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SpaceX's Mark Juncosa and the Starship rocket in Boca Chica, Texas. Photo from Disney+ and Getty Images

Elon Musk’s Rocket Man at SpaceX Channels His Boss

By Becky Peterson · Dec 2, 2022 6:00am PST

Once, when top SpaceX executive Mark Juncosa was frustrated by poor cellphone service in a meeting at company headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., he pointed to a SpaceX employee in the meeting and told them it was their responsibility to fix the cell coverage in the room, according to a person who attended the meeting. It was the kind of thing... Once, when top SpaceX executive Mark Juncosa was frustrated by poor cellphone service in a...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Marc Lore’s Kitchen on Wheels Startup Cuts Staff, Dials Back Delivery Ambitions

By Theo Wayt and Erin Woo · Nov 30, 2022 2:24pm PST · 2 comments

Wonder, a mobile kitchen and food-delivery startup led by Jet.com founder Marc Lore, has laid off 7% of its workforce, a company spokesperson said, as it attempts to overhaul its business. The startup landed a $3.5 billion valuation when it raised $350 million this summer and planned to add more than a thousand kitchens around the tri-state area... Wonder, a mobile kitchen and food-delivery startup led by Jet.com founder Marc Lore, has laid off...

John Curtius. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Ex-Tiger Partner Curtius Targets $1 Billion Fund After Sudden Exit

By Erin Woo and Kate Clark · Nov 30, 2022 1:52pm PST · 2 comments

John Curtius, the former Tiger Global Management partner who became a key Silicon Valley dealmaker for the investment firm before his hasty exit two months ago, plans to raise $1 billion for his debut fund, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. It will focus on early-stage enterprise software investments. If successful,... John Curtius, the former Tiger Global Management partner who became a key Silicon Valley...

Tim Cook and Elon Musk. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Twitter Blue Relaunch Adds Pressure to Musk’s Apple Fight

By Erin Woo · Nov 29, 2022 2:40pm PST · 3 comments

Tim Cook and Elon Musk. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Twitter Blue Relaunch Adds Pressure to Musk’s Apple Fight

By Erin Woo · Nov 29, 2022 2:40pm PST · 3 comments

Twitter’s impending relaunch of its subscription product, Twitter Blue, could bring Elon Musk’s fight with Apple to a head. Twitter Blue Verified, as the product is called, had been scheduled to roll out on Friday but only on Apple’s iOS mobile software, according to a person briefed on the plans. (Late Tuesday, Twitter ... Twitter’s impending relaunch of its subscription product, Twitter Blue, could bring Elon...

Charlie Bell. Photo via Microsoft

A Former Amazonian Hits Bumps in Push to Make Microsoft More Secure

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 29, 2022 6:00am PST

When Microsoft last year recruited Charlie Bell, a top product engineering executive at Amazon Web Services, it was a major coup for the software giant. Bell had spent 23 years at Amazon—15 of them at AWS, the retailer’s cloud computing unit—where he earned a reputation for being able to bulldoze through departmental politics,... When Microsoft last year recruited Charlie Bell, a top product engineering executive at Amazon...

Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok. Photo by Bloomberg.

ByteDance Investors Struggle to Sell Shares at Discounted $240 Billion Value Amid IPO Uncertainty

By Juro Osawa · Nov 28, 2022 4:40am PST · 1 comment

Investors in TikTok owner ByteDance are struggling to sell their shares in the secondary market, even at current asking prices valuing the company at around $240 billion, 20% below where ByteDance recently bought back stock, according to brokers and investors with knowledge of the matter. The price drop reflects a lack of investors... Investors in TikTok owner ByteDance are struggling to sell their shares in the secondary market,...

Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco. Photo by Bloomberg

Cisco Faces Resistance to Software Bundles from Cost-Conscious Companies

By Aaron Holmes · Nov 23, 2022 6:00am PST · 5 comments

For years, Cisco has relied on a widely used tactic to drive sales: The enterprise tech giant pitches customers on large bundles of products that include everything from its core networking products to more peripheral offerings from its sprawling portfolio, such as security software and its Webex videoconferencing app. But now customers are... For years, Cisco has relied on a widely used tactic to drive sales: The enterprise tech giant...

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Cloud Considers Scrapping Sales Commissions Based on Deal Values

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 21, 2022 6:00am PST

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Cloud Considers Scrapping Sales Commissions Based on Deal Values

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 21, 2022 6:00am PST

To show investors that its cloud unit could compete with Amazon Web Services, Google in recent years signed billion-dollar, long-term deals with multinationals such as Deutsche Bank and Sabre. Google incentivized sales teams to nail those deals by basing a portion of their commissions on the value of the contracts—even if those customers... To show investors that its cloud unit could compete with Amazon Web Services, Google in recent...

Sam Bankman-Fried, second from right. Photo by Getty Images.

Bankman-Fried Spun His Spending Spree, and Investors Let It Slide

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 18, 2022 1:00pm PST · 5 comments

With the crypto industry in crisis this summer, some of FTX’s venture capital investors were starting to scratch their heads: Why was its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, spending so much money bailing out distressed crypto lenders and spraying cash at startups? The 30-year-old, hailed as the golden boy of crypto, told one of his investors... With the crypto industry in crisis this summer, some of FTX’s venture capital investors...

Elon Musk. Photo by Getty

Elon Musk Softens Twitter’s Remote Work Stance

By Erin Woo · Nov 17, 2022 1:17pm PST

Even before Elon Musk’s deadline passes for employees to commit to an “extremely hardcore” fully in-office work schedule, he softened his stance on remote work, in a possible sign he is concerned too many people will quit Twitter. Musk emailed employees on Thursday saying that employees can get approval to work remotely if... Even before Elon Musk’s deadline passes for employees to commit to an “extremely...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and its HR chief Fiona Cicconi. Photos by Bloomberg and Onur Pinar.

10,000 Google Employees Could Be Rated as Low Performers

By Jon Victor · Nov 17, 2022 6:00am PST · 3 comments

As layoffs spread across Silicon Valley, Google has stood out by not cutting employees so far. But as outside pressure builds on the company to improve the productivity of its workers, a new performance management system could help managers push out thousands of underperforming employees starting early next year. Managers could also use the... As layoffs spread across Silicon Valley, Google has stood out by not cutting employees so far....

TikTok's Los Angeles office. Photo by Getty Images

As Meta and Twitter Lay Off Thousands in Bay Area, TikTok Plans to Double Staff

By Juro Osawa · Nov 16, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

TikTok's Los Angeles office. Photo by Getty Images

As Meta and Twitter Lay Off Thousands in Bay Area, TikTok Plans to Double Staff

By Juro Osawa · Nov 16, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

When Elon Musk bought Twitter and cut half its workforce earlier this month, TikTok’s in-house recruiters approached some of the laid-off software engineers about joining the viral video app’s Silicon Valley office. Then last week, the same recruiters contacted some of the engineers cut by Meta Platforms. The outreach highlighted a... When Elon Musk bought Twitter and cut half its workforce earlier this month, TikTok’s...

Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo by Bloomberg.

VCs Consider Suing Bankman-Fried

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Nov 15, 2022 8:49am PST · 11 comments

Venture capitalists who collectively plowed billions of dollars into FTX are discussing whether to sue Sam Bankman-Fried for alleged fraud, two people familiar with the matter said. A lawsuit would be aimed at recovering money to offset what shareholders have likely lost now that FTX has filed for bankruptcy. Among the questions are whether... Venture capitalists who collectively plowed billions of dollars into FTX are discussing whether...

Sea executives when the stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Getty.

Southeast Asia’s Biggest Internet Firm Has Laid Off 7,000 Workers

By Juro Osawa · Nov 14, 2022 8:55am PST

Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest internet company by revenue and market value, has laid off more than 7,000 employees, or around 10% of its workforce, over the past six months, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Sea, a Nasdaq-listed company whose shareholders include Tencent, BlackRock and T. Rowe Price, had been seen... Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest internet company by revenue and market value, has laid...

Illustration by Jesús Escudero

Inside Apple’s Love-Hate Relationship With Its $4 Billion Ads Business

By Wayne Ma · Nov 14, 2022 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Inside Apple’s advertising department, there’s a list of forbidden words that sales representatives are told never to utter when speaking to clients. Instead of using the term “targeting” to describe the company’s ability to deliver Apple search ads tailored to users’ tastes, Apple asks its ad sales reps to... Inside Apple’s advertising department, there’s a list of forbidden words that sales...

The Map That Shows Which EV Battery Factories Will Be Built—and Which Won’t

By Steve LeVine · Nov 14, 2022 5:00am PST

The Map That Shows Which EV Battery Factories Will Be Built—and Which Won’t

By Steve LeVine · Nov 14, 2022 5:00am PST

Automakers are racing to convert their fleets to electric vehicles. By 2030, global automakers want to be producing 40 million or more EVs a year, half the global fleet. That’s sparked a secondary race among established companies and startups to supply them with batteries. The factories where those batteries are built have come to be... Automakers are racing to convert their fleets to electric vehicles. By 2030, global automakers...

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo: Bloomberg

Startups Should Prepare for ‘Second-Order Fallout’ From FTX Collapse

By Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Nov 13, 2022 2:15pm PST · 9 comments

The failure of crypto exchange FTX has prompted venture investors to issue a blunt warning to startup founders: The current economic situation poses steep challenges to companies. As a result, startups shouldn’t expect to raise new money through 2024 and should prepare for “deep cuts.” Arjun Sethi, a co-founder of FTX backer... The failure of crypto exchange FTX has prompted venture investors to issue a blunt warning to...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Apple Loses Web Search Technology Chief to Google

By Jon Victor · Nov 11, 2022 6:00am PST

In late 2018, Apple boosted its development of a web search engine by buying Laserlike, a startup founded by a trio of former Google search engineers to recommend websites to people based on their interests and browsing history. Four years later, Laserlike’s founders have returned to Google, according to a person with knowledge of the... In late 2018, Apple boosted its development of a web search engine by buying Laserlike, a startup...

Gwynne Shotwell. Photo by Bloomberg.

SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell Takes Over Starbase Mars Mission

By Becky Peterson · Nov 10, 2022 3:08pm PST · 2 comments

SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell will assume oversight of the company’s Starbase facility in Texas that is building Starship, the rocket planned for a trip to Mars, according to two people familiar with the change. The appointment is part of a reorganization at Starbase that follows a summer of strategy... SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell will assume oversight of the...

Elon Musk.

Musk Warns Twitter May Lose Billions Next Year

By Erin Woo · Nov 10, 2022 1:13pm PST · 5 comments

Elon Musk.

Musk Warns Twitter May Lose Billions Next Year

By Erin Woo · Nov 10, 2022 1:13pm PST · 5 comments

Elon Musk told Twitter employees on Thursday the company may have a “net negative cash flow of several billion dollars” next year, adding that “bankruptcy is not out of the question” if the company can’t “bring in more cash than we spend." “We can’t scale to a billion users and take massive... Elon Musk told Twitter employees on Thursday the company may have a “net negative cash flow...