SpaceX wins NASA mission to take astronauts to space station

LOS ANGELES — SpaceX will transport two crews to the International Space Station. The private spacecraft and rocket company has won a second post-certification mission from NASA to deliver as many as four crewmembers and 220 pounds of pressurized cargo from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the space station.

The mission marks the fourth and final guaranteed order NASA will make under its  ...

Last year's unicorns aren't selling as tech M&A picks up

SAN FRANCISCO — Many have been predicting a wave of tech mergers and acquisitions this year, but the billion-dollar darlings of 2015 might be left hanging.

Twenty-one venture-backed tech companies have been acquired this year in deals worth more than $1 billion, according to the research firm CB Insights. But only two were part of the much-hyped unicorn herd — venture-backed companies who hit  ...

Ralph Lauren outfits Team USA with American-made garb, Silicon Valley technology

NEW YORK — American fashion house Ralph Lauren will, once again, outfit Team USA for the opening ceremony of the Olympics and spectators can expect a glowing entrance and lots of red, white and blue.

For the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the flag bearer will flip a switch inside the jacket to light the way for U.S. athletes that follow into Maracanã Stadium on Friday, Aug. 5, when the ceremony  ...

Venture capital's chill spreads as down rounds soar

SAN FRANCISCO — Venture capitalists became a bit more nervous in backing startups in the second quarter as down rounds hit the highest level since 2011, the law firm Cooley reported Monday.

"Overall financing activity in the second quarter of 2016 slowed noticeably from prior quarters," Cooley said in its latest Venture Financing Report, based on the firm's analysis of the 154 "disclosable  ...

Theranos unveils new product instead of data on its existing tech

SILICON VALLEY — Theranos on Monday unveiled a new blood-testing device at a conference in Philadelphia where it had been expected to provide data that showed its existing technology worked.

The Palo Alto company, whose founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes faces a two-year ban from the blood-testing industry, presented a “miniLab” blood-testing device that analyzes blood drawn in the  ...

Tesla going ahead with $2.6B SolarCity purchase

SILICON VALLEY — Tesla on Monday said it will go ahead with plans to buy SolarCity on Monday in a $2.6 billion all-stock deal.

Stockholders will receive 0.11 common Tesla shares per SolarCity share, with SolarCity stock valued at $25.37 per share. SolarCity shares dropped more than 5 percent early on Monday, trading as low as $24.95, while Tesla shares were down a a little more than 1 percent  ...

Larry Page's flying car company wants to expand

SILICON VALLEY — When you think tech, you probably don't think of a municipal airport.

But Hollister Municipal Airport is where flying car company Zee.Aero Inc., reported by Bloomberg to be funded by Alphabet CEO Larry Page, is looking to put down long-term roots.

On Monday, the Hollister City Council will vote on approving a 34-year, 1-acre lease with the Mountain View-based company.

Zee.Aero  ...