SAN FRANCISCO — Uber Technologies will acquire delivery service Postmates for approximately $2.65 billion in an all-stock transaction. Both companies are based in SF. The deal brings together Uber’s global Rides and Eats platform with Postmates’ delivery business in the U.S. Postmates is the fourth-largest delivery service in the nation and highly complementary to Uber […]
News
British Law Firm Freshfields Opens Silicon Valley Office
MENLO PARK — British law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has opened a new office in Silicon Valley with seven founding partners. Corporate lawyers Sarah Solum, John Fisher and Maj Vaseghi, together with litigators Boris Feldman and Doru Gavril, will join as new partners. They will launch the office with U.S. capital markets partner Pamela Marcogliese […]
Amazon Buys Zoox for $1.2 Billion
Internet giant Amazon is buying Zoox, a Foster City-based developer of self-driving car technology for a reported $1.2 billion according to The Wall Street Journal. This amount is far lower than Zoox’s previous valuation as high as $3.2 billion. Zoox was founded in 2014 with the goal of creating zero-emissions vehicles designed for autonomous ride-hailing, […]
United to Restart Shanghai Service From SF
United Airlines announced it will resume service to China with twice-weekly flights between San Francisco and Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport via Seoul’s Incheon International Airport beginning July 8. United will operate service with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from San Francisco to Shanghai on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Customers traveling from Shanghai will return to San Francisco on Thursdays and Sundays. “United’s service to mainland China has been a point of pride for our employees and customers for […]
Suburbs See Jump in Housing Demand
SANTA CLARA — Consumers are showing an increasing preference for housing in suburban and rural areas as they return to the market after the pandemic according to data from realtor.com. In May, online listing views on the real estate site in suburban ZIP codes grew by 13 percent, nearly doubling the pace of growth of […]
Chipotle to Take Orders on Facebook
NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Chipotle, which offers fast-casual Mexican food at over 2,600 locations, is introducing a series of enhancements to its mobile ordering capabilities including Pepper, its Concierge Bot on Facebook Messenger. Beginning June 22, customers can order food from Chipotle on Messenger by visiting FACEBOOK.COM/CHIPOTLE or the Chipotle page on the Facebook app and […]
Impossible Foods Opens E-Commerce Store
REDWOOD CITY — Impossible Foods, maker of plant-based foods, is launching an all-new e-commerce site, allowing people in the lower 48 states to buy the award-winning Impossible Burger and cook it at home. The startup’s direct-to-consumer channel offers family-size quantities of the plant-based Impossible Burger starting at $49.99 (plus tax). The orders come with compostable […]
CVS to Test Self-Driving Nuro Deliveries
CVS, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains, is teaming up with Nuro to test its fleet of autonomous vehicles to deliver prescriptions and essentials across three zip codes in Houston, TX. The chain has been at the forefront of delivery innovation; it was the first company to make prescription home-delivery a nationwide option in […]
Facebook Launches Shops to Help Small Businesses
Facebook has launched a new feature to help businesses sell products online free of charge. Facebook Shops make it easy for businesses to set up a single online store for customers to access on both Facebook and Instagram. Creating a Facebook Shop is free and simple. Businesses can choose the products they want to feature […]
Zoom Opening 2 New R&D Centers
SAN JOSE — Zoom Video Communications, which has seen its popularity soar during the pandemic, says it will hire hundreds of engineers and open two new research and development centers – one in the greater Phoenix, AZ area and one in Pittsburgh, PA. Zoom will immediately begin recruiting software engineering talent in these locations. Employees […]
Instacart to Deliver for Rite Aid
Rite Aid, a pharmacy chain with 2,400 locations in 18 states, has formed a new partnership with Instacart, which will allow customers to conveniently order and receive essential healthcare and grocery items delivered directly to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Prescriptions are not included in the service. “At Rite Aid, we are […]
Apple Funds $10 Million to Covid Test Maker
CUPERTINO — Apple announced it is awarding $10 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to COPAN Diagnostics, a Murrieta-CA maker of sample collection kits that play a critical role in COVID-19 testing. This funding will allow COPAN Diagnostics to rapidly accelerate their supply of sample collection kits for hospitals across the United States, expanding production […]
Impossible Foods Burgers Debuts in Kroger Stores
REDWOOD CITY — Impossible Foods is rolling out its flagship Impossible Burger at more than 1,700 grocery stores nationwide owned by The Kroger Co., America’s largest grocery retailer. In addition to grocery shelves at Kroger-affiliated brick-and-mortar stores, Impossible Burger is also available for online ordering through Kroger.com for Kroger Curbside Pickup and Delivery. The rollout […]
Airbnb Cutting 25% of Workforce
Airbnb, which was one of the hottest companies in the area, is making major job cuts and laying off 25% of its workforce. CEO Brian Chesky announced in a memo that out of 7,500 Airbnb employees, nearly 1,900 are being let go due to a steep decline in bookings because of the pandemic. Airbnb operates […]
New Home Listings Down 44.1%
SANTA CLARA — Newly listed homes dropped 44.1% nationally in April — historically one of the busiest months for residential real estate — an indication sellers decided to wait and see how market conditions play out over the coming months, according to realtor.com’s April Monthly Housing Trends Report. The report offers the first full month […]
FDA Approves Remdesivir for Emergency Treatment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for the investigational antiviral drug remdesivir — made by Gilead Sciences — for the treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease. While there is limited information known about the safety and effectiveness of using remdesivir to […]
OpenTable to Cut Prices for Restaurants Reopening
SAN FRANCISCO — As restaurants around the country look to reopen, the needs of each will change as government restrictions and safety recommendations evolve. Restaurants that have never taken reservations may find themselves looking for ways to adjust floor plans to allow more space between tables and manage capacity. To help restaurants reopen and adhere […]
NIH Trial Boosts Gilead Drug to Fight Covid-19
Hospitalized patients with advanced COVID-19 and lung involvement who received remdesivir — made by Gilead Sciences — recovered faster than similar patients who received placebo, according to a preliminary data analysis from a randomized, controlled trial involving 1063 patients, which began on February 21. The trial (known as the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial, or ACTT), […]
EA to Bring 5 Games to Google’s Stadia
REDWOOD CITY — Electronic Arts and Google have formed a partnership to launch five EA games on Stadia – Google’s cloud-based gaming platform. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – the critically acclaimed single-player, third-person action-adventure Star Wars game from Respawn and EA – is scheduled to launch on Stadia by the end of this year. EA SPORTS FIFA and Madden NFL are […]
Waffle House Teams Up With Postmates for Delivery
Waffle House, a chain of affordable diners primarily in the southeastern U.S., is now offering delivery of its meals for the first time ever in a deal with Postmates. If you’re hankering for Waffle House’s fresh and fluffy, sweet cream waffle or craving bacon, sausage, or an All-Star Breakfast, this is the first time in […]
Local Transit Agencies Receive $780 Million in Federal Aid
SAN FRANCISCO — The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has released a framework for the allocation of more than $780 million of federal funds to cash-strapped Bay Area transit agencies through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law last month. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the […]
YouTube Offers Free Video Tool
With millions of businesses turning to YouTube during the global pandemic, YouTube has introduced a new tool called Video Builder for businesses who don’t have the resources to create videos from scratch. Video Builder is a free beta tool that animates static assets—images, text and logos—with music from YouTube’s library. You can choose from a […]
DoorDash to Cut Fees by 50% for Local Restaurants
SAN FRANCISCO — DoorDash says it will cut commission fees for local restaurant partners by 50 percent on both DoorDash and Caviar. This commission relief program could benefit more than 150,000 local restaurants in the United States, Canada, and Australia and will begin on April 13 and continue through the end of May. The discount program is only eligible […]
Homes for Sale Inventory Plunges in Silicon Valley
Homes for sale in the Silicon Valley region plunged in March 31.4% from a year ago with the median price in the San Jose area at $1.23 million. Realtor.com’s March housing data reveals that the U.S. housing market began to show signs of slowing in the second half of March. The year-over-year decline in inventory softened, […]