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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s New Plan to Expand Ad Network

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 24, 2016 7:01am PDT · 7 comments

Facebook’s mobile ad network is looking to sell more ads on a broader number of websites, diversifying beyond the game and utility apps that dominate its client base. Some of its new targets for mobile ad sales are large publishers such as USA Today and Hearst, which have started selling ads through Facebook Audience Network after plugging... Facebook’s mobile ad network is looking to sell more ads on a broader number of websites,...

BAMTech CEO Bob Bowman. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

BAMTech Deal a Model, Concern for Media Firms

By Tom Dotan · Aug 23, 2016 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

Big media companies are all rushing to stream more video. And as it becomes central to their business the media firms are increasingly trying to wrest control of the video technology.Take Walt Disney’s acquisition of a 33% stake in BAMTech, the company that powers streaming video owned by Major League Baseball as well as video services for... Big media companies are all rushing to stream more video. And as it becomes central to their...

WeWork CEO Adam Neumann. Photo by Bloomberg.

In Shift, WeWork Pushes for Longer Leases

By Alfred Lee and Cory Weinberg · Aug 18, 2016 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

WeWork, which built its business on luring freelancers and startups with no-strings-attached office space, may now be looking to protect itself against drops in demand by going after bigger tenants that commit to longer stays. The company has begun pushing to lock some companies into year-long rental agreements rather than month-to-month.The New... WeWork, which built its business on luring freelancers and startups with no-strings-attached...

Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster. Photo by Web Summit via Flickr.

Confidential Data Question Cyanogen’s User Figures

By Amir Efrati · Aug 17, 2016 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster. Photo by Web Summit via Flickr.

Confidential Data Question Cyanogen’s User Figures

By Amir Efrati · Aug 17, 2016 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Newly revealed internal data from Cyanogen, a closely-watched startup trying to make an alternative version of Android, undercut the company’s longstanding pronouncement that there are tens of millions of users of a smartphone operating system it distributes.Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster said as of mid-2014 that the company tracked more than... Newly revealed internal data from Cyanogen, a closely-watched startup trying to make an...

Vurb founder Bobby Lo at TechCrunch Disrupt. Photo by TechCrunch.

Snapchat to Buy Vurb for More Than $100 Million

By Jessica E. Lessin and Tom Dotan · Aug 15, 2016 1:55pm PDT · 2 comments

Snapchat is tiptoeing into search.The company is acquiring recommendation app Vurb for around $110 million plus additional team retention payouts totaling nearly as much, according to a person familiar with the deal. Snapchat is tiptoeing into search.The company is acquiring recommendation app Vurb for around...

Tesla Lost its Maps Leader

By Amir Efrati · Aug 15, 2016 1:20pm PDT · 1 comment

Bill Chen, who was leading maps and navigation engineering efforts at Tesla Motors, has left the company after nearly two years. Tesla and Mr. Chen confirmed his departure but declined further comment.Mapping practitioners who have worked with Mr. Chen view the move as a negative sign for Tesla’s autonomous vehicle effort, which is already... Bill Chen, who was leading maps and navigation engineering efforts at Tesla Motors, has left the...

A Unity Technologies booth at a 2013 game developers conference. Photo by Bloomberg.

U.S. Private Tech Shares Hit Chinese Social Media

By Alfred Lee and Yunan Zhang · Aug 15, 2016 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Unity Technologies, maker of Pokemon Go’s game engine, raised a series C round last month, around the time Pokemon Go had started a sensation among gamers. Within weeks, pitches for Unity shares available on the secondary market started moving across China’s most popular messaging app. A WeChat group of more than 100 people... Unity Technologies, maker of Pokemon Go’s game engine, raised a series C round last month,...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Senior AWS Executive to Depart

By Kevin McLaughlin and Steve Nellis · Aug 12, 2016 1:52pm PDT · 1 comment

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Senior AWS Executive to Depart

By Kevin McLaughlin and Steve Nellis · Aug 12, 2016 1:52pm PDT · 1 comment

Adam Selipsky, the head of sales and marketing at AWS and a lieutenant to CEO Andy Jassy, is leaving the company, according to four people familiar with the matter.Mr. Selipsky is one of the longest-serving members of the executive team at the $7.8 billion cloud computing business. He joined in 2005, before AWS was generating revenue, and is one... Adam Selipsky, the head of sales and marketing at AWS and a lieutenant to CEO Andy Jassy, is...

Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green. Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft Rebuffs Acquisition Approach from GM

By Amir Efrati · Aug 12, 2016 12:32pm PDT · 2 comments

General Motors in recent weeks told Lyft it was interested in acquiring the company, according to a person briefed on the situation. After soliciting other potential strategic acquirers, Lyft rebuffed GM’s approach and decided to raise a new funding round instead, according to two people.GM mentioned a price it was willing to pay but that... General Motors in recent weeks told Lyft it was interested in acquiring the company, according to...

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann. Photo by Bloomberg.

Pinterest Traffic To Publishers Drops

By Tom Dotan · Aug 10, 2016 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Publishers that depend on Pinterest as a meaningful source of traffic, such as MarthaStewart.com, have seen a notable drop-off in recent months, according to publishing executives and new data. It's the latest reminder of the hazards for publishers of relying too much on social platforms for traffic.The traffic drop follows a change to... Publishers that depend on Pinterest as a meaningful source of traffic, such as MarthaStewart.com,...

Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Jawbone Tested Market for Buyer, Delays August Payment

By Amir Efrati and Reed Albergotti · Aug 8, 2016 12:03pm PDT · 3 comments

Jawbone, the iconic but long-troubled wearable electronics maker, in recent months has approached at least one hardware manufacturer about possibly selling itself, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion.There are other signs the company, which primarily makes bracelet-like fitness trackers, isn’t in great shape. Jawbone... Jawbone, the iconic but long-troubled wearable electronics maker, in recent months has approached...

LeEco founder Jia Yueting at an event in Beijing in April, 2015. Photo by AP.

LeEco, ‘Netflix of China,’ Comes to America with Big Promises

By Amir Efrati and Yunan Zhang · Aug 8, 2016 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

LeEco founder Jia Yueting at an event in Beijing in April, 2015. Photo by AP.

LeEco, ‘Netflix of China,’ Comes to America with Big Promises

By Amir Efrati and Yunan Zhang · Aug 8, 2016 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

If you know someone working in Silicon Valley in anything from software engineering to microchips to hardware marketing to PR, there’s a good chance that they’ve heard from a recruiter at LeEco this year. The company, often dubbed the “Netflix of China,” is aggressively adding employees to its U.S. arm based in San Jose.... If you know someone working in Silicon Valley in anything from software engineering to microchips...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Rude Awakening for Uber’s China Employees

By Yunan Zhang and Amir Efrati · Aug 4, 2016 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Talk that Uber was selling its China business to Didi Chuxing had circulated internally at Uber for a couple of weeks before it was announced on Monday. For many of UberChina’s 800 employees, though, confirmation came in a more jarring way. When they got to work on Monday, they couldn’t get access to their Uber email and other Uber... Talk that Uber was selling its China business to Didi Chuxing had circulated internally at Uber...

Snapchat co-founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. Photo by AP.

Snapchat Deal Shows High Cost of SPVs

By Alfred Lee and Yunan Zhang · Aug 3, 2016 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Small individual investors have more access to the hottest private tech firms nowadays, thanks to the growing popularity of special purpose vehicles raised to invest in a single company. But the fees are high, particularly when investors buy through one SPV investing in another SPV.One Snapchat case illustrates the example. At some point in the... Small individual investors have more access to the hottest private tech firms nowadays, thanks to...

Grab CEO Anthony Tan. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber Now Poised to Grab More of Southeast Asia

By Amir Efrati · Aug 2, 2016 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

Now that Uber is shifting its focus away from China to other overseas markets, one region where it may have a better shot at overcoming a local incumbent is southeast Asia, say people involved with the company. In countries like Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, Uber is going up against the early... Now that Uber is shifting its focus away from China to other overseas markets, one region where...

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. Picture by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snapchat Explores New Scannable Ads

By Tom Dotan and Amir Efrati · Aug 2, 2016 9:06am PDT · 8 comments

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. Picture by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snapchat Explores New Scannable Ads

By Tom Dotan and Amir Efrati · Aug 2, 2016 9:06am PDT · 8 comments

Snapchat is working on a new type of ad that would allow people to use their smartphone cameras to unlock special sponsored content in the app. The feature lets people scan an image or barcode on a poster or a website, which later gives them a special deal on a product, according to two people briefed on the company’s ad strategy.The ad... Snapchat is working on a new type of ad that would allow people to use their smartphone cameras...

Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Private Equity Ponders Hewlett Packard Enterprise Buyout

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 29, 2016 10:07am PDT

Several private equity firms including KKR, Apollo Global Management and Carlyle Group are sniffing around Hewlett Packard Enterprise, contemplating a buyout of the firm, said a person who has had talks with representatives of the firms. Such a deal would be worth more than $40 billion.A buyout would allow HPE, currently the world’s... Several private equity firms including KKR, Apollo Global Management and Carlyle Group are...

Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. Photo by Bloomberg.

K.C. Choi Leaves Hewlett Packard Enterprise

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 27, 2016 2:22pm PDT

Veteran Hewlett Packard technologist K.C. Choi has left the company, a person close to Hewlett Packard Enterprise said. His departure could complicate CEO Meg Whitman’s hopes of promoting a new computing architecture that is central to the revival of the company formed in the break-up of H-P last year.UPDATE: Mr. Choi has joined storage... Veteran Hewlett Packard technologist K.C. Choi has left the company, a person close to Hewlett...

Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Next Venture

By Tom Dotan and Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 20, 2016 10:05am PDT

Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is contemplating a new venture to produce high-quality short videos. The veteran movie executive has been trying to recruit people, according to two media executives who have either talked to Mr. Katzenberg about the project or have heard from people who have been pitched.Mr. Katzenberg reached a deal... Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is contemplating a new venture to produce...

Symphony Communication Services CEO David Gurle. Photo by Bloomberg.

Symphony Moves to Google’s Cloud

By Steve Nellis · Jul 20, 2016 7:31am PDT

Symphony Communication Services CEO David Gurle. Photo by Bloomberg.

Symphony Moves to Google’s Cloud

By Steve Nellis · Jul 20, 2016 7:31am PDT

Symphony Communication Services, the bank-backed messaging startup taking on Bloomberg LP, is moving most of its cloud computing business to Google from Amazon Web Services, Symphony CEO David Gurle told The Information in an interview.The deal is a symbolic win for Google, which is running a distant third behind Amazon Web Services and... Symphony Communication Services, the bank-backed messaging startup taking on Bloomberg LP, is...