raising a total of... Expedia is investing about $350 million in Southeast Asia’s biggest local online travel...
A Snap sign at the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Snap’s General Counsel Stepping Down

By Tom Dotan · Jul 25, 2017 1:10pm PDT
Snap’s general counsel Chris Handman has stepped down, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. Mr. Handman announced the news in an email to the company employees last week, saying that he was staying on as an advisor.Mr. Handman had been with the company since mid-2014, having joined after many years as a partner at Hogan... Snap’s general counsel Chris Handman has stepped down, citing a desire to spend more time...
AWS CEO Andy Jassy. Photo by Bloomberg
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Amazon Considering New Cloud Service to Combat Google

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 20, 2017 7:01am PDT · 4 comments
Executives at Amazon Web Services used to pride themselves on ignoring products offered by rivals like Microsoft and Google. Not anymore.AWS is considering developing a new cloud service based on a Google-created software tool called Kubernetes, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. Used to run many applications at the same... Executives at Amazon Web Services used to pride themselves on ignoring products offered by rivals...
Toutiao's app on a smartphone. Photo by Mike Sullivan.
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How a News Startup Caught China’s Tencent by Surprise

By Juro Osawa · Jul 19, 2017 7:00am PDT · 5 comments
In a lush valley near the ancient Silk Road’s starting point in Western China, young farmer Wang Zheng checks his smartphone for chicken feed tips and egg prices. Mr. Wang is using a news app called Jinri Toutiao—“today’s headlines” in English—whose machine-learning algorithm feeds him personally tailored... In a lush valley near the ancient Silk Road’s starting point in Western China, young farmer...
Turo’s rental-agency rivals say the car-sharing startup has enjoyed an unfair advantage because it doesn’t pay airport fees. Photo by Bloomberg.
Turo Eyes New Funding as Car-Sharing Fight Revs Up
By Cory Weinberg · Jul 17, 2017 3:29pm PDT · 4 comments
Turo’s rental-agency rivals say the car-sharing startup has enjoyed an unfair advantage because it doesn’t pay airport fees. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Turo Eyes New Funding as Car-Sharing Fight Revs Up

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 17, 2017 3:29pm PDT · 4 comments
Turo, which runs an Airbnb-like marketplace for car rentals, is looking to raise about $100 million in a funding round that would value the company at roughly $700 million, two people familiar with the matter said.The round, which is expected to close by next month, could position the under-the-radar company for a more prominent role in the... Turo, which runs an Airbnb-like marketplace for car rentals, is looking to raise about $100...
VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Next Phase of AWS-VMware Venture Could Be Data Center Software

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 17, 2017 7:00am PDT · 1 comment
Amazon Web Services is discussing developing software for corporate data centers with its one-time arch enemy, VMware, said a person with knowledge of the plans. The deal, if struck, would shake up the enterprise software industry by expanding AWS’s customer base significantly and help the Michael Dell-controlled VMware retain its... Amazon Web Services is discussing developing software for corporate data centers with its...
David VanderWaal, vice president of marketing for LG Electronics USA and Michael George, vice president of Alexa, Echo, and Appstore at Amazon, discussing an LG-Amazon Alex partnership at CES this year. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Facing New Rivals, Amazon May Open Up Alexa Data for Developers

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 12, 2017 10:01am PDT · 4 comments
Amazon.com is mulling a far-reaching policy change that would give Alexa developers access to raw transcripts of what people say when using Alexa applications, said three people familiar with the matter. It comes as the market for voice-activated speakers and digital assistants is getting more crowded, spotlighting the value of signing up... Amazon.com is mulling a far-reaching policy change that would give Alexa developers access to raw...
Union Square Ventures partner Fred Wilson. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Risks Facing VCs Planning to Invest in Cryptocurrencies

By Jon Victor and Serena Saitto · Jul 12, 2017 7:01am PDT · 5 comments
Some venture capital firms, including Bessemer Venture Partners and Union Square Ventures, are planning to invest in initial coin offerings, giving them direct exposure to cryptocurrencies after years of investing in startups operating in the sector. Making such investments would be risky and unorthodox for VCs.ICOs are crowdfunding campaigns... Some venture capital firms, including Bessemer Venture Partners and Union Square Ventures, are...
A man walking past Ofo bikes in Shanghai last May. Photo by Bloomberg.
SoftBank May Invest in Chinese Bike Rental Firm Ofo
By Shai Oster, Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Jul 11, 2017 8:14am PDT
A man walking past Ofo bikes in Shanghai last May. Photo by Bloomberg.
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SoftBank May Invest in Chinese Bike Rental Firm Ofo

By Shai Oster, Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Jul 11, 2017 8:14am PDT
Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group is in talks to invest in Chinese bike rental firm Ofo, people familiar with the matter said, the latest sign of how the hugely popular bike-sharing business in China is drawing big name investors. Ofo’s backers already include Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group, ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing and... Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group is in talks to invest in Chinese bike rental firm Ofo,...