Weekly Market Links [04-10 Oct 2021] - Twitch Hacked, RoboTaxis Roll Out, Google Exits Banking Play
Twitch has its full code and streamer earnings released on the web. Paying for your dates start from a cab ride.
Tech
Apple’s watch can detect when in an accident, and automatically calling the ambulance AND messaging your significant other with location information to boot.
This is really cool - for one, there are a lot of healthcare applications, namely geriatric care for the elderly. The amount of times they can fall, or even off from the bed is worth having an Apple Watch in the hospital.
Don’t forget, the Apple watch has a bunch of sensors coming online too - blood oxygen levels, heart rate, irregular rhythms, ECG… I’m confident Apple is making headways into healthcare use cases, and it’s a matter of time the Watch becomes the go-to device for patient tracking (and yes, even location).
Twitch got hacked. Its whole source code and unreleased products have been put on the web.
Its internal security tools, 3 years worth of creator payouts were other goodies that were released on 4chan, consisting of 125GB worth of company IP. Previously, Amazon acquired Twitch for a cool 970 million in cash.
Streamer earnings are also revealed, some with staggering annual earnings.
Bytedance will work with Square to link online sellers via Tiktok. Already integrating Shopify, Tiktok can now send users from its videos, ads, and shopping buttons to a Square Online Store.
Bytedance has a clear roadmap of adding more commerce functions, as it monetizes further than just Ads, into social commerce. It would be interesting to see business users’ feedback on the overall experience, as Tiktok is mostly on App, and may need a larger screen size for business use cases.
Or, the trend could split between platforms - Marketing/Content creation on a phone, while the ‘backend’ of businesses - inventory, customer relations and the such - live on a desktop.
Delivery / Ride-Hailing
A bunch of companies received robotaxi licenses in California. Cruise got one - they will operate between 10 PM and 6 AM, and drive with a max speed of 30MPH.
Waymo’s still requires 'humans for supervision’, but can drive to a max of 65MPH while driving in rain and light fog.
Nuro had their license approved, but they are delivering goods and not passengers. It’s cool that Nuro has FedEx as an early tester though.
We will be seeing more of these rolled out in other states open to the concept, but from here on out, more experiments are going to roll out as leaders prove the concept is safe.
Grab bought a majority stake in Ovo, bringing its ownership to 90%. Tokopedia - now part of GoTo, still uses Ovo as a primary payment method. Interestingly, we see more synergy between these “rivals” as a means to float one another and maintain the dominant market share.
Lfyt now lets you pay for your Tinder date’s ride. An integration with Tinder lets you send credit with a pre-set destination, making online dating a little bit safer, and a little bit creepier, depending on how you look at it.
This integration could lead other dating apps into doing the same, as competition for renewed experiences and social interactions in an endemic, digital world increases.
Fintech
While Google Plex bows out of the payments and digital banking race, Apple Pay seems primed to take pole position.
Based on its infrastructure and take-up rate of Apple Pay, it would be the first payment processing system enabling businesses to “easily implement contactless payments”.
This coincides with Amazon barrelling down the path of having no-cashiers in their retail operations. Monzo has also pulled out, as regulators tell it would be unlikely to be approved.
Interesting times, as the competition blows wide open again, giving start-ups more room to maneuver.