The Information

Shoppers in front of the Tesla showroom at a shopping plaza in Shanghai, China, in March. Photo by Bloomberg.

Tesla’s China Orders Halved in May, Internal Data Show, As Crisis Deepens

By Juro Osawa · Jun 3, 2021 10:42am PDT · 3 comments

Tesla vehicle orders in China fell by nearly half in May compared to April, according to internal data, as the electric car pioneer grappled with public outcry and government criticism over its handling of consumer complaints. Taken together, the developments put in doubt Tesla’s vaunted position and success in the world’s biggest... Tesla vehicle orders in China fell by nearly half in May compared to April, according to internal...

Racks housing GPUs mine the Ethereum and Zilliqa cryptocurrencies at the Evobits crypto farm in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Photo by Bloomberg

Union Square Ventures Values Crypto Publishing Tool Mirror at $100 Million

By Kate Clark · Jun 1, 2021 4:09pm PDT · 2 comments

Union Square Ventures, an early backer of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has invested in crypto publishing tool Mirror.xyz at a $100 million valuation, according to two people with direct knowledge of the funding. The one-year-old startup has raised at least $10 million across two recent seed financings from investors including USV and... Union Square Ventures, an early backer of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has invested in...

SoftBank-Backed Katerra to Shut Down

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 1, 2021 11:35am PDT · 2 comments

Construction startup Katerra has told employees it plans to shut down, people familiar with the matter said, marking the collapse of the SoftBank-backed company that had raised more than $2 billion to slash the cost of building apartments. Katerra is expected to let go of thousands of employees and is likely to walk away from dozens of... Construction startup Katerra has told employees it plans to shut down, people familiar with the...

Marne Levine, left, and Sheryl Sandberg. Photos by Bloomberg

Facebook’s Marne Levine is Top Internal Candidate for Chief Business Officer Role

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 1, 2021 10:57am PDT

Marne Levine, left, and Sheryl Sandberg. Photos by Bloomberg

Facebook’s Marne Levine is Top Internal Candidate for Chief Business Officer Role

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 1, 2021 10:57am PDT

Facebook executive Marne Levine, who is vice president of global partnerships, has emerged as the leading internal candidate to fill the company’s newly formed chief business officer role, according to a person familiar with the matter. If appointed, Levine will have the job of maintaining Facebook’s rapid advertising growth while... Facebook executive Marne Levine, who is vice president of global partnerships, has emerged as the...

Incoming Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

How Amazon’s Jassy Is Already Warming Up for CEO Job

By Nick Wingfield and Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 1, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last week, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos finally revealed when he’ll pass the CEO baton to his hand-picked successor, Andy Jassy: July 5. But Jassy has spent months getting ready for the moment. Since Amazon announced the change in February, Jassy has begun quietly pitching in on efforts that would normally fall to Bezos, even though Jassy is... Last week, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos finally revealed when he’ll pass the CEO baton to his...

A Boeing 777X airplane at Boeing Field in Seattle. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon, Microsoft and Google Pursue $1 Billion Cloud Deal With Boeing

By Amir Efrati and Kevin McLaughlin · May 27, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

The biggest cloud computing companies—Amazon, Microsoft and Google—often pull out all the stops to land long-term contracts with marquee corporate customers. The latest prize all three are pursuing, according to four people with knowledge of the matter, is a multiyear deal to provide cloud services to aerospace giant Boeing. Amazon,... The biggest cloud computing companies—Amazon, Microsoft and Google—often pull out all...

Opera Chairman & CEO Yahui Zhou and Executive Vice President Jiwei Wu ring a gong as Opera begins trading at the Nasdaq in 2018. Photo by AP

China-Backed African Payment Startup OPay Raising $400 Million to Fuel Expansion

By Juro Osawa · May 26, 2021 7:28am PDT

OPay, an African digital payment upstart founded by the Chinese tech billionaire who once owned Grindr, is in talks with investors to raise as much as $400 million at a valuation of more than $1.5 billion, three times its most recent valuation, two people familiar with the matter said. A bigger war chest could help accelerate the app’s... OPay, an African digital payment upstart founded by the Chinese tech billionaire who once owned...

A restaurant in San Francisco serves a take-out customer in February. Startups that help restaurants take online orders have flourished during the pandemic. Photo: Bloomberg

Tiger Global Leads Deal for Restaurant Startup Popmenu at $525 Million Valuation

By Berber Jin · May 25, 2021 3:22pm PDT · 1 comment

A restaurant in San Francisco serves a take-out customer in February. Startups that help restaurants take online orders have flourished during the pandemic. Photo: Bloomberg

Tiger Global Leads Deal for Restaurant Startup Popmenu at $525 Million Valuation

By Berber Jin · May 25, 2021 3:22pm PDT · 1 comment

The pandemic shutdowns prompted more people than ever to order online from restaurants, lifting the fortunes of startups selling software to the sector. Now, even as in-person gatherings resume, venture investors are betting diners will still want to use these digital tools. Popmenu, an Atlanta-based startup that provides website design services... The pandemic shutdowns prompted more people than ever to order online from restaurants, lifting...

Nisa Leung. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Qiming Venture Launches $500 Million Fund to Invest in Listed Companies

By Juro Osawa · May 25, 2021 7:31am PDT · 1 comment

Qiming Venture Partners, a prominent China-focussed VC firm whose portfolio includes TikTok owner ByteDance, has expanded into public stock market investments for the first time, with a recently launched $500 million fund that bets primarily on Chinese healthcare companies listed outside mainland China, people with knowledge of the matter... Qiming Venture Partners, a prominent China-focussed VC firm whose portfolio includes TikTok owner...

Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young during yesterday's game against the New York Knicks. Photo by AP

Discovery Deal Deepens Uncertainty Over WarnerMedia’s Bleacher Report

By Sahil Patel and Jessica Toonkel · May 24, 2021 9:07am PDT

Shortly after Jason Kilar took over WarnerMedia a year ago, he met with executives at Bleacher Report to discuss the future of the scrappy digital sports business, according to people familiar with the discussions. In the meeting, Kilar and the team discussed how Bleacher Report could play a role in the company’s upcoming HBO Max streaming... Shortly after Jason Kilar took over WarnerMedia a year ago, he met with executives at Bleacher...

Photos by Bloomberg, Stripe. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Stripe Founders’ Right-Hand Man

By Kate Clark · May 24, 2021 6:01am PDT · 9 comments

A few years ago, a saying started to ricochet around Stripe’s brick-faced headquarters in San Francisco: If Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison, both licensed pilots, were to ever get in a plane crash on one of their jaunts, Will Gaybrick would be first in line to succeed them. The morbid banter, recounted by former staff,... A few years ago, a saying started to ricochet around Stripe’s brick-faced headquarters in...

Axios co-founder Mike Allen. Photo by Bloomberg.

Axel Springer Is in Talks to Buy Axios

By Sahil Patel and Jessica Toonkel · May 21, 2021 7:40am PDT · 3 comments

Axios co-founder Mike Allen. Photo by Bloomberg.

Axel Springer Is in Talks to Buy Axios

By Sahil Patel and Jessica Toonkel · May 21, 2021 7:40am PDT · 3 comments

German media conglomerate Axel Springer is in talks to acquire Axios, according to people familiar with the matter, continuing a consolidation of the digital media sector. The valuation under discussion is around $400 million, said one of the people. Axel Springer already owns Insider and is an investor in Group Nine Media, owner of digital... German media conglomerate Axel Springer is in talks to acquire Axios, according to people...

A still from "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch." Image by Stuart Hendry/Netflix

Netflix Seeks Executive to Expand Game Efforts

By Nick Wingfield and Jessica Toonkel · May 21, 2021 6:00am PDT · 16 comments

Netflix is looking to hire an executive to oversee an expansion into videogames, a sign it is stepping up its efforts to grow beyond traditional filmed entertainment, according to people familiar with the situation. In recent weeks, Netflix has approached veteran game industry executives about joining the company, the people said. While the... Netflix is looking to hire an executive to oversee an expansion into videogames, a sign it is...

MGM's headquarters in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Pondering Deal to Buy MGM

By Jessica Toonkel and Nick Wingfield · May 17, 2021 2:58pm PDT · 4 comments

Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM Holdings, said a person familiar with the situation, in what would be the ecommerce giant’s biggest move yet to expand in entertainment. MGM owns a major film library, with interests in the long running James Bond franchise as well as other well known titles such as Rocky and Pink Panther. It... Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM Holdings, said a person familiar with the situation,...

David Ebersman, cofounder and CEO of Lyra Health. Photo courtesy of Lyra Health.

Mental Health Startup Lyra Health Valued at $4.6 Billion in Coatue-Led Round

By Berber Jin · May 17, 2021 1:58pm PDT · 1 comment

Lyra Health, which provides mental health benefits such as virtual therapy sessions to employees of large companies, is raising a new, $200 million round of funding that will value it at nearly $4.6 billion, according to two people familiar with the deal. Hedge fund Coatue Management is leading the financing as a new investor, the people said. ... Lyra Health, which provides mental health benefits such as virtual therapy sessions to employees...

Photo: Bloomberg

Google Struggles to Match Apple on Smartphone Privacy Changes

By Sarah Krouse · May 17, 2021 6:02am PDT

Photo: Bloomberg

Google Struggles to Match Apple on Smartphone Privacy Changes

By Sarah Krouse · May 17, 2021 6:02am PDT

Pressured by Apple’s recent iPhone privacy initiative, Google is accelerating work to limit how app developers can track the 2.5 billion people who use phones powered by its Android software. The efforts are still in flux and have been delayed by internal concerns that such moves will diminish the $130 billion a year spent on U.S. mobile... Pressured by Apple’s recent iPhone privacy initiative, Google is accelerating work to limit...

Incoming FTC antitrust enforcement chief Eyitayo St. Matthew-Daniel. Credit: DOJ. Art by Mike Sullivan.

FTC Picks New Antitrust Top Cop to Battle Facebook, Probe Amazon

By Josh Sisco · May 15, 2021 11:58am PDT

A little-known criminal antitrust prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Eyitayo St. Matthew-Daniel, is expected to be named the top antitrust enforcer at the department’s sister agency, the Federal Trade Commission, say three people familiar with the situation. The previously unreported pick comes from current Acting FTC Chair... A little-known criminal antitrust prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Eyitayo St....

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed in Talks to Acquire Complex Networks

By Jessica Toonkel · May 11, 2021 9:07am PDT

BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks as part of its plan to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company 890 Fifth Avenue Partners, according to three people familiar with the situation. The Complex acquisition would increase BuzzFeed’s revenue by about 30%, giving it more scale and... BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks as part of its plan...

A photo (top left) of a suspected detention center next to Artux Kunshan Industrial Park in Xinjiang, where an Apple supplier operated. Apple CEO Tim Cook (right). Photos by AP; Bloomberg. Collage by Mike Sullivan

Seven Apple Suppliers Accused of Using Forced Labor From Xinjiang

By Wayne Ma · May 10, 2021 6:00am PDT

Advanced-Connectek has made unglamorous but critical computer components for Apple for more than a decade. For two of those years, it operated a factory inside an industrial park on the edge of the deserts of Xinjiang, a region of western China populated by a predominantly Muslim group known as Uyghurs. The industrial park is surrounded by walls... Advanced-Connectek has made unglamorous but critical computer components for Apple for more than...

Photos by Bloomberg; Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Zuckerberg’s Plan to Repair Facebook’s Image: More Zuckerberg

By Alex Heath and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · May 6, 2021 12:53pm PDT · 3 comments

Photos by Bloomberg; Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Zuckerberg’s Plan to Repair Facebook’s Image: More Zuckerberg

By Alex Heath and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · May 6, 2021 12:53pm PDT · 3 comments

During a companywide Q&A with Facebook employees last Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned to a question about a recent uptick in posts on his Facebook page, including a joke he made referencing the actor Vin Diesel a few days prior. He acknowledged that his public persona has been “really serious,” bordering on “squarely... During a companywide Q&A with Facebook employees last Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned to...