Latest news with #Xu
CNBC
7 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
DoorDash CEO Tony Xu is taking on the role of industry consolidator in food delivery
During the depths of the Covid pandemic, with restaurants around the country facing an existential crisis, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu had an unconventional proposal. He wanted to cut commissions. Chief Business Officer Keith Yandell worried that such a move would result in a massive hit to profits ahead of the company's planned IPO. But Xu made a persuasive case. "If restaurants don't thrive, we cannot," Yandell told CNBC in a recent interview, recalling Xu's perspective at the time. "We need to take a leadership position." The company ended up sacrificing over $100 million in fees, Xu later said. Since starting DoorDash on the campus of Stanford University in 2013, the now 40-year-old CEO has navigated the notoriously cutthroat and low-margin business of food delivery, building a company that Wall Street today values at close to $90 billion. The stock has emerged as a tech darling this year, jumping 23%, while the Nasdaq is still down for the year largely on tariff concerns. More than four years after its IPO, net profits remain slim. But that's not getting in the way of Xu's mission to become an industry consolidator, using a combination of cash and new debt to fuel an acquisition spree at a time when big tech deals remain scarce. Earlier this month, DoorDash scooped up British food delivery startup Deliveroo for about $3.9 billion and restaurant technology company SevenRooms for $1.2 billion. "What we've delivered for a customer yesterday probably isn't good enough for what we will deliver for them today," Xu told CNBC's "Squawk Box" after the deals were announced. This week DoorDash announced the pricing of $2.5 billion in convertible debt, and said the proceeds could be used in part for acquisitions. The San Francisco-based company has a history with scooping up competitors to grow market share. In 2019, it bought food delivery competitor Caviar for $410 million from Square, now known as Block. About two years later, DoorDash said it was paying $8.1 billion for international delivery platform Wolt. The deal was its last big transaction until this month. When DoorDash entered the food delivery market, it had to face off against the likes of GrubHub and Seamless, which later joined forces. That combined entity was bought late last year by restaurant owner Wonder Group. In 2014, Uber launched Uber Eats, which is now DoorDash's biggest competitor in the U.S. "It's a very competitive market, and I think merchants do have choice," Xu said in the CNBC interview. "What we're focused on is always trying to innovate and bring new products to match increasing standards and expectations from customers." DoorDash didn't make Xu available for an interview for this story, but provided a statement about the company's acquisition strategy. "We're very picky, very patient, and conscious that, for most companies, deals don't work out in hindsight," the company said. "When we see an opportunity that brings value to customers, expands our potential to empower local economies around the world, and has a path to strong long-term returns on capital, we tend to push our chips in." DoorDash differentiated itself early on by cornering suburban markets that had fewer delivery options, while other players attacked city centers. When Covid shut down restaurant dining in early 2020, DoorDash capitalized on the booming demand for deliveries. Revenue more than tripled that year, and grew 69% in 2021. Colleagues and early investors credit a customer-first focus for much of Xu's success. Gokul Rajaram, who joined DoorDash through its Caviar acquisition, described Xu as "the best operational leader in the U.S." after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Restaurants haven't universally viewed DoorDash as an ally. Commissions can reach as high as 30%, which is a hefty cut to fork over. Many restaurants have reluctantly paid the high fees because of DoorDash's dominant market share, which reached an estimated 67%. In 2021, the company introduced three tiers of pricing, with a basic option at 15% for more price-sensitive businesses. DoorDash needs the high fees in order to stay in the black. The company's contribution profit as a percentage of total marketplace volume hovers below 5%. Colleagues who have known Xu for decades say the food delivery entrepreneur hasn't changed much since the early days of the company. Yandell said Xu once took advice from his young daughter, who complained about a routing issue while accompanying him on food delivery orders. All employees, including Xu, are required to complete orders and handle support calls every year as part of the company's WeDash program. In a part of the country known for the pomp of its wealthy founders, Xu has a very different reputation. Early workers recall memories of Xu pulling up in a dilapidated green 2001 Honda Accord to team events, or participating in company knockout basketball games referred to as "knockys," next to the animal hospital in Palo Alto, which DoorDash briefly called its headquarters. Xu also personally approved every offer for the company's first 4,000 employees. Xu spends many mornings answering customer service complaints. He often drops his kids off at school and, after tucking them in at night, hops on calls with international regions, colleagues say. Xu is an avid Gold State Warriors basketball fan but has a soft spot for the Chicago Bulls, having spent many years in Illinois. Once or twice a week, Xu squeezes in a morning run, and will often do so while traveling to explore different neighborhoods and stores. Xu was born in China and moved with his family to Champaign, Illinois, in 1989. Growing up, he played basketball and mowed lawns to save up for a Nintendo. He told Stanford's View From the Top podcast in 2021 that the experience, and watching his parents hustle, taught him how to "earn your way into better things." His "characteristics became the company's values," said Alfred Lin, an early DoorDash investor and partner at venture firm Sequoia. Xu often attributes his entrepreneurial spirit to his parents. His mother worked as a doctor in China, and juggled three jobs in the U.S. for over a decade, saving up enough to eventually open a medical clinic. His father worked as a waiter while pursuing a Ph.D. Xu said on the podcast that watching his mom gave him a deep understanding of what it takes to run a small business, which came in handy in DoorDash's early years as he was trying to convert restaurants into customers. Employees say Xu has a reputation for detecting hidden talents among his colleagues. Jessica Lachs, the company's chief analytics officer, was working as a general manager assisting with DoorDash's Los Angeles launch when Xu guided her toward her passion for data. "He believes in leaning into the things you're really good at, rather than trying to be mediocre at a lot of things," she said. After Toby Espinosa, DoorDash's ads vice president, lost a deal with a major fast food company during his early years at the startup, Xu told him to work "10 times harder" and become an expert in his field. A few years later, the company secured the partnership, Espinosa said. Grit and struggle defined the early years of DoorDash. The founding team of four managed deliveries around Stanford and Palo Alto though a Google Voice number directed to their cellphones. DoorDash emerged out of a Stanford business school course known as Startup Garage, taught by Professor Stefanos Zenios. The class requires students to present a business idea, test it, and then pitch it to investors. Zenios said Xu stood out with his data-driven approach and natural leadership qualities. The team tested two different ideas, including a platform that helped small businesses better track the effectiveness of their marketing, he recalls. Zenios called the idea to target suburban areas a "brilliant insight." Xu and his team entered Y Combinator in the summer of 2013. The three-month startup accelerator program is known for spawning companies like Airbnb, Stripe and Reddit. Every session culminates with a demo day in front of some of Silicon Valley's biggest investors. The DoorDash idea excited Paul Buchheit, creator of Gmail and a partner at Y Combinator. But like many other potential investors, Buchheit was skeptical about the economic model. "You had a talented team of founders working on what I thought was an idea that had potential," he said. "That's basically the formula for a good startup." On pitch day, the company failed to lure any venture firms, but Buchheit later participated as a seed investor. Shortly after demo day, DoorDash encountered Saar Gur of Charles River Ventures. Gur had been looking for a food delivery platform to back and was conducting due diligence on another company when a friend led him to DoorDash. By the end of their first meeting, they were "finishing each other's sentences," Gur said. Sequoia's Lin initially passed on DoorDash after the Y Combinator pitch, but kept in touch with the team. Lin said he wanted to see data that showed the platform could penetrate beyond Stanford and Palo Alto, and retain customers. He ended up leading two institutional rounds, attaining a 20% stake for Sequoia at the time of the IPO. "Tony always believed that his company would succeed, or they'll find a way to succeed," Lin said. Shortly after its Y Combinator stint, DoorDash hit an early roadblock. Following a Stanford football game, a rush of orders bombarded its delivery system causing massive delays, Xu told Y Combinator's CEO Garry Tan in an interview this year. The founders refunded the orders and spent the night baking cookies, then driving them to customers early the next morning. Oren's Hummus co-owner Mistie Boulton said DoorDash still takes that approach. The team comes to meet with her every quarter and she serves as a beta tester for new products. The restaurant, which started in Palo Alto and has since expanded to a half-dozen locations across the Bay Area, was one of DoorDash's first clients, latching onto the opportunity to reach more customers beyond its small establishment that frequently had lines snaking out the door. "We just fell in love with the idea," Boulton said. "The number one thing that encouraged and enticed me to want to work with them was Xu's passion. He really is one of those people that you can count on." Wall Street is now counting on Xu's ability to execute big deals, even with the company having this month surpassed $10 billion in delivery orders worldwide. The acquisition of Deliveroo, based in London, marks a renewed effort by DoorDash to expand its presence overseas, following the purchase of Finland's Wolt three years ago. The cash deal for SevenRooms, a New York City-based data platform for restaurants and hotels to manage booking information, takes DoorDash into an entirely new category. Xu told CNBC that DoorDash is a "multi-product company now that's operating on a global scale." Following the acquisition announcements, which coincided with a disappointing earnings report in March, analysts at Piper Sandler reiterated their hold recommendation on the stock. One reason for concern, they said, was that "integrating multiple acquisitions at once may create some noise near-term."
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
No camera? No problem: US engineers bend quantum rules to create 3D holograms
Holographic imaging just got a quantum at Brown University, including two undergraduate students, have developed a groundbreaking imaging technique that uses quantum entanglement to produce detailed 3D holograms without relying on traditional infrared cameras. By pairing invisible infrared light to illuminate microscopic objects with visible light entangled at the quantum level, the novel technique captures not just intensity, but also the phase of light waves—an essential ingredient for true holographic imaging. The result is sharp, depth-rich 3D images created using light that never actually touched the object. 'It sounds impossible, but they did it,' said Professor Jimmy Xu, a professor in Brown's School of Engineering and one of the supervising researchers, in a press release. Dubbed Quantum Multi-Wavelength Holography, the technique overcomes longstanding challenges like phase wrapping, using dual entangled wavelengths to dramatically expand depth range. 'The technique allows us to gather better and more accurate information on the thickness of the object, which enables us to create accurate 3D images using indirect photons,' said Moe (Yameng) Zhang, a junior concentrating in engineering physics at Brown who co-led the work with fellow undergraduate Wenyu Liu. Zhang and Liu presented their work earlier this month at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics. Along with Xu, the work was supervised by Petr Moroshkin, a senior research associate. 'You could call this infrared imaging without an infrared camera,' Xu said. 'It sounds impossible, but they did it. And they did it in a way that enables great depth resolution in the images it produces.' Traditional imaging methods, like X-rays or regular photographs, work by capturing light that bounces off an object. Quantum imaging, on the other hand, relies on the strange but powerful phenomenon of quantum entanglement—what Einstein once called 'spooky action at a distance.' When two photons are entangled, a change in one instantly affects the other, no matter how far apart they are. In this technique, one photon—called the 'idler'—interacts with the object, while its entangled partner—the 'signal' photon—is used to actually form the image. In the Brown team's new approach, they used a special crystal to generate pairs of photons: infrared photons to scan the object and visible-light photons to create the image. This setup offers a big advantage: Infrared light is ideal for probing delicate or hidden structures, while visible light allows imaging using standard, affordable detectors. 'Infrared wavelengths are preferred for biological imaging because they can penetrate skin and are safe for delicate structures, but they require expensive infrared detectors for imaging,' said Liu. 'The advantage of our approach is that we can use infrared for probing an object, but the light we use for detection is in visible range. So we can use standard, inexpensive silicon detectors.' The major breakthrough in this work is bringing quantum imaging into the 3D world by solving a common problem called 'phase wrapping.' This issue comes up in imaging methods that rely on the phase of light waves—their peaks and valleys—to measure the depth of an object. When the features on an object are deeper than the light's wavelength, the wave pattern can repeat, making it hard to tell apart shallow features from deeper ones. To navigate this, the Brown team used two sets of entangled photons with slightly different wavelengths. This small difference creates a much longer 'synthetic' wavelength, allowing the system to accurately measure much deeper contours and produce more reliable 3D images. 'By using two slightly different wavelengths, we effectively create a much longer synthetic wavelength — about 25 times longer than the originals,' Liu said. 'That gives us a much larger measurable range that's more applicable to cells and other biological materials.' The team successfully created a holographic 3D image of a tiny metal letter 'B' about 1.5 millimeters wide to demonstrate the technique in a nod to Brown University. They say it's a strong proof-of-concept that shows the potential of quantum entanglement for generating high-quality 3D images. Both Liu and Zhang said they were excited to share their work at an international scientific conference. 'We had been reading papers by pioneers in this field, so it was great to be able to attend the conference and meet some of them in person,' Zhang said. 'It's really an amazing opportunity.' The research was funded by the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation.
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
Feds target Chinese couple accused in $9 million crypto 'pig butchering" scam
Federal officials are trying to seize more than $6 million in cryptocurrency they say represents the ill-gotten gains of a Chinese couple's "pig butchering" scam left behind when they fled the United States one step ahead of the cops. Prosecutors say the $6 million sitting in four electronic wallets was left behind by Feng Chen and Tianqiong Xu as they fled to China last year, days after the FBI searched their home. They were indicted in June 2024 by a federal grand jury in Vermont. Court records filed May 22 indicate the married couple specifically targeted people of Chinese heritage across the United States. Prosecutors accuse the couple of ripping off at least $9.5 million from from least 120 victims, operating from their five-bedroom house in Frisco, Texas. According to court documents, Chen and Xu tricked people into thinking they were investing in cryptocurrency when instead the couple faked apps, emails and online records, and deposited the money in their own crypto wallets. The victims got regular reports purporting to show their investments were gaining in value, investigators said. "Pig butchering" is the name given to scams in which crooks build a relationship with their targets over time, and then steal their money. In some cases, as with other frauds like Ponzi schemes, scammers work within a specific community, like a church group or neighborhood. Federal officials said Chen and Xu found their targets in Chinese-language investing chat rooms. "Beginning at least as early as January 2021 and continuing through January 2024 (they) created a scheme to defraud victims of funds by encouraging the victims to invest in cryptocurrency using fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications," prosecutors wrote in a criminal complaint. "The scheme impacted over 100 victims across the United States and internationally ... and resulted in the theft of millions of dollars from victims." One victim based in Vermont liquidated their retirement account and transferred $600,000 to the couple, according to court filings. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Etherium are largely unregulated, and are increasingly associated connected with scams. Last year, the FBI reported that Americans lost more than $5.6 billion in frauds connected to cryptocurrency, in part because it's so easy to buy and transfer it electronically outside the normal banking system. Court records show FBI agents searched the couple's home in late 2023 but didn't arrest them at that time. Days later the family got passports from the Chinese embassy in Houston and fled home to China with their two children, court records show. The FBI and Secret Service had been tracing their scam network since 2021, according to court records. The FBI said Chen is originally from Wuhan, and that he attended universities in Wyoming and Louisiana, where he earned master's degrees in petroleum engineering and geology. FBI agents said Chen used the same computer skills he developed in school to create fake apps and chatbots to trick their victims. The twp were indicted in absentia by a federal grand jury in Vermont, and will be prosecuted for wire fraud and money laundering if they return to the United States.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Associated Press
Ink, Spirit, and Cultural Resonance: Xu Zhongou's Solo Exhibition Beauty of Harmony & Unity Opens at MEMOR Museum
05/28/2025, New York, New York // KISS PR Brand Story PressWire // NEW YORK, NY — Memor Museum, New York's only museum dedicated to Asian cultural expression on the Upper East Side, presents Beauty of Harmony & Unity, a solo exhibition by Chinese artist and educator Xu Zhongou, opening June 3 with a preview artist conversation on May 23. The exhibition showcases Xu's acclaimed 'color-ink' series, a profound reinterpretation of Chinese calligraphy as a contemporary visual and philosophical language. This exhibition continues Memor's commitment to cross-cultural dialogue through artistic depth. 'In a world increasingly fragmented, we hope to offer an answer from the East: not confrontation, not rupture, but harmony, coexistence, and symbiosis,' said Willa Ao, director and curator of Memor Museum. 'Xu Zhongou is not only a deeply thoughtful artist, but he is also an educator whose work aligns with our mission of cultural and spiritual reflection.' Best known for his long-running series In the Name of Walnut, Xu's practice transforms traditional materials into vehicles for spiritual inquiry. In Beauty of Harmony & Unity, he dissolves the boundary between ink and image, freeing the brush from textual meaning and allowing color to play a central role — an act he calls 'releasing writing from the character system.' Color, drawn from temple aesthetics, is used not as ornamentation but as a symbolic language grounded in folk traditions and ritual. As the artist writes, 'Writing is no longer just about the act of writing. It becomes a way to summon the senses, activate emotion, and connect with belief.' The exhibition is curated by Willa Ao, with executive curation by Wei Mengying, who describes the collaboration as transformative: 'Working alongside Professor Xu has been an experience of profound nourishment. He is never the distant 'authority,' but a warm, humble educator who brings deep care to every moment — his persistence, his reverence for thought, his precision in every detail left a lasting impression on me,' said Wei. 'His works are not just visual languages, but spiritual practices. And the 'harmony' we speak of is not just a curatorial theme — it's who he is.' Xu began his explorations into color-ink abstraction in the 1990s while serving as a visiting professor at Maryland Institute College of Art. In 1995, he was commissioned to paint a portrait of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, now housed in the Bush Presidential Library. His works are held in permanent collections including the British Museum and the Muban Educational Trust in the U.K. 'In a time when art must respond to the deeply layered structure of the world,' Xu writes, 'we must move from a flat perspective to a dimensional one — to think and create in step with the rhythm of our time.' Beauty of Harmony & Unity will run through summer 2025 at Memor Museum, accompanied by public programming including guided tours, family workshops, and artist talks. About Memor Museum: Memor Museum, the organization behind this exhibition, is a global leader in pioneering museum experiences at the intersection of culture and technology. With multiple sites worldwide, it is dedicated to cultural heritage preservation through innovative exhibition planning, immersive and interactive experiences, and a diverse range of activities that bring history to life. The museum complex frequently engages in projects related to artifact preservation and restoration, development of relevant technologies, and the creation of cultural heritage IPs. Memor Museum's commitment to protecting and utilizing cultural heritage ensures that exhibitions like Sanxingdui Encounter remain dynamic, educational, and deeply engaging. Visit them on the Upper East Side at 1130 Madison Ave. For more information on the exhibition and to explore Memor Museum's global initiatives, visit
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
Feds target Chinese couple accused in $9 million crypto 'pig butchering\
Feds target Chinese couple accused in $9 million crypto 'pig butchering" scam One victim told authorities they liquidated their retirement accounts to invest with the scammers they met online. Show Caption Hide Caption Here's how to ensure your crypto stays safe and secure From NFT rug pulls to terrorist financing, here's the scams you should watch out for -- and what to do if you're a victim of a crypto crime. Andrea Kramar and Hye-Su Jun, USA TODAY Federal officials are trying to seize more than $6 million in cryptocurrency they say represents the ill-gotten gains of a Chinese couple's "pig butchering" scam left behind when they fled the United States one step ahead of the cops. Prosecutors say the $6 million sitting in four electronic wallets was left behind by Feng Chen and Tianqiong Xu as they fled to China last year, days after the FBI searched their home. They were indicted in June 2024 by a federal grand jury in Vermont. Court records filed May 22 indicate the married couple specifically targeted people of Chinese heritage across the United States. Prosecutors accuse the couple of ripping off at least $9.5 million from from least 120 victims, operating from their five-bedroom house in Frisco, Texas. According to court documents, Chen and Xu tricked people into thinking they were investing in cryptocurrency when instead the couple faked apps, emails and online records, and deposited the money in their own crypto wallets. The victims got regular reports purporting to show their investments were gaining in value, investigators said. "Pig butchering" is the name given to scams in which crooks build a relationship with their targets over time, and then steal their money. In some cases, as with other frauds like Ponzi schemes, scammers work within a specific community, like a church group or neighborhood. Federal officials said Chen and Xu found their targets in Chinese-language investing chat rooms. "Beginning at least as early as January 2021 and continuing through January 2024 (they) created a scheme to defraud victims of funds by encouraging the victims to invest in cryptocurrency using fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications," prosecutors wrote in a criminal complaint. "The scheme impacted over 100 victims across the United States and internationally ... and resulted in the theft of millions of dollars from victims." One victim based in Vermont liquidated their retirement account and transferred $600,000 to the couple, according to court filings. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Etherium are largely unregulated, and are increasingly associated connected with scams. Last year, the FBI reported that Americans lost more than $5.6 billion in frauds connected to cryptocurrency, in part because it's so easy to buy and transfer it electronically outside the normal banking system. Court records show FBI agents searched the couple's home in late 2023 but didn't arrest them at that time. Days later the family got passports from the Chinese embassy in Houston and fled home to China with their two children, court records show. The FBI and Secret Service had been tracing their scam network since 2021, according to court records. The FBI said Chen is originally from Wuhan, and that he attended universities in Wyoming and Louisiana, where he earned master's degrees in petroleum engineering and geology. FBI agents said Chen used the same computer skills he developed in school to create fake apps and chatbots to trick their victims. The twp were indicted in absentia by a federal grand jury in Vermont, and will be prosecuted for wire fraud and money laundering if they return to the United States.
