The Information

Customers in Beijing used JDPay electronic payment apps on their smartphones last year to pay at a 7FRESH grocery store operated by JD.com. Photo: AP

Deep Cuts Planned at China’s JD.com

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Apr 9, 2019 8:32am PDT · 2 comments

Chinese online retail giant JD.com is working on a substantial round of layoffs that could slash the workforce of some teams by half, according to people briefed on the matter. In total, JD.com could cut up to 8% of its 150,000-plus workforce, or more than 12,000 jobs, according to investors in the Nasdaq-listed company. While it isn’t... Chinese online retail giant JD.com is working on a substantial round of layoffs that could slash...

How Iger Broke Disney’s Netflix Addiction

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 9, 2019 6:32am PDT · 5 comments

In the spring of 2015, Tom Staggs, who had just become Disney’s chief operating officer, held a strategy discussion with his top TV executives about the future of television. Mr. Staggs issued warnings about Disney’s licensing of TV shows to Netflix, worrying that the entertainment giant was selling Netflix “the bullets”... In the spring of 2015, Tom Staggs, who had just become Disney’s chief operating officer,...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg

Ten Questions Uber’s IPO Investors Should Ask

By Amir Efrati · Apr 8, 2019 6:32am PDT · 7 comments

Uber, which is expected to follow its smaller U.S. rival Lyft to the public market in the next month or so, could get a valuation of $110 billion based on where Lyft is now trading. But valuing Uber will be tougher than figuring out Lyft. Uber is a bigger, more global company with a fast-growing hot-food delivery business and a costly... Uber, which is expected to follow its smaller U.S. rival Lyft to the public market in the next...

Lyft's co founders John Zimmer and Logan Green after the company's IPO last Friday. Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft Threatened Morgan Stanley With Legal Action Over Short-Selling Trades

By Martin Peers and Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 5, 2019 12:38pm PDT · 3 comments

Lyft's co founders John Zimmer and Logan Green after the company's IPO last Friday. Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft Threatened Morgan Stanley With Legal Action Over Short-Selling Trades

By Martin Peers and Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 5, 2019 12:38pm PDT · 3 comments

Lyft threatened Morgan Stanley with legal action earlier this week, demanding in a letter the investment bank stop marketing a short-selling product that the ride-hailing firm believed was disrupting trading in its stock, according to four people familiar with the situation.The letter, sent on April 2, cited an article in the New York Post ... Lyft threatened Morgan Stanley with legal action earlier this week, demanding in a letter the...

Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy at a conference in March. Photo by Bloomberg

Demand Soaring for Amazon AI Services? Not So Fast

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Apr 5, 2019 6:32am PDT · 2 comments

Big cloud computing providers have said customers are clamoring for their artificial intelligence services, which help companies with everything from translating text into speech to automatically recognizing images to fraud detection. Just this week, an investment analyst raised his share price target for Amazon, the dominant player in cloud... Big cloud computing providers have said customers are clamoring for their artificial intelligence...

The People Behind ByteDance’s App Factory

By Yunan Zhang · Apr 4, 2019 6:30am PDT · 3 comments

To grow fast in China, apparently, you’ve also got to get big.ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, the viral short video app that has taken the world’s teenagers by storm, has gone on a massive hiring spree in the past year. Its headcount has roughly doubled to 40,000—more than Facebook, which had 35,600 at Dec.... To grow fast in China, apparently, you’ve also got to get big.ByteDance, the Chinese...

A Chinese employee shows a wafer containing Huaxintong Semiconductor Technology's StarDragon chip. Photo by AP

Qualcomm’s China Venture Shows Risks of Beijing’s Tech Ambition

By Aaron Tilley, Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Apr 3, 2019 7:32am PDT

A joint venture between Qualcomm and the government of a rural Chinese province to make server chips appears to have stalled. And with it, a symbol of China’s push to boost its homegrown industries could instead spotlight the perils of letting bureaucrats pick technology winners.Chinese government officials showcased Huaxintong... A joint venture between Qualcomm and the government of a rural Chinese province to make server...

Ren Zhengfei, founder and chief executive officer of Huawei Technologies. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facing U.S. Pushback, Huawei Aims to Triple Its Consumer Electronics Business to $150 Billion

By Juro Osawa · Apr 3, 2019 5:40am PDT

Ren Zhengfei, founder and chief executive officer of Huawei Technologies. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facing U.S. Pushback, Huawei Aims to Triple Its Consumer Electronics Business to $150 Billion

By Juro Osawa · Apr 3, 2019 5:40am PDT

Huawei’s fight against Samsung and Apple is about to get even fiercer. The Chinese tech giant wants to more than triple its consumer electronics sales to $150 billion in four years, according to an internal speech last week by its founder. As Huawei’s other big business of selling infrastructure for wireless networks... Huawei’s fight against Samsung and Apple is about to get even fiercer. The Chinese tech...

Shopify CEO and co-founder Tobias Lütke. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft Considers Creating a Shopify Competitor

By Priya Anand · Apr 2, 2019 6:31am PDT · 1 comment

Shopify may be the most important e-commerce company the average shopper has never heard of, powering the websites of many e-commerce services and brands like Red Bull, Budweiser and Allbirds. Now Microsoft is considering trying to grab some of the market, a top Microsoft executive says.Microsoft, which already provides cloud computing services... Shopify may be the most important e-commerce company the average shopper has never heard of,...

Taobao's web site. Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba’s Ad Shift Shows Path for Amazon

By Juro Osawa · Apr 1, 2019 6:31am PDT · 1 comment

For a look at how Amazon could develop its ad business, it’s worth paying attention to what China’s Alibaba is doing.Alibaba is China’s biggest digital advertising platform, thanks to search ads it sells to merchants promoting their items on its Taobao marketplace. Now, Alibaba is testing new types of ads that are designed to... For a look at how Amazon could develop its ad business, it’s worth paying attention to what...

Amazon's senior vice president of devices, David Limp, talking bout the Fire TV in 2017. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Planning Video News App for Fire TV

By Jessica Toonkel · Mar 29, 2019 10:05am PDT

Amazon.com is planning to launch a free ad-supported video news app for its Fire TV streaming video devices, featuring live and on-demand digital news programming from TV networks, say three people familiar with the discussions. Ultimately Amazon hopes to integrate the news app into its Alexa offering, the people said.With the news app, the... Amazon.com is planning to launch a free ad-supported video news app for its Fire TV streaming...

Andreessen Horowitz co-founder and general partner Marc Andreessen. Photo by Bloomberg

Andreessen Horowitz Said to Lead Carta Funding at $1.8 Billion Valuation

By Zoë Bernard · Mar 28, 2019 3:16pm PDT · 1 comment

Andreessen Horowitz co-founder and general partner Marc Andreessen. Photo by Bloomberg

Andreessen Horowitz Said to Lead Carta Funding at $1.8 Billion Valuation

By Zoë Bernard · Mar 28, 2019 3:16pm PDT · 1 comment

Carta, a startup that helps investors manage their equity stakes in private companies, is close to having a new set of investors of its own. The company, previously known as eShares, is nearing the completion of a funding round of around $300 million which will value the 7-year-old company at roughly $1.8 billion, according to a person familiar... Carta, a startup that helps investors manage their equity stakes in private companies, is close...

Lyft’s Biggest IPO Winners

By Amir Efrati · Mar 28, 2019 6:31am PDT · 3 comments

If Lyft completes its initial public offering on Friday, as is expected, it will cap a 12-year journey for the ride-hailing firm’s founders and investors, some of whom had more conviction than others about its ability to survive. Now, those who remained steadfast are about to be rewarded.That group includes former eBay executive Sean... If Lyft completes its initial public offering on Friday, as is expected, it will cap a 12-year...

A Casper retail store. Photo by Casper

Inside Casper’s Financials

By Zoë Bernard · Mar 27, 2019 11:57am PDT

The internet mattress maker Casper saw its net revenue jump over 60% during the third quarter of last year, and while the company continued to lose money during the period, it narrowed its losses and projected a small profit before taxes and other items for all of 2019, The Information has learned. The figures were part of a presentation to... The internet mattress maker Casper saw its net revenue jump over 60% during the third quarter of...

A Waymo self-driving test vehicle in the Phoenix area. Photo: Waymo.

With Waymo Robotaxis, Customer Satisfaction Is Far From Guaranteed

By Amir Efrati · Mar 22, 2019 6:31am PDT

“Car tried to turn left into oncoming traffic, driver had to avoid collision,” wrote a customer of Waymo, the unit of Alphabet, in early March after taking a ride in one of the company’s experimental self-driving taxis in suburban Phoenix. The customer was referring to the human backup driver who sits behind the wheel and is... “Car tried to turn left into oncoming traffic, driver had to avoid collision,” wrote...

Apple's software and services chief Eddy Cue, whose team will oversee the video service. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple May Offer Cut-Priced Bundles With Video Offering

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Mar 21, 2019 9:22am PDT · 3 comments

Apple's software and services chief Eddy Cue, whose team will oversee the video service. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple May Offer Cut-Priced Bundles With Video Offering

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Mar 21, 2019 9:22am PDT · 3 comments

When Apple finally unveils its TV service on Monday, it is expected to feature a slate of original shows and the ability to subscribe separately to some other streaming channels, all run through a central video app. But what may differentiate Apple’s service is that it could offer people bundles of on-demand streaming services for one... When Apple finally unveils its TV service on Monday, it is expected to feature a slate of...

VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger, left, and Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy. Photos by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Pact With VMware Shows Signs of Paying Off

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Mar 20, 2019 6:31am PDT

When VMware and Amazon Web Services, the internet retailer’s cloud unit, formed a partnership in 2016, some in the tech industry were skeptical that the agreement between the two rivals would amount to much. Now it looks like the result of that pact—a joint service that lets VMware’s corporate customers move computing... When VMware and Amazon Web Services, the internet retailer’s cloud unit, formed a...

A Blade helicopter over New York Harbor. Image: Blade

‘Flying Over Traffic’: Short-Hop Services Multiply

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 19, 2019 6:31am PDT · 2 comments

Tired of bad traffic and have money to spare? A growing cadre of venture capital–backed startups are launching services to ferry people on short-distance trips by small planes and helicopters. Companies including Blade, Skyryse and BlackBird believe there is a growing market for short hops by air in places like the Bay Area, Los Angeles... Tired of bad traffic and have money to spare? A growing cadre of venture capital–backed...

An employee makes a bed at an Oyo-branded property in Bangalore, India. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb Mulls Big Investment in Indian Hotel Startup

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 18, 2019 1:26pm PDT

Airbnb is contemplating another big step into the hotel business, this time in India and China. The travel giant is in discussions to invest in Indian hotel management startup Oyo, two people familiar with the matter said. If completed, the investment would likely be in the $100 million to $200 million range, one of the people said. It comes... Airbnb is contemplating another big step into the hotel business, this time in India and China. ...

Bargain Shopping App Wish in Talks to Raise $300 Million

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Mar 18, 2019 12:08am PDT

Bargain Shopping App Wish in Talks to Raise $300 Million

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Mar 18, 2019 12:08am PDT

Ecommerce startup Wish is in talks with private equity firm General Atlantic and other investors to raise about $300 million in a new funding round, people familiar with matter said.The fundraising, which hasn’t yet closed, values the San Francisco-based company at about $11 billion pre-money, higher than its previous valuation of $8.5... Ecommerce startup Wish is in talks with private equity firm General Atlantic and other investors...