🍔 Burger under attack!

Cyberattack at JBS raises meat concerns, SEC disputes over Elon Musk's tweets, Urban Company raises Series F, and some more updates.

the mesha tribe

Jun 02, 2021

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Read Time: 970 words, 4:41 minutes.

There’s so much to cover today so let’s get started.

First up,

Market Snapshot 📈

Sensex: 51,849.48 (-0.16%) ↓

Nifty 50: 15,576.20 (+0.0087%) ↑

Dow Jones: 34,575.31 (+0.13%) ↑

Nasdaq 100: 13,654.59 (-0.23%) ↓

Bitcoin: $37,171.64

Top Stories 📰

1. Cyberattack hits world’s largest meat producer 🐖

Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS revealed that its production has come to a standstill after a ransomware attack disrupted operations in the US, Canada, and Australia. The company’s facilities in Minnesota, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Texas, and Nebraska were among those affected.

Shortly after, the company stated that it has made "significant progress in resolving the cyberattack," adding that the majority of its meat plants will be operational by Wednesday. It also informed the White House, which said that the attack likely originated from a criminal group in Russia. The administration is now engaging directly with the Russian government to resolve the issue.

Industry analysts said that JBS's plant closures could burden the already-strained food supply chain, resulting in higher consumer prices amid production constraints, high transportation costs, and labour shortages. Additionally, increasing demand from China has pushed up beef and pork prices within the country.

Just a month ago, Colonial Pipeline fell prey to a ransomware attack that crippled its supply chain for several weeks, causing significant fuel shortages in the US Southeast. The country's largest fuel pipeline also acknowledged that it paid $4.4 million ransom to the Russian hackers.

Why it matters? Cybersecurity has become a pressing national security concern after several businesses — including hospitals, the oil industry, and local water supplies — became the target of ransomware attacks. These attacks are getting even more sophisticated to track as hackers insist firms pay the ransom using cryptocurrencies. This year alone, hackers made nearly $81 million in virtual currencies through ransomware attacks.

2. Regulatory war against Elon Musk ⚔️

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) told Tesla that Elon Musk violated a 2019 revised settlement agreement twice that mandated his tweets to be approved by the company's lawyers.

Where did it all go wrong? Back in 2018, Elon Musk first came under regulatory heat after tweeting about a potential Tesla buyout. The SEC alleged him of committing fraud and settled on a deal that required Musk to get his tweets approved by Tesla's lawyers.

The settlement also called for Musk to resign as Tesla's chairman, and for the company to add two new independent directors. Both Musk and Tesla denied any wrongdoing and paid $20 million to settle the case.

What's happening now? Citing 2019 and 2020 correspondence, the SEC said that Musk's tweets about Tesla's stock prices and its solar roof production volumes did not receive the required approval from the company's lawyers. The regulator also said that Tesla had "abdicated" its court order duties, adding that they failed “to enforce these procedures and controls despite repeated violations by Mr. Musk.”

Earlier this year, Musk's aerospace company SpaceX had also received regulatory backlash after the company first high-altitude test of its Starship rocket in December violated Federal Aviation Administration’s test license terms.

Why it matters? The skirmish between the SEC and Elon Musk isn't partisan policymaking as founders and corporations are still learning how to use social media. And while some oversight will certainly help improve matters, regulators are trying to find the right balance between facilitating meaningful conversations and moderating them.

3. Today’s big deals 🎉

Urban Company fetches $255 million
Urban Company, a Gurgaon-based home services marketplace formerly known as UrbanClap, has raised $255 million in a Series F funding round at a $2.1 billion valuation. The round was led by Dragoneer, Prosus Ventures, and Wellington Management, with Tiger Global, Vy Capital, and Steadview participating in the fundraising. The latest round brings the seven-year-old startup's total capital raised to nearly $470 million. Urban Company offers a range of on-demand home services to its customers through their app and website. With over 35,000 active service partners, it currently operates in 35 Indian cities and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Australia, and Singapore. The startup now hopes to infuse the fresh capital to expand its operations and promote the onboarding, training, and safety of service workers. Urban Company is also planning to file for an IPO in two years.
German AI startup Cognigy raises Series B
Conversational technologies are witnessing a surge amid the pandemic as companies look for innovative ways to integrate them to optimize their customer service processes. One such company, namely conversational AI startup Cognigy, announced that it raised a $44 million Series B round led by Insight Partners. Existing investors such as Global Brain, DN Capital, Investures, and Digital Innovation and Growth participated in the round. The Düsseldorf-based company, founded by Philipp Heltewig in 2016, provides a low-code platform that allows customers to create text and voice virtual agents. So far, it has deployed thousands of virtual agents in more than 120 languages and has over 400 customers, including BioNTech, Bosch, Daimler, and Lufthansa. Cognigy plans to use the funds to create new partnerships, accelerate customer growth, and enhance its AI platform.