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Big shots will help women bridge startup gap

9 Mar 2020

The average value of a seed round for female-founded ventures tripled to $1.2 mln in the past decade. And a record number of outfits with women founders achieved “unicorn” status in 2019. The divide is still huge. Even so successes like Luckin Coffee will accelerate progress.

Facebook tax fight slaps a levy on its reputation

25 Feb 2020

The social network is fighting U.S. authorities in court over a $9 bln tax bill. Its defense has merit. But for a $620 bln company to say it should pay less because its future was uncertain a decade ago defies common sense. That will only win Facebook more enemies.

YouTube makes itself a needless political football

21 Feb 2020

President Trump has bought prominent ads on the video platform on Election Day. That’s because YouTube has enormous reach. Yet, parent Alphabet is in regulators’ crosshairs and campaign money is a tiny slice of revenue. It’s a wonder why it accepts political ads at all.

Holding: Big Tech’s U.S. legal exceptionalism

20 Feb 2020

The approval of T-Mobile US’s merger with Sprint is the latest sign that different rules apply to technology firms. Consequences include gig-worker gripes, unchecked online lies, and abuses of corporate power. Congress and the courts should focus more on equality under the law.

Tech deal review puts VCs in regulatory purgatory

11 Feb 2020

Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook are among firms that will be providing data on tiny acquisitions to the FTC under new orders. Transformative deals are also worrying, though the ad hoc scrutiny of tech seems biased. It is the next impediment to VCs exiting investments.

Twitter stock drama is just so immature

6 Feb 2020

The social network grew its user base over 20% in the fourth quarter sending shares up 15%. Yet revenue growth lagged. Considering the U.S. election, the Olympics and a possible pandemic, the Twittersphere could keep it going. But that’s not a grown-up business.

Facebook’s user black box is cause for concern

29 Jan 2020

Investors may be punishing Mark Zuckerberg’s $636 bln social network for rising costs and slower sales last quarter, even though it had flagged them and beat estimates. A bigger issue is that Facebook is lumping WhatsApp and Instagram into user metrics. It should aim for clarity.

Mark Zuckerberg can be his own activist investor

6 Jan 2020

Keeping shareholders happy isn’t necessarily compatible with cleaning up data abuses and toxic content. But Facebook’s CEO needn’t change his professed ideals. He could change the company’s legal form so it can better serve society – and put his supervoting power to good use.

Team Trump will steal Warren’s tech thunder

26 Dec 2019

The Democratic presidential candidate has made breaking up Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Amazon a key part of her campaign. But the White House could use a recent antitrust probe to make the case first, and effectively mute much of Warren’s roar.

Jack Dorsey adds third job as anti-Facebook hero

20 Dec 2019

The awkward Twitter boss banned political ads and did more than Mark Zuckerberg’s social network to prevent the silencing of Hong Kong protesters. Dorsey, also CEO of Square, fared surprisingly well in D.C. hearings, too. His style will put heat on rivals as U.S. elections loom.

Viewsroom: Jack Dorsey’s heroic year ahead

19 Dec 2019

From banning political ads to developing cryptocurrency plans, the CEO of Twitter and Square has been politically more astute than rivals like Facebook. That sets him up for a good 2020. Also: the different ways that shareholders, the Fed and M&A bankers will tackle climate risk.

Facebook should keep the confessions coming

22 Nov 2019

The $570 bln social network has been unveiling a steady stream of data sins. The belated proactivity is welcome. Rising compliance costs may dent profitability but if Mark Zuckerberg can keep his ad machine going, an improved reputation will pay off financially.

Slack would be better off as part of a team

19 Nov 2019

Shares of the work-messaging service are down 45% since its June IPO. For all Slack’s charms, Microsoft’s alternative has nearly double the users, and is untroubled by the need to raise capital or turn a profit. Slack’s best course is to find a rich benefactor, like Salesforce.

Tech cartel would be handy for U.S. housing

19 Nov 2019

Apple, Facebook and Google have pledged a total of $4.5 bln to build homes in the San Francisco area. California needs at least 200 times that amount. Silicon Valley firms get criticized for being too big, but this is one area where they could throw their weight around more.

TikTok has escape route that Huawei lacks

18 Nov 2019

The Chinese-owned video app and its telecom compatriot are both under fire from U.S. lawmakers who fear political meddling. TikTok may have fewer allies to lobby on its behalf, but owner ByteDance could sell or spin its subsidiary off. Huawei, though, is in a long-term trap.

YouTube spinoff would be a must-watch

15 Nov 2019

The video service is stifled under parent Alphabet, which is valued more like Twitter than faster-growing Netflix. Sharing a stable with search engine Google hurts both in dealing with separate regulatory probes. And Alphabet’s siloed setup means it’s part way to a split already.

U.S. crackdown on TikTok gets help from Beijing

6 Nov 2019

A new Chinese cybersecurity law will give the government unfettered access to data that companies collect. It gives American lawmakers more excuses to probe the popular ByteDance-owned video app. The pressure could also squeeze the likes of Apple to limit their mainland exposure.