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Nisa Leung, managing partner at Qiming Venture Partners. Photo by Bloomberg.

After China Tech Bloodbath, Top VC Tests U.S. Appetite For $1.2 Billion Fund

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Jan 11, 2022 6:00am PST

Are American investors going to keep putting money into China? Western investors and Chinese entrepreneurs are anxious about the world’s second-largest tech startup market after a bruising six months in which Beijing’s crackdown on domestic tech companies escalated and political tensions between the U.S. and China grew. Americans are... Are American investors going to keep putting money into China? Western investors and Chinese...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Crypto Talent Wars Fuel Sweeter Salaries, Better Perks for Employees

By Mark Matousek · Jan 10, 2022 6:00am PST

It used to be that crypto startups could count on their missionary appeal to woo and retain top-notch talent, along with the possibility of a big payoff from tokens and equity they doled out to employees. In exchange, many employees didn’t mind missing out on some standard job perks or even taking slight haircuts on salary. Now though, as... It used to be that crypto startups could count on their missionary appeal to woo and retain...

The Athletic founder Alex Mather.

NYT To Buy The Athletic for $550 Million

By Jessica Toonkel · Jan 6, 2022 7:15am PST · 9 comments

The New York Times Co has agreed to acquire subscription sports site The Athletic in a deal valued at around $550 million, the company announced, confirming The Information's report earlier today. The deal is a major acquisition for the Times, giving it a new pocket of subscription customers to the New York Times, which has set an ambitious... The New York Times Co has agreed to acquire subscription sports site The Athletic in a deal...

From left: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Blackstone's Joe Baratta, Kevin Mayer, Tom Staggs and Reese Witherspoon. Photos by Bloomberg; AP. Art by Mike Sullivan

Inside Blackstone’s Plans to Create an Entertainment Empire

By Jessica Toonkel · Jan 6, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

From left: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Blackstone's Joe Baratta, Kevin Mayer, Tom Staggs and Reese Witherspoon. Photos by Bloomberg; AP. Art by Mike Sullivan

Inside Blackstone’s Plans to Create an Entertainment Empire

By Jessica Toonkel · Jan 6, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Two years ago, Joe Baratta couldn’t figure out what Blackstone, the private equity giant he worked for, should do for its next move in media and entertainment. The big TV companies, such as ViacomCBS and Discovery, were bleeding viewers as people cut the cord to cable television and streaming powerhouses like Netflix grew ever bigger.... Two years ago, Joe Baratta couldn’t figure out what Blackstone, the private equity giant he...

Photo by AP.

Gopuff to Launch Private Label Products as DoorDash Rival Heads Toward IPO

By Berber Jin · Jan 5, 2022 1:58pm PST

Quick-delivery startup Gopuff is planning to sell more than a dozen of its own private-label goods as it expands its product offerings ahead of a public listing as early as the second half of this year, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The startup, last valued at $15 billion by investors, will first focus on selling its own... Quick-delivery startup Gopuff is planning to sell more than a dozen of its own private-label...

Simulation of Meta's Project Nazare augmented reality glasses. Credit: Meta

Meta Platforms Halts VR and AR Operating System Project

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jan 5, 2022 6:00am PST · 11 comments

Facebook parent company Meta Platforms has stopped development of a new software operating system to power its virtual reality devices and upcoming augmented reality glasses, according to two people familiar with the decision. Shelving the project, which had been underway for several years and involved hundreds of employees, marked a setback for... Facebook parent company Meta Platforms has stopped development of a new software operating system...

Will Smith. Photo by AP

Blackstone-backed Media Company Takes Stake in Will Smith’s Westbrook

By Jessica Toonkel · Jan 4, 2022 12:06pm PST

The Blackstone-backed media company led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs is acquiring a minority stake in Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s entertainment company, Westbrook, according to people familiar with the situation. This is the latest in a string of deals for the two media veterans, who have been building out... The Blackstone-backed media company led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs is...

Jonathan Kanter. Photo by Flickr/New America. Art by Mike Sullivan

Justice Department Eyes New Antitrust Enforcers, But Tensions Slow Hiring Process

By Josh Sisco · Jan 4, 2022 7:00am PST

Jonathan Kanter. Photo by Flickr/New America. Art by Mike Sullivan

Justice Department Eyes New Antitrust Enforcers, But Tensions Slow Hiring Process

By Josh Sisco · Jan 4, 2022 7:00am PST

Jonathan Kanter took over as head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division almost two months ago. So far, the division has been slow to hire staff to top jobs, potentially delaying Kanter’s aggressive enforcement and policy agenda, including its plans to rein in the power of the technology industry. The hiring holdups... Jonathan Kanter took over as head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division almost two...

Illustration by Jesus Escudero

Instant Delivery Startups Test a New Tactic: Slower Delivery

By Berber Jin · Jan 3, 2022 6:00am PST · 11 comments

Instant-delivery startups promising to ferry groceries to customers in 15 minutes or less have rushed to expand in major cities like New York and Chicago in the past year. But they’re burning far more cash in the U.S. than in other countries where they operate, causing several of them to test major changes to their business... Instant-delivery startups promising to ferry groceries to customers in 15 minutes or less have...

Apple CEO Tim Cook at an AirPods production line with Luxshare CEO Grace Wang (standing behind Cook) in 2017. Photos by Bloomberg; Shutterstock; Luxshare. Art by Mike Sullivan

How Apple Grew Closer to China By Turning ‘Little Foxconn’ Into a National Champion

By Wayne Ma · Dec 30, 2021 6:00am PST · 7 comments

If you’ve used an iPhone 13, an Apple Watch or AirPods, chances are you’ve touched the handiwork of Luxshare, which assembles them. Over the past decade, it became the biggest Chinese manufacturer of consumer electronics. Luxshare got to this vaunted position because of Apple. For more than a decade Apple has been sending its... If you’ve used an iPhone 13, an Apple Watch or AirPods, chances are you’ve touched...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

From a CEO Revolving Door to Comparisons With Snowflake: Security Startup Lacework Bounces Back

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 28, 2021 6:00am PST

A couple years ago, Lacework reached the kind of crossroads where once-promising startups can easily slide toward also-ran status—or worse. Faced with sluggish sales of its cloud-based cybersecurity product, Lacework was struggling to raise more money from existing investors and facing a revolving door of CEOs. At one point, after Lacework... A couple years ago, Lacework reached the kind of crossroads where once-promising startups can...

Kevin Martin, U.S. public policy chief for Meta, at an event in Washington, D.C., in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Meta Brings Back Republican to Top Lobbying Job After Search for a Democrat Fizzles

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Dec 22, 2021 11:35am PST · 1 comment

Kevin Martin, U.S. public policy chief for Meta, at an event in Washington, D.C., in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Meta Brings Back Republican to Top Lobbying Job After Search for a Democrat Fizzles

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Dec 22, 2021 11:35am PST · 1 comment

Meta Platforms is throwing in the towel on a plan to hire a top Democrat to lead its lobbying team after searching in vain for almost a year for a candidate from the party. Instead, Meta—the parent company of Facebook—has announced internally that Kevin Martin, the Republican who previously held the company’s top lobbying role,... Meta Platforms is throwing in the towel on a plan to hire a top Democrat to lead its lobbying...

Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow. Photo by Bolt

Bolt Seeks Valuation Lift to $14 Billion Weeks After Raising Last Round

By Malique Morris and Kate Clark · Dec 21, 2021 2:15pm PST

With the ink barely dry on one fundraising effort by Bolt, a firm that makes e-commerce checkout software, the startup is already pitching investors on a new round. Shortly after raising nearly $400 million at an $11 billion valuation in a Series E funding round, according to three people familiar with the matter, Bolt is seeking another nearly... With the ink barely dry on one fundraising effort by Bolt, a firm that makes e-commerce checkout...

Josh Machiz of Redpoint Ventures. Photo: Guerin Blask. Illustration: Mike Sullivan

Redpoint Ventures is Launching a Media Operation—And Embracing TikTok

By Kate Clark · Dec 21, 2021 1:43pm PST · 12 comments

Venture capitalists do a lot of things to show entrepreneurs they aren’t just a bunch of squares, from wearing hoodies to bragging about their NFT purchases. Now Redpoint Ventures—the San Francisco venture firm known for its stakes in Stripe and Snowflake—has a new plan to connect with startup founders: hiring a creator to... Venture capitalists do a lot of things to show entrepreneurs they aren’t just a bunch of...

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg.

Zhang Yiming Still Oversees ByteDance, Despite Stepping Back

By Juro Osawa · Dec 21, 2021 6:00am PST

Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, resigned as CEO and chair earlier this year. He no longer has any management title or board seat. But that doesn’t mean he’s no longer in control. The 38-year-old Zhang remains as active as ever inside the company. He continues to participate in high-level... Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, resigned as CEO and...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Cloud’s Software Crackdown Disrupts Customer Deals Worth Hundreds of Millions

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 20, 2021 11:16am PST · 1 comment

Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Cloud’s Software Crackdown Disrupts Customer Deals Worth Hundreds of Millions

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 20, 2021 11:16am PST · 1 comment

Google Cloud is much younger than its bigger competitors. While youth can be an asset in the technology business, it’s also caused difficulties for Google on numerous occasions—the latest of which has thrown at least several hundred million dollars’ worth of software contracts into limbo, according to an estimate from a Google... Google Cloud is much younger than its bigger competitors. While youth can be an asset in the...

Illustration by Josh Brill

The Year Startup Investors and Founders Went Ape Over Crypto

By Kate Clark · Dec 17, 2021 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Erick Calderon is an entrepreneur down to his bones. In college, he opened a snow cone stand across from the University of Texas at Austin. For the past 18 years, the 40-year-old has run a business in Houston that imports high-end porcelain and ceramic tiles from Spain and Italy. But both ventures pale in comparison with Calderon’s success... Erick Calderon is an entrepreneur down to his bones. In college, he opened a snow cone stand...

Photos: Supernatural VR

FTC Slows Meta Platforms’ Metaverse Strategy By Extending Antitrust Probe of VR Deal

By Josh Sisco · Dec 16, 2021 4:18pm PST · 1 comment

Meta Platforms’ Oculus virtual reality headsets are a vital step toward creating what its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, calls the metaverse, an immersive internet in which people can interact in digital spaces. In addition to building Oculus, Meta has acquired at least six companies that made some of the most popular games and other apps for the... Meta Platforms’ Oculus virtual reality headsets are a vital step toward creating what its...

Photo of Anatoly Yakovenko by Solana. Art by Mike Sullivan

Solana Generates $1 Billion in Returns for Multiple Early Backers

By Hannah Miller · Dec 13, 2021 2:42pm PST · 4 comments

When Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko tried to raise money in 2018 to develop his idea for a faster blockchain for financial transactions, bitcoin prices were diving and investors were leery of blockchain startups. Then the former Qualcomm engineer convinced a friend he met playing underwater hockey to become an early investor. And that swim... When Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko tried to raise money in 2018 to develop his idea for a...

An Amazon Fresh store in London. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Ramps Up Plans for Instacart-Like Service in U.S., Europe

By Paris Martineau and Mark Di Stefano · Dec 13, 2021 6:00am PST

An Amazon Fresh store in London. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Ramps Up Plans for Instacart-Like Service in U.S., Europe

By Paris Martineau and Mark Di Stefano · Dec 13, 2021 6:00am PST

In recent years, Amazon has attracted wide attention with its effort to become a force in the grocery industry, from its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods to its flashy rollout of tech-enabled stores like Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go. But the internet retailer has also quietly been laying the groundwork to become a major player in a less... In recent years, Amazon has attracted wide attention with its effort to become a force in the...