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Hopin's virtual events software. Screen shot provided by Hopin

Virtual Events Startup Hopin Discusses Valuation As High as $2 Billion in New Round

By Kate Clark · Oct 16, 2020 4:33pm PDT · 1 comment

The pandemic-related shutdown of conferences could make one startup a tech unicorn in a fraction of the time it normally takes to pass that $1 billion valuation milestone. Only four months after Hopin, a startup that powers online events, was valued by investors at around $350 million, the company has held discussions with venture capital firms... The pandemic-related shutdown of conferences could make one startup a tech unicorn in a fraction...

A TuSimple facility in Tucson. Photo by TuSimple

New Data Show Reality Behind Self-Driving Truck Startup’s Funding

By Yunan Zhang and Amir Efrati · Oct 14, 2020 12:35pm PDT · 2 comments

TuSimple, a prominent developer of self-driving semitrailer trucks that is worth more than $1 billion on paper, said last fall it had secured funding of $215 million from investors. Part of the funding came from U.S. package delivery giant UPS, which that summer also struck a deal to have TuSimple prototype trucks haul packages in Arizona. ... TuSimple, a prominent developer of self-driving semitrailer trucks that is worth more than $1...

Google employees working in a Berlin office in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

Google’s Internal Data Show Engineers Found It Harder to Code From Home

By Nick Bastone and Amir Efrati · Oct 12, 2020 2:06pm PDT · 4 comments

Google’s engineering directors are grappling with a worrisome trend: internal data that indicate productivity during the coronavirus shutdowns deteriorated among engineers, particularly newly hired ones. One internal survey viewed by The Information found that in the three months ended in June, only 31% of the company’s engineers... Google’s engineering directors are grappling with a worrisome trend: internal data that...

Art by Shutterstock/Mike Sullivan

Microsoft, AWS, Others Boast of ‘Exclusive’ Cloud Customers Who Aren’t

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Oct 12, 2020 6:02am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Shutterstock/Mike Sullivan

Microsoft, AWS, Others Boast of ‘Exclusive’ Cloud Customers Who Aren’t

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Oct 12, 2020 6:02am PDT · 2 comments

Microsoft and OpenAI, a hot new artificial intelligence startup co-founded by Elon Musk, first began cozying up to each other in 2016. That year, OpenAI began to buy cloud services from Microsoft, dubbing the company’s Azure business the startup’s “primary” cloud provider. In July 2019, OpenAI got even tighter with... Microsoft and OpenAI, a hot new artificial intelligence startup co-founded by Elon Musk, first...

Quibi's Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman unveiling the service earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg.

Katzenberg Strikes Out on Quibi Sale Efforts, So Far

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Oct 9, 2020 11:33am PDT · 2 comments

Six months after launching his revolutionary video-streaming service, Quibi, Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg is looking for a buyer. So far, he is coming up short. Over the past few weeks, Katzenberg has pitched several tech and entertainment executives about buying Quibi, only to be turned down. Among those he approached was Eddy Cue,... Six months after launching his revolutionary video-streaming service, Quibi, Hollywood mogul...

ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg; photo illustration by Mike Sullivan

In TikTok Saga, ByteDance CEO Confronts His Blind Spot: Politics

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Oct 9, 2020 6:02am PDT · 1 comment

Zhang Yiming was shocked. China’s government had just announced new rules that could kill his chances of saving TikTok, the viral video app, from being banned in the U.S. The 37-year-old founder and CEO of TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance confided to some of his executives that Beijing’s action, in late August, blindsided him.... Zhang Yiming was shocked. China’s government had just announced new rules that could kill...

Illustration by J. Claeys

Audio Startups Multiply as Investors Seek the Next Clubhouse

By Kate Clark · Oct 8, 2020 6:02am PDT · 1 comment

This spring, Silicon Valley investors watched with a mix of envy and disbelief as top VC firms battled for a stake in tiny audio app Clubhouse. Now others are getting in on the act. Dozens of audio startups, including Betty Labs, Geneva, Chalk, Rodeo and Spoon, are raising capital from venture firms such as Greylock Partners, Alphabet’s GV... This spring, Silicon Valley investors watched with a mix of envy and disbelief as top VC firms...

Mapbox's office in Washington, D.C. Photo by Shutterstock

A New Target in Antitrust Battle Against Google: Maps

By Amir Efrati and Nick Bastone · Oct 8, 2020 6:02am PDT

Mapbox's office in Washington, D.C. Photo by Shutterstock

A New Target in Antitrust Battle Against Google: Maps

By Amir Efrati and Nick Bastone · Oct 8, 2020 6:02am PDT

Maps have suddenly become a new front in the antitrust war against Google. Credit for that goes to Mapbox, a growing rival to Google Maps that steered federal investigators to alleged abuses by the company, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. A congressional report on Tuesday, which made antitrust claims against four... Maps have suddenly become a new front in the antitrust war against Google. Credit for that goes...

Airbnb Burned Through $1.2 Billion as IPO Loomed

By Cory Weinberg, Amir Efrati and Zoë Bernard · Oct 7, 2020 6:01am PDT

Airbnb burned through more than $1.2 billion in cash between mid-2019 and mid-2020, according to previously undisclosed figures, as the plunge in global travel earlier this year eroded a balance sheet already weakened by big increases in spending on hiring and marketing. The cash drain wiped away more than a third of what the company had on hand... Airbnb burned through more than $1.2 billion in cash between mid-2019 and mid-2020, according to...

From left: Kevin Mayer, Peter Rice and Bob Iger. Photos by Disney; AP

How Iger Intervened to Mediate a Power Struggle at Disney+

By Tom Dotan · Oct 6, 2020 6:02am PDT

Last fall, Disney’s then-CEO Bob Iger sent a terse email to two of his top executives, Kevin Mayer and Peter Rice. Mayer, who then ran Disney’s video-streaming effort, had been feuding with Rice, who runs Disney’s television studios, over who had the power to pick the shows that would run on the company’s about-to-launch... Last fall, Disney’s then-CEO Bob Iger sent a terse email to two of his top executives,...

An address sign for Facebook Way is shown in Menlo Park, Calif. Photo: Associated Press

Facebook to Let Managers, More Staff Work Remotely After Pandemic

By Alex Heath and Nick Bastone · Oct 5, 2020 6:02am PDT

Facebook is expanding its permanent work from home policy, moving it closer to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s prediction that half his workforce will be working remotely within a decade. The company, which has more than 52,000 full-time employees, in recent weeks has started allowing a significant portion of its managers and other employees to... Facebook is expanding its permanent work from home policy, moving it closer to CEO Mark...

Tribe Capital partner Arjun Sethi. Photo provided by Arjun Sethi

Tribe Capital Plans Challenge to AngelList

By Zoë Bernard · Oct 2, 2020 1:56pm PDT · 2 comments

Tribe Capital partner Arjun Sethi. Photo provided by Arjun Sethi

Tribe Capital Plans Challenge to AngelList

By Zoë Bernard · Oct 2, 2020 1:56pm PDT · 2 comments

For years, venture firms have given pension funds, family offices and others who put money into their funds ways to invest more directly in the firms’ startups. Now, one well-connected VC firm in Silicon Valley has a plan to let a wider group of investors do the same. Tribe Capital, a $360 million venture fund founded by a trio... For years, venture firms have given pension funds, family offices and others who put money into...

Lyft's driver hub in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft Talked to Bosch About Self-Driving Car Partnership, Investment

By Amir Efrati · Oct 2, 2020 12:36pm PDT

Lyft has had talks over the past year about joining forces on self-driving–car development with German automotive system manufacturer Bosch, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. Lyft also has considered selling a stake in its self-driving–car unit to a player such as Bosch, said the two people.... Lyft has had talks over the past year about joining forces on self-driving–car development...

Illustration by J. Claeys

A Housing Startup Angered Tenants. Now It’s Not Paying Landlords

By Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Sep 30, 2020 9:01am PDT · 1 comment

Bungalow Living, a richly valued startup that rents and manages shared living spaces, has warned some of its landlords in recent days that it doesn’t intend to pay rent next month. In emails, the company cited rental market declines in major cities as a reason to break its deals. “Our ability to pay going forward is in serious... Bungalow Living, a richly valued startup that rents and manages shared living spaces, has warned...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsynder

Austin Emerges as a Hot Spot for Silicon Valley Investors

By Kate Clark · Sep 30, 2020 6:01am PDT · 5 comments

Austin’s startup scene is getting a jolt of new capital, this time from a wave of investors transplanted from Silicon Valley. Since March, Sapphire Ventures, Draper Associates, 8VC and Breyer Capital have either opened an Austin office, hired a local partner or are considering an outpost there. Austin’s lack of a state income tax,... Austin’s startup scene is getting a jolt of new capital, this time from a wave of investors...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg; illustration by Mike Sullivan

Infighting, ‘Busywork,’ Missed Warnings: How Uber Wasted $2.5 Billion on Self-Driving Cars

By Amir Efrati · Sep 28, 2020 6:02am PDT · 6 comments

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg; illustration by Mike Sullivan

Infighting, ‘Busywork,’ Missed Warnings: How Uber Wasted $2.5 Billion on Self-Driving Cars

By Amir Efrati · Sep 28, 2020 6:02am PDT · 6 comments

After five years and an investment of around $2.5 billion, Uber’s effort to build a self-driving car has produced this: a car that can’t drive more than half a mile without encountering a problem. “The car doesn’t drive well” and “struggles with simple routes and simple maneuvers,” said a manager in the... After five years and an investment of around $2.5 billion, Uber’s effort to build a...

Facebook's head of Messenger, Stan Chudnovsky. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

Facebook Opens New Fight With Apple Over Messaging

By Alex Heath · Sep 25, 2020 8:02am PDT

Facebook executives have sharply ramped up their criticism of Apple in recent months, contesting the iPhone maker’s restrictions on gaming apps and ad targeting, as well as its cut of in-app purchases. Now, emboldened by Apple software changes that suggest it is starting to bend, Facebook wants something else: the option to make its... Facebook executives have sharply ramped up their criticism of Apple in recent months, contesting...

Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Photo by Shutterstock.

Microsoft’s Changes to Business Software Terms Could Lift Its Cloud Service and Hurt AWS, Google

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Sep 25, 2020 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

A change Microsoft made late last year to the terms of service for Microsoft 365, its cloud-based software that includes Word, PowerPoint and Outlook, could drive some companies that use Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud to Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, analysts said.Under the new terms, which Microsoft disclosed in August last year... A change Microsoft made late last year to the terms of service for Microsoft 365, its cloud-based...

Viacom CEO Bob Bakish. Photo by Bloomberg

ViacomCBS Probed Sexual Misconduct Allegation Against CEO Bob Bakish

By Jessica Toonkel · Sep 24, 2020 10:47am PDT

ViacomCBS has been investigating an allegation of sexual misconduct by its CEO, Bob Bakish, according to several people familiar with the situation. The investigation comes less than a year after Viacom merged with CBS, whose former CEO Les Moonves resigned after several women accused him of sexual harassment and intimidation, including forcibly... ViacomCBS has been investigating an allegation of sexual misconduct by its CEO, Bob Bakish,...

Amazon's Staten Island, N.Y. warehouse. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Quietly Expands Large-Scale Covid Testing Program for Warehouses

By Paris Martineau · Sep 24, 2020 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon's Staten Island, N.Y. warehouse. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Quietly Expands Large-Scale Covid Testing Program for Warehouses

By Paris Martineau · Sep 24, 2020 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

After months of trials, Amazon’s program to test its warehouse workers for Covid-19 is ramping up.The e-commerce giant is now testing warehouse workers in at least 23 states for Covid using its own federally certified laboratories to process samples, The Information has learned. It’s part of a secretive Amazon initiative called... After months of trials, Amazon’s program to test its warehouse workers for Covid-19 is...