The Information

Google CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

A Space Race in Silicon Valley

By Amir Efrati · May 27, 2014 2:00pm PDT

As Web companies such as Google and Facebook ramp up efforts to connect the world to their services, they are increasingly looking to the skies—and higher. At Google, several signs point to satellites. The company last month hired Brian Holz, who was chief technology officer at O3b Networks, which has launched special satellites to try to... As Web companies such as Google and Facebook ramp up efforts to connect the world to their...

Nest co-founder Tony Fadell Credit: Jan Haas/DLD

Google Eyes Home Security, Dropcam

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 26, 2014 5:00pm PDT

Google’s Nest division is plotting a move into the home-security market and has considered acquiring connected camera-maker Dropcam to accelerate the push, according to several people close to Google. The status of any talks between Google and Dropcam, which makes a $150 camera that streams footage to phones and computers, isn’t... Google’s Nest division is plotting a move into the home-security market and has considered...

Alibaba headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg.

Alibaba Mulls AppNexus Stake as U.S. Strategy Takes Shape

By Amir Efrati · May 22, 2014 2:44pm PDT

In the latest sign of Alibaba Group’s aspirations to be a major player beyond its home base of China, the soon-to-be-public Web giant is considering making an investment in U.S.-based advertising technology firm AppNexus, according to people briefed on the recent discussions. According to one U.S. Internet executive who was briefed by... In the latest sign of Alibaba Group’s aspirations to be a major player beyond its home base...

Google CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Preps Plan to Offer Business WiFi Networks

By Amir Efrati · May 21, 2014 10:16am PDT

Google CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Preps Plan to Offer Business WiFi Networks

By Amir Efrati · May 21, 2014 10:16am PDT

As part of its broad push to get more people using its revenue-generating Web services, Google has developed plans to offer heavily subsidized Wi-Fi network hardware and software to small and medium-sized retail businesses, according to a confidential document reviewed by The Information and a person briefed on the project. The planned offering,... As part of its broad push to get more people using its revenue-generating Web services, Google...

Byliner Hits a Rough Patch as Co-Founder Resigns

By Jonathan Weber · May 21, 2014 7:51am PDT

One of the most prominent companies in the much-hyped niche of long-form narrative publishing has hit a rough patch, with its co-founder and editor-in-chief departing amid investor efforts to find a new path for the company. Launched in 2011 as a digital publisher of top-shelf non-fiction stories that were shorter than books but... One of the most prominent companies in the much-hyped niche of long-form narrative publishing has...

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Photo by Bloomberg.

As TV Battles Heat Up, Comcast Launches New Web Delivery Service

By Amir Efrati · May 19, 2014 7:38am PDT

As regulatory battles and mega-mergers roil the media business, Comcast is preparing to offer a new service for Web content companies that will enable them to bypass network middlemen and deliver their services directly to Comcast Internet customers. The new service allows companies publish their content inside of Comcast’s network so... As regulatory battles and mega-mergers roil the media business, Comcast is preparing to offer a...

Qihoo CEO Hongyi Zhou. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Crafty Qihoo Goes International

By Amir Efrati and Eric Newcomer · May 13, 2014 7:42am PDT

Alibaba Group may be the talk of Silicon Valley as it prepares for an IPO, but another Chinese Web giant is quietly putting down roots in the Bay Area as it looks to develop new products for Western markets. Qihoo 360 Technology, the fourth-largest Chinese Web company by market value, recently dispatched its 38-year-old chief engineer, Shu Cao,... Alibaba Group may be the talk of Silicon Valley as it prepares for an IPO, but another Chinese...

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Photo by Bloomberg.

Comcast Plots Big Push in Web Video Ads

By Amir Efrati · May 8, 2014 7:49am PDT

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Photo by Bloomberg.

Comcast Plots Big Push in Web Video Ads

By Amir Efrati · May 8, 2014 7:49am PDT

As debate over Comcast’s control of Internet and TV in American households plays out in front of regulators reviewing its bid for Time Warner Cable, the cable industry leader is quietly planning a major foray into the Web advertising business. Comcast will aim to help “premium” video producers such as Disney, FOX, Viacom and... As debate over Comcast’s control of Internet and TV in American households plays out in...

Sundar Pichai, head of Android. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Takes Aim at the iPhone with Android “Silver” Program

By Amir Efrati · Apr 29, 2014 7:47am PDT

Google is gearing up for a major effort to spur development of premium Android smartphones and re-assert control over the Android ecosystem as it seeks to better compete with the Apple iPhone and blunt the growing power of Samsung, the leading maker of Android phones. The expensive effort involves dumping the four-year-old Google Nexus phone... Google is gearing up for a major effort to spur development of premium Android smartphones and...

Nancy Tellem, Microsoft's president of entertainment and digital media. Art by Matthew Vascellaro.

Xbox TV Effort Hits Snag Over Global Rights

By Tom Dotan · Apr 22, 2014 10:00am PDT

After several years of development, Microsoft is finally pulling back the wraps on its plans for original, television-style programming for the Xbox console. But the latest entry in the now-crowded field of Internet companies buying TV shows is meeting resistance from Hollywood producers because its licensing terms cut off the opportunity to... After several years of development, Microsoft is finally pulling back the wraps on its plans for...

Photo by Reuters/ Carlos Allegri

Hollywood Questions Hulu as Video Landscape Shifts

By Tom Dotan · Apr 16, 2014 10:10am PDT

When the owners of the online video site Hulu pulled the company off the auction block for the second time last summer, they agreed to inject $750 million into the company to help it compete with big-spenders like Netflix and Amazon in the increasingly cutthroat online video business. A big priority was creating original programming, with some... When the owners of the online video site Hulu pulled the company off the auction block for the...

Matthew Vascellaro

Comcast Quietly Preps Challenge to Wireless Carriers

By Amir Efrati · Apr 8, 2014 7:22am PDT

Matthew Vascellaro

Comcast Quietly Preps Challenge to Wireless Carriers

By Amir Efrati · Apr 8, 2014 7:22am PDT

Google isn’t the only technology giant thinking of offering new mobile phone plans to unseat wireless giants. The country’s largest cable operator, Comcast, is laying the groundwork for Wi-Fi-based wireless services just a few years after it abandoned plans to launch conventional mobile phone services over cellular airwaves.... Google isn’t the only technology giant thinking of offering new mobile phone plans to...

Matthew Vascellaro

Google Weighs a Plunge into Mobile Phone Services

By Amir Efrati · Apr 3, 2014 8:04am PDT

After thrusting itself into competition with U.S. cable operators, Google is inching closer to competing with wireless carriers, too. Google executives in recent months discussed their hope to offer a full-fledged wireless service in markets where it offers Google Fiber Internet and TV service, according to two people who have discussed the... After thrusting itself into competition with U.S. cable operators, Google is inching closer to...

Matthew Vascellaro

Yahoo Struggles in Push for Mobile Deals

By Amir Efrati · Mar 28, 2014 9:55am PDT

As CEO Marissa Mayer labors to revive Yahoo, the inability to get Yahoo apps onto more smartphones has become one of her biggest problems. After revamping the company’s suite of mobile apps, from Web search and email to weather, sports and Flickr, Ms. Mayer has focused on striking deals with handset manufacturers and wireless carriers to... As CEO Marissa Mayer labors to revive Yahoo, the inability to get Yahoo apps onto more...

Matthew Vascellaro

Uber Mulls a Move to Android

By Katie Benner and Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 25, 2014 12:29pm PDT

Uber, which has purchased tens of thousands of iPhones for its drivers, has been talking to Samsung and other Android hardware manufacturers about equipping drivers with Android phones, according to people involved in the discussions. It’s unclear whether the discussions are part of a broader strategic shift by the red-hot... Uber, which has purchased tens of thousands of iPhones for its drivers, has been talking to...

Matthew Vascellaro

Parrying Apple, Google Pushes Android into the Office

By Amir Efrati · Mar 25, 2014 6:58am PDT

Matthew Vascellaro

Parrying Apple, Google Pushes Android into the Office

By Amir Efrati · Mar 25, 2014 6:58am PDT

Behind the glitzy ad campaigns and massive product development efforts that dominate the consumer smartphone business, Apple and Google are quietly squaring off in a battle for BlackBerry’s old turf. Google is now embarking on a major effort to make its Android software more attractive to businesses and blunt Apple’s growing success among... Behind the glitzy ad campaigns and massive product development efforts that dominate the consumer...

Art: Matt Vascellaro

YouTube Sets Sights on Kids

By Amir Efrati · Mar 17, 2014 3:32pm PDT

YouTube is going younger. Google’s online video destination, long a haven for teens, is now developing a version of the site for kids under 10 that would wall off racier videos and comments and be deemed a safe place by parents, according to three people who have been briefed about the move. YouTube is going younger. Google’s online video destination, long a haven for teens, is now...

Google CEO Larry Page (Art: Matt Vascellaro)

Google & Motorola: A Match Made in Purgatory

By Amir Efrati · Mar 14, 2014 7:07am PDT

During much of last year, Motorola’s top executives had one message for Google CEO Larry Page: If he didn’t go “all in” on Motorola, the Google-owned handset maker would barely make a dent against industry leaders Samsung Electronics and Apple. In monthly operating meetings with Mr. Page at Motorola’s Silicon Valley office, numerous Motorola... During much of last year, Motorola’s top executives had one message for Google CEO Larry Page: If...

Matt Vascellaro

Comcast Prepares New Fight Against YouTube

By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 3, 2014 7:23am PST

In recent months, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and his father, Comcast co-founder Ralph Roberts, saw a demonstration of a new Comcast video service that aims to outflank Internet video rivals like Google’s YouTube. The offering combines the type of shorter Web video programming that YouTube is known for with live and on-demand... In recent months, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and his father, Comcast co-founder Ralph Roberts, saw...

Square CEO Jack Dorsey. Credit: TechCrunch.

In Crunch Time, Square Considers Giving Capital to Businesses

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 25, 2014 12:55pm PST

Square CEO Jack Dorsey. Credit: TechCrunch.

In Crunch Time, Square Considers Giving Capital to Businesses

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 25, 2014 12:55pm PST

Square is moving further beyond the swipe. The payments company has begun testing a way to give Square merchants thousands of dollars to help them grow, according to three people familiar with the effort. The early-stage test is part of the startup’s push to diversify beyond processing credit cards for small businesses, a competitive and... Square is moving further beyond the swipe. The payments company has begun testing a way to give...