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From left: Walt Disney Co.'s Bob Chapek, Kareem Daniel and Peter Rice. Photos by Disney; art by Mike Sullivan

How Disney’s Streaming Pipeline Got Clogged

By Jessica Toonkel · Nov 19, 2021 6:00am PST

Earlier this fall, Peter Rice, a top Walt Disney Co. executive responsible for creating television shows for the entertainment giant, gave his lieutenants a pressing message: They needed to start pumping out more new shows for Disney+, the company’s high-profile streaming service, according to people familiar with the discussions. Last... Earlier this fall, Peter Rice, a top Walt Disney Co. executive responsible for creating...

Sherry Cola, Mark Zuckerberg and Miley Cyrus. Photos by Shutterstock

Facebook Hands Out Cash To Creators To Boost Clubhouse Rival

By Sarah Krouse and Kaya Yurieff · Nov 18, 2021 2:16pm PST

Facebook is offering to pay musicians and other celebrities tens of thousands of dollars to host sessions on its new live audio feature, as the social network beefs up its efforts to woo creators and the young people who follow them. Production companies working for Facebook, owned by Meta Platforms, have contacted music artists and social media... Facebook is offering to pay musicians and other celebrities tens of thousands of dollars to host...

Former Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy, now Amazon's CEO. Photo by Bloomberg

Andy Jassy’s Big Idea for AWS Expansion Marred by Glitches, High Prices

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 18, 2021 6:00am PST

Amazon Web Services became a juggernaut by helping companies move their data and applications to the cloud—meaning data centers run by Amazon. But AWS has increasingly gone after another big business: providing software and hardware to power private data centers operated by customers that aren’t ready or may never be ready to move... Amazon Web Services became a juggernaut by helping companies move their data and applications to...

KKR co-founder and co-executive chair Henry Kravis. Photo: Bloomberg.

KKR Plans to Lead Investment in Crypto Firm Anchorage

By Berber Jin, Kate Clark and Hannah Miller · Nov 17, 2021 6:18pm PST · 1 comment

KKR co-founder and co-executive chair Henry Kravis. Photo: Bloomberg.

KKR Plans to Lead Investment in Crypto Firm Anchorage

By Berber Jin, Kate Clark and Hannah Miller · Nov 17, 2021 6:18pm PST · 1 comment

Private equity giant KKR plans to lead a new investment in crypto startup Anchorage, which offers crypto custody, trading and financing services for financial institutions, said two people familiar with the matter. The Series D funding values the San Francisco-based company at about $3 billion including the investment, one person said. ... Private equity giant KKR plans to lead a new investment in crypto startup Anchorage, which offers...

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer. Photos by Bored Ape Yacht Club; OpenSea

NFT Marketplace OpenSea Offered $10 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark and Berber Jin · Nov 17, 2021 3:44pm PST · 2 comments

OpenSea, the most popular marketplace for non-fungible tokens, is fielding new investment offers that could increase its valuation roughly six times to $10 billion or higher, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The New York–based company did not initiate the new fundraising process, which comes just four months... OpenSea, the most popular marketplace for non-fungible tokens, is fielding new investment offers...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by AP

Instacart Pushes Off Public Offering to Focus on Grocery Services Growth

By Berber Jin · Nov 16, 2021 6:01am PST

Instacart has pushed off plans for a public listing until next year or later as Fidji Simo, a former Facebook executive who took the reins three months ago, focuses on strengthening its services for grocery retailers beyond delivery, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The decision marks a shift from earlier this year, when... Instacart has pushed off plans for a public listing until next year or later as Fidji Simo, a...

ByteDance headquarters in Beijing. Photo by AP

TikTok Owner ByteDance’s Gross Revenue on Track to Jump 60% This Year

By Juro Osawa · Nov 15, 2021 11:16am PST

ByteDance's gross revenue is on track to rise about 60% to 400 billion yuan (about $63 billion) this year, cementing the TikTok owner’s position as one of the world’s five biggest online ad sellers, according to two people with knowledge of internal projections. The pace of growth is slower than it was last year, when gross... ByteDance's gross revenue is on track to rise about 60% to 400 billion yuan (about $63...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Zoom CEO Opposed Selling Advertising—Until He Didn’t

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 15, 2021 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Zoom CEO Opposed Selling Advertising—Until He Didn’t

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 15, 2021 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Of all the ways Zoom Video Communications could squeeze more revenue out of its wildly popular videoconferencing service, the company’s founder and CEO Eric Yuan made it clear there was one thing he didn’t want to do: sell advertising. Yuan voiced his opposition to Zoom ads in meetings with employees who suggested the idea shortly... Of all the ways Zoom Video Communications could squeeze more revenue out of its wildly popular...

From left: Amazon's Drew Herdener, Jeff Bezos and Jay Carney. Photos by Getty; Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Spinmasters: Behind the Internet Giant’s Battle With the Press

By Paris Martineau · Nov 12, 2021 8:01am PST · 3 comments

Amazon’s leaders are known for obsessively monitoring data about almost every aspect of its business. Public relations is no exception. In late 2016, the executives in charge of the company’s sprawling PR department came up with a system to address the growing exasperation that Jeff Bezos, then the company’s CEO, felt whenever... Amazon’s leaders are known for obsessively monitoring data about almost every aspect of its...

Jamie Hector and Titus Welliver at a premiere for Amazon Prime Video's Bosch, a spin-off of which is destined for IMDB. Photo by AP.

Amazon Discussing Renaming IMDb TV to Help Draw More Viewers

By Jessica Toonkel · Nov 10, 2021 11:09am PST · 1 comment

First it was called Freedive, then it was dubbed IMDb TV. Now, less than three years after launching its free ad-supported video-streaming service, Amazon is looking to rename it, according to people familiar with the situation. Amazon executives believe the existing name is too hard for people to pronounce, which hurts its popularity, said... First it was called Freedive, then it was dubbed IMDb TV. Now, less than three years after...

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month. Photo by Bloomberg

Does Facebook Make the World Better? Half of Polled Employees Say Yes

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Jessica Toonkel · Nov 9, 2021 1:20pm PST · 2 comments

After months of blistering headlines and late-night TV jokes about Facebook’s struggles to control hate speech and other abuses on its apps, employees don’t seem to feel much worse about the company’s impact on the world. A semi-annual “Pulse Survey” of Facebook employees, which the company is preparing to share... After months of blistering headlines and late-night TV jokes about Facebook’s struggles to...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri, left, and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos by Bloomberg; art by Mike Sullivan.

Inside Facebook’s Struggles to Attract Creators and Their Young Fans

By Kaya Yurieff, Sarah Krouse and Sahil Patel · Nov 9, 2021 6:00am PST

Instagram head Adam Mosseri, left, and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos by Bloomberg; art by Mike Sullivan.

Inside Facebook’s Struggles to Attract Creators and Their Young Fans

By Kaya Yurieff, Sarah Krouse and Sahil Patel · Nov 9, 2021 6:00am PST

In early May, days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors the company wanted to be the best platform for millions of digital content creators to make a living, researchers at the company spotlighted a major obstacle for its flagship app. Public figures and creators “lack a reason to be on FB,” according to a more than... In early May, days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors the company wanted to be the...

Brex Co-CEO Henrique Dubugras, left, and Ramp CEO Eric Glyman. Photos by Bloomberg, Flickr. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Brex and Ramp Want to Take On Amex. First, They’ll Fight Each Other

By Kate Clark · Nov 5, 2021 12:27pm PDT · 1 comment

Brex employees haven’t had to look hard for reminders of their startup’s ambition to reign supreme over the big corporate card companies: The Wi-Fi network password at one of its former offices used to be “BuyAmex.” But Brex is facing increasingly fierce competition, including from a two-year-old copycat named Ramp... Brex employees haven’t had to look hard for reminders of their startup’s ambition to...

Apple senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji. Screenshot via Apple

Apple’s Road Map for Mac Chips Shows Likely Advantage Over Intel

By Wayne Ma · Nov 5, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last month, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger declared that winning back Apple’s business was one of his top priorities, a move that would ease the shame of Apple having dropped Intel processors from its Mac line of computers in favor of its own designs. It looks like Gelsinger has his work cut out for him. That’s because Apple’s... Last month, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger declared that winning back Apple’s business was one...

From left: Michael Kades, Jonathan Kanter and Sally Hubbard. Photos by Flickr; AP

Incoming Antitrust Chief’s Hiring Talks Show Divergence From Khan’s FTC

By Josh Sisco · Nov 4, 2021 9:44am PDT

Since outspoken tech critic Lina Khan took control of the Federal Trade Commission, she has hired law professors, activists and other corporate outsiders to shake up the agency. Jonathan Kanter, another tech critic who is about to become the top antitrust official at the Department of Justice, is taking a different approach to hiring his top... Since outspoken tech critic Lina Khan took control of the Federal Trade Commission, she has hired...

Former Disney streaming chief Kevin Mayer. Photo by AP

Kevin Mayer’s Blackstone-backed Group Nears $3 Billion Deal for Moonbug Entertainment

By Jessica Toonkel · Nov 3, 2021 6:38am PDT

Former Disney streaming chief Kevin Mayer. Photo by AP

Kevin Mayer’s Blackstone-backed Group Nears $3 Billion Deal for Moonbug Entertainment

By Jessica Toonkel · Nov 3, 2021 6:38am PDT

A Blackstone-backed company led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs is nearing a deal to acquire Moonbug Entertainment, which makes childrens shows for streaming services, at a valuation that could reach a little above $3 billion, according to people familiar with the situation. The deal is not yet done and could still... A Blackstone-backed company led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs is nearing...

Sequoia Capital China partner Neil Shen, who has backed Laiye and other automation software startups in China. Photo by Bloomberg

Sequoia-Backed Chinese Automation Startup Discusses Funding at $1 Billion Valuation

By Shai Oster · Nov 2, 2021 11:07am PDT

Laiye, a Chinese developer of automation software, is in talks with current and potential new investors to raise between $100 million to $150 million, according to two people familiar with the discussions, as China’s shrinking workforce pushes wages higher and creates opportunities for startups that automate manufacturing and back-office... Laiye, a Chinese developer of automation software, is in talks with current and potential new...

Apple CEO Tim Cook, left, and TSMC CEO C.C. Wei. Photos by Bloomberg; art by Mike Sullivan

Apple and Its Favorite Chipmaker Get Closer

By Wayne Ma · Nov 2, 2021 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Every time Apple manages to squeeze a few more minutes of battery life out of a new generation of iPhones or make them run a little faster, there’s one company—other than Apple itself—that deserves the lion’s share of the credit: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which manufactures the chips that act as the brains... Every time Apple manages to squeeze a few more minutes of battery life out of a new generation of...

Meredith Whittaker, a research scientist at NYU, addresses Google employees during a protest rally in New York in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Former Google Activist Whittaker Expected to Join FTC as AI Adviser

By Josh Sisco · Nov 1, 2021 4:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Meredith Whittaker, a former employee activist and artificial intelligence researcher at Google, is expected to be hired full time at the Federal Trade Commission as a policy adviser on AI, according to a person with knowledge of her pending hire. Her FTC appointment would indicate the agency’s plans to heighten scrutiny over how Google... Meredith Whittaker, a former employee activist and artificial intelligence researcher at Google,...

Alex Mather. Photo by Erin Beach

DraftKings Was Among Bidders for The Athletic

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Nov 1, 2021 10:25am PDT

Alex Mather. Photo by Erin Beach

DraftKings Was Among Bidders for The Athletic

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Nov 1, 2021 10:25am PDT

Fantasy and sports betting provider DraftKings was among a number of companies that have submitted bids to buy sports news site The Athletic, according to people familiar with the situation. Another sports betting firm, FanDuel, talked with The Athletic but decided not to bid, one of the people said. FanDuel on Tuesday denied an earlier... Fantasy and sports betting provider DraftKings was among a number of companies that have...