The Information

An attendee at Mobile World Congress in 2016 tries on a pair of Recon's smart spectacles. Photo: Bloomberg

Inside Intel’s Failed Wearables Gambit

By Aaron Tilley · Apr 30, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

On the day Intel completed its $175 million purchase of smart-spectacle maker Recon Instruments in June 2015, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich flew to Recon’s Vancouver headquarters to welcome the 60-person company. For the next year, he showed close interest in the business, meeting frequently with Recon chief Dan Eisenhardt, even though Mr.... On the day Intel completed its $175 million purchase of smart-spectacle maker Recon Instruments...

VSCO CEO Joel Flory. Photo by Bloomberg.

Once-Hot Social Startup VSCO Finds Success With Subscriptions

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 25, 2018 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

VSCO, a hip photo-and-video-editing app popular with people younger than 25, captured attention as a startup riding the early mobile, social wave. Instagram tried to buy it at one point and VSCO later raised $70 million in venture funding. But finding a profitable business model was tougher. To cut costs, the Oakland, Calif.–based company... VSCO, a hip photo-and-video-editing app popular with people younger than 25, captured attention...

A worker preparing an Amazon package for shipment, at Amazon's fulfillment center in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Photo by Bloomberg.

Private Equity Firms Targeting Amazon Sellers

By Priya Anand · Apr 25, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

A new consolidation wave in retail is brewing: a rollup of some of the two million merchants that sell on Amazon’s platform.Small private equity firms and other investors have begun circling small businesses that sell on Amazon, looking to buy up and combine the most attractive, several brokers told The Information. Most investors are... A new consolidation wave in retail is brewing: a rollup of some of the two million merchants that...

DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. Photo by Bloomberg.

Deep Confusion: Tensions Lingered Within Google Over DeepMind

By Kevin McLaughlin and Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 19, 2018 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. Photo by Bloomberg.

Deep Confusion: Tensions Lingered Within Google Over DeepMind

By Kevin McLaughlin and Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 19, 2018 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

When Google unveiled its plan to form an Alphabet holding company in 2015, it was pitched as a way to ensure Google’s blue-sky bets in areas like self-driving cars and health care could flourish under independent leadership. One business that hoped to capitalize on the new arrangement was the London-based artificial intelligence startup... When Google unveiled its plan to form an Alphabet holding company in 2015, it was pitched as a...

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. Photo by Bloomberg

Intel Plans to Shut Down Smart Glasses Group

By Aaron Tilley · Apr 18, 2018 5:39pm PDT · 1 comment

Intel’s long-failing foray into wearables and augmented reality is officially dead.The chip giant’s new devices group will shut down, according to people familiar with the situation. The division, formed in 2013, made fitness trackers and smart glasses. Despite an investment of several hundred million dollars by Intel, including... Intel’s long-failing foray into wearables and augmented reality is officially dead.The chip...

McAfee CEO Chris Young. Photo: Bloomberg

McAfee Has Held Talks to Acquire Security Startup Endgame

By Sarah Kuranda · Apr 17, 2018 3:34pm PDT

Security giant McAfee has held talks to acquire security startup Endgame, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. A deal would help McAfee expand its technology to protect computers and other devices on corporate networks from cybersecurity threats. The talks were taking place as recently as two weeks ago, said one of the people... Security giant McAfee has held talks to acquire security startup Endgame, according to multiple...

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings speaking in Tokyo in 2016. Photo: Bloomberg

Netflix, Long an AWS Customer, Tests Waters on Google Cloud

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 17, 2018 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

Netflix, one of Amazon Web Services’ biggest customers, is expanding its use of Google Cloud, one of AWS’s biggest rivals, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The move, which hasn’t previously been reported, could portend a shift in the balance of power in the cloud computing market.Netflix is using Google... Netflix, one of Amazon Web Services’ biggest customers, is expanding its use of Google...

Cybereason CEO Lior Div. Photo by Bloomberg.

Fake Hire, Staff Departures Roil SoftBank-Backed Security Startup

By Sarah Kuranda · Apr 12, 2018 7:01am PDT

Cybereason CEO Lior Div. Photo by Bloomberg.

Fake Hire, Staff Departures Roil SoftBank-Backed Security Startup

By Sarah Kuranda · Apr 12, 2018 7:01am PDT

Cybereason, a Softbank-backed rising star in corporate cybersecurity, touts its ability to spot attacks on data networks. But one threat slipped past the roughly $1 billion startup’s defenses: an executive hired to run Cybereason’s human resources unit who the company says turned out to be a fraud.The incident was just the... Cybereason, a Softbank-backed rising star in corporate cybersecurity, touts its ability to spot...

Huawei CEO Richard Yu. Photo: Bloomberg

Huawei’s Advances in Chips, Patents Threaten Former Ally Qualcomm

By Juro Osawa and Aaron Tilley · Apr 3, 2018 10:00am PDT · 7 comments

Qualcomm’s China Tech Day conference in January in Beijing represented a who’s who of China’s mobile industry. Top executives from the country’s biggest handset makers showed up. But one Chinese smartphone giant, Huawei, was notably absent.Huawei, the world’s third-largest smartphone maker behind Apple and Samsung,... Qualcomm’s China Tech Day conference in January in Beijing represented a who’s who of...

Google's John Giannandrea. Photo: Bloomberg

Google’s Giannandrea Steps Aside in AI Leadership Shuffle

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 2, 2018 2:16pm PDT · 1 comment

John Giannandrea, senior vice president of engineering at Google and one of the company’s leading public voices on artificial intelligence issues, is stepping down from his position as head of the search and AI units, according to a person with knowledge of the change. A Google spokeswoman confirmed the move in an email. The move comes two... John Giannandrea, senior vice president of engineering at Google and one of the company’s...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo: AP

Tesla’s Musk Takes Charge of Model 3 Production as Problems Persist

By Amir Efrati · Apr 2, 2018 12:51pm PDT · 2 comments

Tesla’s struggles to manufacture its flagship Model 3 electric sedan reached a boiling point last week, prompting CEO Elon Musk to take direct control of the division producing the vehicles, according to two people briefed on the matter.The move came after Tesla failed to hit its goal of making about 500 Model 3 sedans per day, or 2,500... Tesla’s struggles to manufacture its flagship Model 3 electric sedan reached a boiling...

Spotify headquarters in Stockholm. Photo: AP

Anticipating Strong Public Debut, Spotify Shareholders Sit Tight

By Alfred Lee · Apr 2, 2018 7:01am PDT

Spotify headquarters in Stockholm. Photo: AP

Anticipating Strong Public Debut, Spotify Shareholders Sit Tight

By Alfred Lee · Apr 2, 2018 7:01am PDT

Spotify shareholders appeared reluctant to sell much stock last week ahead of the company’s public listing, say investors and brokers, suggesting the price will jump when shares begin trading on Tuesday.The music streaming service was still allowing private trades last week, a highly unusual move so close to a public listing. But investors... Spotify shareholders appeared reluctant to sell much stock last week ahead of the company’s...

Jeff Bezos and Jeff Blackburn at the Academy Awards in 2017. Photo: Shutterstock

Amazon’s Other Jeff Under Spotlight at Studios

By Priya Anand and Tom Dotan · Mar 29, 2018 12:49pm PDT · 7 comments

After the head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, resigned in October amid a sexual harassment allegation, Amazon Senior Vice President Jeff Blackburn addressed several hundred Studios staff members at an all-hands meeting in Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome. Mr. Blackburn didn’t elaborate on the circumstances surrounding Mr. Price’s exit,... After the head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, resigned in October amid a sexual harassment...

Photo: AP

AT&T Develops Networking Switch, in Blow to Cisco

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 29, 2018 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

AT&T is building a hardware device to move traffic over the network it uses to provide telecom services to its customers, said two people with knowledge of the project, potentially depriving longtime supplier Cisco Systems of millions of dollars in annual sales.The switch project, which hasn’t been previously reported, is part of... AT&T is building a hardware device to move traffic over the network it uses to provide...

Andrew Bosworth, Facebook vice president of consumer hardware. Photo: AP

Amid Uproar, Facebook Considers Privacy Safeguards for Smart-Home Devices

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 28, 2018 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

As Facebook faces a storm of criticism about how it handles its trove of user data, the company is taking steps to secure users’ information in its first-ever foray into smart-home devices. One of the devices under development, called Portal, would use facial-recognition technology to help set up video calls between friends and family... As Facebook faces a storm of criticism about how it handles its trove of user data, the company...

Back in Vogue, Tech Lending Funds Cater to Pre-IPO Workers

By Alfred Lee · Mar 27, 2018 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

Back in Vogue, Tech Lending Funds Cater to Pre-IPO Workers

By Alfred Lee · Mar 27, 2018 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

More Silicon Valley investors are jumping into one of the most obscure niches in private tech finance: lending money to startup employees to profit from the windfall when the companies go public. New employee loan funds are aiming to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, backed by institutional investors, private wealth managers and... More Silicon Valley investors are jumping into one of the most obscure niches in private tech...

Photo: Gareth Halfacree/Flickr

Google, Tesla Get Behind Challenge to Arm Chip Design

By Aaron Tilley · Mar 26, 2018 10:01am PDT · 10 comments

More than 80 tech companies including Google, Qualcomm and Samsung have joined together to develop a new open-source chip design that offers a much cheaper way to build chips for new technologies like autonomous vehicles. If the effort succeeds, it could seriously undercut SoftBank-owned Arm Holdings, which has been trying to extend its... More than 80 tech companies including Google, Qualcomm and Samsung have joined together to...

A Warby Parker store in New York. Photo by Mike Sullivan

Can Warby Parker Sustain Investors’ High Expectations?

By Alfred Lee and Serena Saitto · Mar 26, 2018 7:01am PDT

Warby Parker has become a major e-commerce success story since launching eight years ago. Investors seem to be banking on big growth from the trendy eyewear retailer, judging by a recent fundraising. But revenue figures suggest the company has its work cut out for it if it is going to continue to meet investors’ lofty expectations.The... Warby Parker has become a major e-commerce success story since launching eight years ago....

Photo: AP

Google to Expand Classroom Software to Business Customers

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 23, 2018 10:24am PDT · 1 comment

Google has established itself as a force in the education software market through its free Google Classroom app. Now, it is hoping to capitalize on the software’s popularity by offering a reconfigured version to business customers looking to train employees, said two people who have been briefed on the plans. The move could help Google... Google has established itself as a force in the education software market through its free Google...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft Plans $150 Million Tender Offer as Interest in Stock Rises

By Amir Efrati and Alfred Lee · Mar 21, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft Plans $150 Million Tender Offer as Interest in Stock Rises

By Amir Efrati and Alfred Lee · Mar 21, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

An unidentified investor is planning to buy around $150 million of shares in Lyft from employees in a tender offer, at just a 3% discount to the valuation put on Lyft in its recent fundraising. That’s a small discount for stock sold by employees in a tender and reflects investors’ intense interest right now in Lyft, which last year... An unidentified investor is planning to buy around $150 million of shares in Lyft from employees...