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Microsoft's Gurdeep Pall at an event in Tokyo in 2017. Photo by Getty Images
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Longtime Microsoft Executive Gurdeep Pall to Depart

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 3, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments
Gurdeep Pall, a 33-year Microsoft corporate vice president who helped build and promote key products like Windows, Skype and Bing, recently informed colleagues that he plans to retire from the company in September, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Since joining Microsoft in 1990, Pall has served as a high-profile executive under... Gurdeep Pall, a 33-year Microsoft corporate vice president who helped build and promote key...
Jensen Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia, speaks in Taipei, Taiwan on May 29. Photo by Getty.
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Nvidia Acquired AI Startup That Shrinks Machine-Learning Models

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 30, 2023 7:32pm PDT · 2 comments
Nvidia in February quietly acquired OmniML, a two-year-old artificial intelligence startup whose software helped shrink machine-learning models so they could run on devices rather than in the cloud, according to a spokesperson and LinkedIn profiles of former OmniML employees who now work at Nvidia. The acquisition could be a sign that the... Nvidia in February quietly acquired OmniML, a two-year-old artificial intelligence startup whose...
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, arriving at federal court in San Francisco on June 28. Photo by Getty.
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Microsoft’s Cloud Server Business in 2022 Was Less Than Half of AWS, New Document Reveals

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 29, 2023 1:36pm PDT · 7 comments
For years Microsoft has kept a lid on details about the true size of its Azure cloud server rental business, making it impossible for investors to know how Microsoft’s cloud operations unit stacked up against industry leader Amazon Web Services. But this week, thanks to antitrust regulators, the world got a peek under the lid. Azure... For years Microsoft has kept a lid on details about the true size of its Azure cloud server...
Coatue co-founder Thomas Laffont. Photo by Juan Pinnel
‘Pressures Remain’: Coatue Prepares Tech Founders for the Road Ahead
By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 29, 2023 11:26am PDT · 8 comments
Coatue co-founder Thomas Laffont. Photo by Juan Pinnel
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‘Pressures Remain’: Coatue Prepares Tech Founders for the Road Ahead

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 29, 2023 11:26am PDT · 8 comments
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend a founder and investor conference hosted by Coatue, called East Meets West. While the conference, held in Montecito, Calif., was off the record, I asked the firm for permission to share one of my favorite parts of the event: the keynote its partners gave on the state of the finance and tech... Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend a founder and investor conference hosted by...
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. Photo by Getty.
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Stripe Lays Off Dozens, Mostly in Recruiting

By Cory Weinberg and Maria Heeter · Jun 29, 2023 11:08am PDT · 1 comment
Stripe has laid off a few dozen employees, most of them recruiters, in its human resources department. The staff cuts, while affecting a tiny percentage of the company’s roughly 7,000-person workforce, are part of a broader wave of belt tightening in tech, even as the pace of larger layoffs has abated. Stripe’s cuts in the recruiting... Stripe has laid off a few dozen employees, most of them recruiters, in its human resources...
Illustration by Laurent Hrybyk.
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How Amazon Is Taming Its Customers’ Returns Addiction

By Theo Wayt · Jun 29, 2023 6:04am PDT · 1 comment
When Amazon announced Wednesday that customers could soon start dropping off items they wanted to return at nearly 1,000 Staples stores, it touted the partnership as part of its decadeslong quest to make online shopping as easy as possible for consumers. In reality, the Staples partnership is the result of a years-long effort by a team inside... When Amazon announced Wednesday that customers could soon start dropping off items they wanted to...
Art by Mike Sullivan.
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OpenAI Plans ChatGPT ‘Personal Assistant for Work,’ Setting Up Microsoft Rivalry

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 26, 2023 12:04pm PDT · 5 comments
In the span of half a year, ChatGPT has become one of the world’s best-known internet brands. Now its creator, OpenAI, has bigger plans for the chatbot: CEO Sam Altman privately told some developers OpenAI wants to turn it into a “supersmart personal assistant for work.” With built-in knowledge about an individual and their... In the span of half a year, ChatGPT has become one of the world’s best-known internet...
Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo. Photo by Getty.
Inside Thoma Bravo’s Software Playbook
By Rachel Graf · Jun 26, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments
Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo. Photo by Getty.
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Inside Thoma Bravo’s Software Playbook

By Rachel Graf · Jun 26, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments
Until two weeks ago, Thoma Bravo had sold just one company worth more than $10 billion in the past three years, when it offloaded Ellie Mae to Intercontinental Exchange for $11 billion in 2020. That drought is why Thoma Bravo’s deal to sell its financial software firm, Adenza, to Nasdaq Inc. for $10.5 billion—nearly twice what it... Until two weeks ago, Thoma Bravo had sold just one company worth more than $10 billion in the...
Abraham Shafi, CEO of IRL (left), and Masayoshi Son, CEO of Softbank.
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Social App IRL, Which Raised $200 Million, Shuts Down After CEO Misconduct Probe

By Mark Matousek · Jun 23, 2023 3:34pm PDT · 20 comments
Last year, the CEO of messaging app IRL repeatedly said it had 20 million monthly active users, who chatted about shared interests and planned real-world events together. Today, a spokesperson for the startup said an investigation by the board of directors concluded 95% of those users were “automated or from bots.” As a result of the... Last year, the CEO of messaging app IRL repeatedly said it had 20 million monthly active users,...
Photo by Getty.
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TikTok Inks U.S. Warehouse Partnerships in Bid to Rival Amazon and Temu

By Ann Gehan and Theo Wayt · Jun 23, 2023 11:45am PDT · 4 comments
TikTok has signed logistics deals to ensure that the products people buy on its app arrive smoothly at their front doors—a key part of the video app’s efforts to transform itself into a shopping destination. It’s currently testing the fulfillment services with U.S. sellers, a person familiar with the matter said. TikTok is... TikTok has signed logistics deals to ensure that the products people buy on its app arrive...
Google CEO Sundar Pichai in May. Photo by Getty Images
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AI Boomerang: Google’s Internal Critic Returns From Rival OpenAI

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Jun 23, 2023 9:15am PDT · 4 comments
Jacob Devlin, a prominent artificial intelligence researcher who left Google for rival OpenAI in January after complaining internally about how the company trained its Bard AI chatbot software, has returned to his old job, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Google’s willingness to hire Devlin back, despite the fact his... Jacob Devlin, a prominent artificial intelligence researcher who left Google for rival OpenAI in...
Photo via Cohesity
In Battle of Ransomware Protectors, One Firm Burns a Lot of Cash, Another Preps an IPO
By Maria Heeter, Anissa Gardizy and Kate Clark · Jun 23, 2023 6:00am PDT
Photo via Cohesity
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In Battle of Ransomware Protectors, One Firm Burns a Lot of Cash, Another Preps an IPO

By Maria Heeter, Anissa Gardizy and Kate Clark · Jun 23, 2023 6:00am PDT
Four years ago, one of the most intense battles in enterprise software was underway between two startups led by former colleagues: Rubrik and Cohesity. They help businesses manage data, and they also market themselves as offering protection against ransomware attacks. At the time, Rubrik was clearly in the lead, but Cohesity was growing faster... Four years ago, one of the most intense battles in enterprise software was underway between two...
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. Photo by Getty
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Reddit Sales Growth Slowdown Preceded Fight Over New API Fees

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 22, 2023 2:26pm PDT
A stark business reality faced Reddit before a user uprising engulfed its site this month: slowing sales growth. Reddit’s revenue rose 38% in 2022 to about $670 million last year, two people familiar with the matter said, faster than many other internet ad firms but a steep slowdown from the more than doubling of revenue the company... A stark business reality faced Reddit before a user uprising engulfed its site this month:...
V. Pappas. Photo by Getty.
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TikTok’s COO Pappas to Quit

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 22, 2023 10:17am PDT
TikTok's Chief Operating Officer V. Pappas has quit, Pappas told staff on Thursday, according to an email viewed by The Information. At the same time, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew announced the elevation of chief of staff Adam Presser to be head of operations, while also revealing that former Disney executive Zenia Mucha will join in a new role... TikTok's Chief Operating Officer V. Pappas has quit, Pappas told staff on Thursday, according...
Photos via Getty and Shutterstock. Art by Shane Burke.
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How Meta Stumbled In Quest for Chip Independence

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Wayne Ma · Jun 22, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments
Meta Platforms executives always knew this moment would come. Apple’s unveiling of its Vision Pro mixed reality headset early this month puts the spotlight on the looming battle between Apple and Meta over control of the augmented reality and virtual reality market. And for the past five years, Meta has readied itself for the competition... Meta Platforms executives always knew this moment would come. Apple’s unveiling of its...
From left: Bret Taylor, Peter Fenton and Clay Bavor. Photo: Getty
Ex-Salesforce Chief Bret Taylor’s AI Startup Raises Money From Sequoia, Benchmark
By Kate Clark · Jun 21, 2023 4:02pm PDT · 5 comments
From left: Bret Taylor, Peter Fenton and Clay Bavor. Photo: Getty
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Ex-Salesforce Chief Bret Taylor’s AI Startup Raises Money From Sequoia, Benchmark

By Kate Clark · Jun 21, 2023 4:02pm PDT · 5 comments
Benchmark has led the first round of funding for a three-month-old artificial intelligence startup founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and ex-Google executive Clay Bavor at a valuation of over $100 million, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. Taylor and Bavor’s company raised at least $20 million in the... Benchmark has led the first round of funding for a three-month-old artificial intelligence...
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty
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OpenAI Considers Creating an App Store for AI Software

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Jun 20, 2023 6:00am PDT · 11 comments
OpenAI—an early mover in releasing chatbots powered by large-language models—is contemplating another initiative to extend its influence in the world of artificial intelligence. The company is considering launching a marketplace in which customers could sell AI models they customize for their own needs to other businesses, according... OpenAI—an early mover in releasing chatbots powered by large-language models—is...
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty
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Meta Wants Companies to Make Money Off Its Open-Source AI, in Challenge to Google

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan, Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Jun 15, 2023 2:24pm PDT · 9 comments
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his deputies want other companies to freely use and profit from new artificial intelligence software Meta is developing, a decision that could have big implications for other AI developers and businesses that are increasingly adopting it. Meta is working on ways to make the next version of its open-source... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his deputies want other companies to freely use and profit...
Healthcare workers at an SSM Health hospital—a former CareRev client—in Oklahoma City in 2020. Photo by Getty Images
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CareRev Plans to Cut Roughly a Third of Staff

By Paris Martineau · Jun 15, 2023 1:10pm PDT · 1 comment
CareRev, a healthcare startup that raised around $100 million from investors during the pandemic, is in the process of laying off nearly 100 employees—or about a third of its corporate workforce—according to one person with direct knowledge of the plans and another who was briefed on them. The cuts follow the departure of CareRev... CareRev, a healthcare startup that raised around $100 million from investors during the pandemic,...
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky. Photo by AP
LinkedIn Plans Streaming Video Ad Push
By Sahil Patel · Jun 15, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky. Photo by AP
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LinkedIn Plans Streaming Video Ad Push

By Sahil Patel · Jun 15, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment
Major advertisers and nearly every big TV network have jumped into the market for ads on video-streaming services. Now LinkedIn, the social network for professionals, is trying to get in on the act as well. The Microsoft-owned business is about to start testing an ad product that will allow marketers to target LinkedIn users when they’re... Major advertisers and nearly every big TV network have jumped into the market for ads on...