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Amazon and Roku Gird for Battle Over Viewer Data in Latest Streaming Drama

By Jessica Toonkel and Josh Sisco · Oct 29, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment
First it was Google that took a swipe at Roku, threatening to take YouTube, the most popular video-streaming service in the U.S., off Roku devices if the two companies couldn’t resolve a dispute. Now Roku is facing a battle with another tech giant, Amazon. The deal that lets Roku carry Amazon’s free ad-supported channel, IMDb TV, is... First it was Google that took a swipe at Roku, threatening to take YouTube, the most popular...
Photo by Bloomberg
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ByteDance’s Stock Value Falls by 20% in Secondary Sale After China Crackdown

By Juro Osawa · Oct 26, 2021 8:33am PDT
Is TikTok cheap? Some investors think so and are buying private shares of TikTok owner ByteDance from existing investors at prices that value it at a steep discount compared to trades from earlier this year. Recently, the family office of a Middle Eastern billionaire struck a deal in the secondary market to buy shares that valued closely held... Is TikTok cheap? Some investors think so and are buying private shares of TikTok owner ByteDance...
Outside an Apple store in New York. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Apple Very Likely to Face DOJ Antitrust Suit

By Josh Sisco · Oct 25, 2021 1:18pm PDT
Apple so far has avoided the worst outcome in its U.S. legal battle with Epic Games, but its antitrust woes remain. In the last several months the U.S. Department of Justice has accelerated its two-year-old antitrust probe of the iPhone maker, according to two people with knowledge of the investigation, increasing the likelihood of a lawsuit. ... Apple so far has avoided the worst outcome in its U.S. legal battle with Epic Games, but its...
Art by Mike Sullivan
New Facebook Storm Nears as CNN, Fox Business and Other Outlets Team Up on Whistleblower Docs
By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Mark Di Stefano · Oct 22, 2021 2:55pm PDT · 6 comments
Art by Mike Sullivan
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New Facebook Storm Nears as CNN, Fox Business and Other Outlets Team Up on Whistleblower Docs

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Mark Di Stefano · Oct 22, 2021 2:55pm PDT · 6 comments
It’s not often that major news organizations coordinate to sift through a large trove of leaked company documents and agree not to publish stories about them until a certain date. But in the world of news related to Facebook, these are extraordinary times. Something similar happened in 2016 when the International Consortium of... It’s not often that major news organizations coordinate to sift through a large trove of...
Illustration by Josh Brill
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No Longer Just Crypto Curious, Sand Hill Road Investors Get Blockchain Fever

By Kate Clark · Oct 22, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments
For years, the most avid investors in crypto startups have been firms that specialize in the category—with the notable exception of Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that got crypto religion early. Now, though, the most storied firms on Silicon Valley's Sand Hill Road are going from crypto curious to true... For years, the most avid investors in crypto startups have been firms that specialize in the...
Art by Mike Sullivan
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The Battle of the Streaming Gatekeepers Heats Up

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Oct 21, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments
In 2019, David Limp, head of Amazon’s devices business, saw an opening. For years, Roku—Amazon’s chief rival in the market for devices that let you stream video onto television sets—had supplied software to TCL, one of the world’s leading TV makers, to power the Chinese company’s internet-connected TV sets.... In 2019, David Limp, head of Amazon’s devices business, saw an opening. For years,...
Art by Mike Sullivan
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Facebook Kills ‘Hey Facebook’ Voice Command for Portal Amid Customer ‘Confusion’

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Oct 20, 2021 3:08pm PDT
Facebook has quietly abandoned the phrase “Hey Facebook” as a way for customers of its Portal video-chat device to start a conversation with a voice-activated virtual “AI assistant,” according to an internal memo viewed by The Information. The shift came after customers indicated they were confused by the phrase... Facebook has quietly abandoned the phrase “Hey Facebook” as a way for customers of...
Illustration by Mike Sullivan.
Atomico Values Customer Engagement Startup Commsor at $450 Million
By Berber Jin and Mark Di Stefano · Oct 20, 2021 11:55am PDT
Illustration by Mike Sullivan.
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Atomico Values Customer Engagement Startup Commsor at $450 Million

By Berber Jin and Mark Di Stefano · Oct 20, 2021 11:55am PDT
Commsor, a two-year-old startup that sells software to help companies track user engagement, is raising $50 million at a $450 million valuation, a price that includes the investment, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. London-based Atomico is leading the round, the people added. The valuation is nearly three times higher than... Commsor, a two-year-old startup that sells software to help companies track user engagement, is...
Kyle Samani, Multicoin Capital co-founder and managing partner. Screenshot via YouTube. Art by Mike Sullivan.
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Multicoin Capital Targets $250 Million for Third Crypto VC Fund

By Kate Clark · Oct 19, 2021 12:02pm PDT
Multicoin Capital, which operates a hedge fund focused on crypto tokens, is planning to raise $250 million for its third venture fund to back crypto startups, according to fundraising materials viewed by The Information. The Austin-based firm, which announced a $100 million second fund in May, plans to finish fundraising by the end of the year,... Multicoin Capital, which operates a hedge fund focused on crypto tokens, is planning to raise...
Art by Mike Sullivan
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Finnish Cloud Database Firm Aiven Doubles Valuation to $2 Billion in Latest Funding

By Mark Di Stefano · Oct 18, 2021 12:19pm PDT
Finnish data management startup Aiven has more than doubled its valuation to $2 billion in a fresh fundraising just six months after its last funding, according to a person familiar with the matter, reflecting investor enthusiasm for the enterprise software sector. Aiven raised $60 million in an extension of a Series C round in March in which... Finnish data management startup Aiven has more than doubled its valuation to $2 billion in a...
Art by Mike Sullivan
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Facebook’s Ad-Tracking Loss Is Startups’ Gain

By Malique Morris · Oct 18, 2021 8:01am PDT
Apple’s clampdown on ad tracking has prompted some small online merchants to cut back their ad spending on social media sites like Facebook, which they see as a less effective outlet than in the past. Among the beneficiaries are e-commerce software firms that specialize in collecting data on how consumers behave on merchants’... Apple’s clampdown on ad tracking has prompted some small online merchants to cut back their...
How TikTok Is Changing YouTube
By Sarah Krouse and Sahil Patel · Oct 15, 2021 7:56am PDT
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How TikTok Is Changing YouTube

By Sarah Krouse and Sahil Patel · Oct 15, 2021 7:56am PDT
YouTube isn’t just trying to mimic TikTok, the viral short-form video app that has taken the world by storm. It’s also copying TikTok’s growth playbook by paying professionals to produce original short videos. After YouTube in May said it would give $100 million to individual video creators to post original... YouTube isn’t just trying to mimic TikTok, the viral short-form video app that has taken...
Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in 2019; photo by Bloomberg
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Why a Key Google Cloud Product Ended Up Generating Less Than 0.1% of Revenue

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Oct 15, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments
Three months after becoming CEO of Google Cloud, Thomas Kurian tried to shake up the cloud market and gain an edge on his bigger rivals, Amazon and Microsoft. He launched a service called Anthos to make it easier for businesses to host their websites and applications in private data centers and on Google Cloud as well as in clouds operated by... Three months after becoming CEO of Google Cloud, Thomas Kurian tried to shake up the cloud market...
Illustration by Danielle Davis
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Heavy Losses, Big Funding: Instant-Delivery Startups Battle for Customers

By Berber Jin · Oct 14, 2021 10:16am PDT · 13 comments
The instant-delivery wars have hit New York City—and they will soon spread across the country. An array of startups, including Jokr, Fridge No More, Buyk and 1520, are pitching investors to raise fresh cash, sometimes totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, on the promise that they can get people groceries in 15 minutes or less. They... The instant-delivery wars have hit New York City—and they will soon spread across the...
Udemy CEO Greg Coccari. Art by Mike Sullivan
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As Udemy Plans IPO, Instructors Complain Policy Change Cut Their Pay

By Aidan Ryan · Oct 12, 2021 10:29am PDT · 2 comments
As online education service Udemy prepares to market its initial public offering later this month, Udemy’s instructors are grumbling on the sidelines. They complain that their pay has been slashed in recent months as a result of changes the company made last spring to its pay scales. Those changes helped lift Udemy’s gross profits in... As online education service Udemy prepares to market its initial public offering later this...
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, left, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photos by Bloomberg; AP
More Clouds Form Over $55 Billion Nvidia-Arm Merger
By Josh Sisco · Oct 12, 2021 6:00am PDT
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, left, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photos by Bloomberg; AP
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More Clouds Form Over $55 Billion Nvidia-Arm Merger

By Josh Sisco · Oct 12, 2021 6:00am PDT
Nvidia’s prospects of getting regulatory approval for its $55 billion acquisition of microchip designer Arm Holdings from SoftBank are looking increasingly imperiled, according to two people involved in the process. The deal, which would reshape the global chip industry, has been stuck in regulatory reviews for more than a year.... Nvidia’s prospects of getting regulatory approval for its $55 billion acquisition of...
Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of MoonPay. Photo by Bloomberg
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Crypto Startup MoonPay Valued at $3.4 Billion in First VC Funding

By Kate Clark · Oct 11, 2021 11:32am PDT · 7 comments
Crypto payments startup MoonPay is raising its first round of venture capital at a $3.4 billion valuation including the investment, according to two people familiar with the matter. Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management are co-leading the $400 million financing for the bootstrapped startup. MoonPay’s software allows people to use... Crypto payments startup MoonPay is raising its first round of venture capital at a $3.4 billion...
Character actors from Fortnite dance during the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.
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Epic Games May Make Fortnite Movie as Part of Entertainment Expansion

By Mathew Olson and Jessica Toonkel · Oct 11, 2021 6:00am PDT
Epic Games is considering launching an entertainment division focused on scripted video programming, said people familiar with the situation. The maker of hit videogame Fortnite is looking to diversify amid legal battles with Apple and Google that have hurt its ability to expand in the mobile market. The division could develop projects including... Epic Games is considering launching an entertainment division focused on scripted video...
FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg.
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FTC Weighs Early Retirement Offers for Veteran Staffers As Khan Reshapes Agency

By Josh Sisco · Oct 8, 2021 10:26am PDT
The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to make early retirement offers to some of its longtime employees, according to people with knowledge of the discussions, giving FTC Chair Lina Khan the opportunity to fill the ranks with people aligned with the dramatic shift she is overseeing at the 107-year-old agency. Early retirement offers at... The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to make early retirement offers to some of its longtime...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Google Search Wants to Curate Big News. It Could Be a Minefield
By Sarah Krouse · Oct 8, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
Art by Mike Sullivan
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Google Search Wants to Curate Big News. It Could Be a Minefield

By Sarah Krouse · Oct 8, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
Google is trying to learn a tough job that news editors around the world do everyday: curating information about breaking news. A small team inside Google’s search organization has spent more than a year developing a search engine feature called Big Moments that takes a more active role in determining what information to show in search... Google is trying to learn a tough job that news editors around the world do everyday: curating...