Twitch Data Breach: Massive Leak and Future Threats

Daily Crunch: October 6, 2021

A daily summary of the most significant and impactful stories from TechCrunch is delivered to inboxes each day at 3 p.m. PDT. You can subscribe to this service here.

Greetings, and welcome to the Daily Crunch for October 6, 2021. Today’s newsletter is exceptionally comprehensive.

Consequently, we are foregoing the usual introductory remarks and instead announcing the release of the agenda for TechCrunch Sessions: SaaS. The planned program appears to be quite promising.

TechCrunch Sessions: SaaS Agenda

The agenda for the upcoming TechCrunch Sessions: SaaS event has been published. It features a diverse range of speakers and topics.

This event is designed to provide valuable insights for professionals in the software-as-a-service industry. Attendees can expect to learn about the latest trends and best practices.

Key areas of focus will include growth strategies, product development, and market analysis. The sessions aim to equip attendees with actionable knowledge.

Growth Hacking: Strategies for rapid user acquisition.
Product Management: Building and iterating on successful SaaS products.
Market Trends: Understanding the evolving landscape of the SaaS industry.

Further details regarding speakers and the complete schedule are available on the TechCrunch Sessions: SaaS website. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your understanding of the SaaS ecosystem.

– Alex

TechCrunch's Leading Three Stories

Here's a summary of the top three tech news items reported by TechCrunch today.

Google's Increased Investment in Africa

Google is significantly increasing its commitment to the African continent with a $1 billion investment. This funding is intended to accelerate digital transformation across Africa.

A portion of this investment, $50 million, is specifically allocated to supporting local startups. The growth in African startup funding over recent periods makes this announcement anticipated, though still highly positive.

The current landscape of global venture funding is characterized by disparities, making Google’s investment particularly impactful.

Latin American Startup Market Opportunities

TechCrunch recently investigated the Latin American startup scene to identify areas where investment opportunities remain.

Despite a rise in funding for tech companies in Latin America, significant gaps still exist. These blind spots present opportunities for investors seeking promising deals.

The region’s startup market is experiencing substantial growth, attracting increasing attention from investors.

Twitch Security Breach

Twitch, the video streaming service owned by Amazon, has confirmed it was the target of a hack.

The breach compromised sensitive information, including payout details and source code. This incident extends beyond a typical data leak, representing a serious security failure.

This is a critical moment for Twitch, its parent company, and its extensive user community. Users are strongly advised to update their passwords and consider utilizing a password manager for enhanced security.

Startups and Venture Capital Updates

A significant number of startup-related articles are currently featured on the blog. Consequently, we are deviating from our standard presentation and delivering the news in a series of distinct segments.

Funding Utilization in Startups

The primary activity of startups with newly acquired capital is expenditure. This often results in substantial negative cash flow, particularly within rapidly expanding organizations.

The intention is to allocate raised funds towards accelerating revenue growth, a strategy actively employed by The Athletic through its venture funding.

Recent Early-Stage Funding Rounds

Below is a compilation of early-stage investment rounds secured by startups that have garnered our attention:

BeeHero: The company has secured $19 million in new funding to broaden the applications of its unique dataset, gathered from numerous active honeybee colonies.
CostCertified: Based in Calgary, CostCertified raised $8.4 million to facilitate contractors in providing homeowners with interactive, shoppable estimates for project selections.
Copper Banking: This neobank, geared towards teenagers, has successfully closed $13.3 million in funding across multiple rounds, as reported by TechCrunch.
Matter: The company has raised $7 million in new funding with the aim of developing an enhanced reading application, which has piqued our interest.
Normative: This emissions accounting service secured €10 million from both U.S. and European climate-focused investment funds.
CoinSwitch Kuber: Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures invested $260 million into this Indian cryptocurrency exchange, now valued at $1.9 billion.

Logicworks Revenue Growth

The cloud migration and management platform, Logicworks, is projected to reach $100 million in annual revenue.

Databricks Acquisition of 8080 Labs

According to our reporter, Frederic Lardinois, Databricks has completed the acquisition of German startup 8080 Labs.

This startup is the creator of bamboolib, a widely used graphical user interface for Pandas, a Python-based data analysis and manipulation tool. (An initial public offering for Databricks is anticipated!)

Analyzing Pitch Deck Effectiveness

During the Pitch Deck Teardown event at TechCrunch Disrupt, Managing Editor Danny Crichton analyzed two pitch decks – one geared towards consumer markets and the other towards enterprise solutions – alongside a panel of three venture capitalists.

The Venture Capital Panel

Maren Bannon, co-founder and managing partner at January Ventures, contributed her expertise.
Vanessa Larco, a partner at NEA, offered valuable insights.
Ben Ling, founder and general partner of Bling Capital, completed the panel.

Given the limited time VCs dedicate to initial deck reviews, Danny focused on four specific slides.

These slides were chosen specifically because they elicited diverse perspectives from the venture capital panelists.

The goal was to demonstrate how interpretations of the same information can vary significantly among investors.

(Access to exclusive content and resources for founders and startup teams is available through TechCrunch+. Sign up is available here.)

Big Tech Inc.

Our technology coverage begins with updates from the automotive sector, followed by a review of key policy developments influencing the global tech landscape.

GM’s Ambitions for Revenue Growth and EV Market Leadership: General Motors, a leading U.S. automaker, aims to achieve a doubling of its revenue by 2030 and significantly increase its share of the electric vehicle (EV) market, according to TechCrunch. This ambition presents a challenge to Tesla’s current dominance, fostering increased competition within the North American EV sector.
Strategic Focus on Electric Trucks and Crossovers: The company intends to electrify its popular internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle lineup. This includes plans for the development of electric trucks and crossover vehicles, as outlined during a presentation detailing its future EV strategy.

Now, let's turn to PolicyCrunch:

New U.K. Regulations to Safeguard Young Users on Video Platforms: Ofcom, the U.K.’s communications regulator, has introduced new regulations designed to protect individuals under the age of 18 from harmful online content. These rules address issues such as hate speech and content promoting violence against protected groups, impacting platforms like TikTok, Twitch, and Snapchat.
Potential Ransomware Payment Disclosure Requirements for U.S. Companies: While still under consideration, proposed legislation in the U.S. could require businesses to report any ransomware payments made within 48 hours of the transaction. This measure is seen as a logical step, and parallels are being drawn with the need for similar reporting requirements for data breaches.
European Parliament Supports a Ban on Biometric Mass Surveillance: Concerns regarding the widespread use of facial recognition technology are being addressed in Europe. The European Parliament is advocating for a permanent prohibition on the automated recognition of individuals in public areas, with exceptions made for cases involving suspected criminal activity.

TechCrunch Experts: Software Consulting and Growth Marketing

Image Credits: SEAN GLADWELL / Getty Images

An additional service category has been integrated into the Experts initiative. Should you know of a software consultant beneficial to fellow startup founders, please submit your recommendation through this survey.

Below is a testimonial received regarding a consultant’s services.

Consultant: Appetiser Apps

Recommended by: Andre Eikmeier, the founder of Good Empire

Testimonial: “The company possessed a strong international standing and a portfolio of successful products. Their adaptable approach was also appealing. We successfully integrated our CTO to oversee a team of six developers from Appetiser Apps, supplemented by occasional UX/UI design, product management, and project management support as required.

This fostered a truly collaborative environment, distinct from a typical opaque agency relationship. It enabled us to simultaneously develop internal expertise and avoid complete reliance on external resources.

Leveraging their expertise facilitated the launch of an initial product version within three months, encompassing both iOS and Android platforms.”

We are actively expanding the content available within our growth marketing section. Consider reviewing this TechCrunch+ article authored by Danny Crichton: “As Apple messes with attribution, what does growth marketing look like in 2021?”

If you are aware of a growth marketer deserving of recognition, please inform us.