Spotify responds to new EU taxes with a price hike

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! Today we have one of the coolest startups I’ve seen in a minute (Zama), the latest on the Apple-Epic tussle, and a potential date for SpaceX’s next Starship launch. To work!

– Alex

TechCrunch Top 3

1. Zama raises $73M to bring homomorphic encryption to AI, blockchain: Hey look, it’s another French startup doing numbers. Zama’s working on bringing homomorphic encryption to smart contracts (blockchains) and AI (machine learning). Homomorphic encryption means that data can be used without decryption, so data used by various apps and services can be kept more secure. Other startups working on homomorphic encryption and its variants include Vaultree, Ravel and Skyflow.
2. EU scrutinizes Apple’s decision to close Epic’s developer account: The EU today told TechCrunch that it is looking into Apple’s decision to revoke an Epic Games account that the latter intended to use to bring an app store to iOS in Europe. At issue is Apple’s iOS App Store, how open or not it must be according to local regulations, and just who gets to make the rules for digital platforms.
3. Spotify plans price hike in France: Following a new 1.2% tax on music streaming services in the country to support France’s Centre National de la Musique, Spotify intends to raise its subscription prices. It’s not clear by how much, but the company says that it can’t afford to pay “two-thirds of every euro it generates to music to rights holders and the French government.”

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Sequoia’s Jess Lee will demystify product-market fit at TechCrunch Early Stage 2024: TechCrunch’s Early Stage is going to be chock-full of brilliant minds this year. Sequoia’s Lee is coming to dig into product-market fit; NFX’s James Currier will be on-site to talk about minimum viable products, and there’s going to be lots more people. It’s going to be a blast. See you in Boston in April!

Business banking startup Qonto buys Regate: Flush with cash from its massive 2022 fundraise, French fintech Qonto is adding more feathers to its acquisition hat, buying accounting and financial automation platform, Regate. Qonto is buying a material book of business since Regate, which last raised €20 million in a Series A, has managed to attract a healthy customer base. That could help Qonto keep growing — the company tells TechCrunch that it tripled its revenue last year.

Flipkart is getting into instant deliveries: It’s amazing to shop without needing to get up from the couch, but those delivery times can be a real pain sometimes. Enter quick commerce, which fuses super-fast deliveries with online shopping. It’s a tough logistics nut to crack, but that’s not stopping India’s Flipkart from diving in.

Saildrone launches new, more metal boat: The ocean is very large and very complex. And thanks to climate change, it’s evolving alongside increased maritime tensions caused by rising piracy rates and nation-state fighting over territorial waters. Saildrone hopes USVs, or unmanned surface vessels, may be the answer. The company is launching a new, aluminum boat that the U.S. Navy is testing out. Put this one under the “oh dang, we should probably work on our planet some” category.

Telegram is letting users convert their accounts for business: Messaging service Telegram is creating a way to let personal users expand their account’s remit to do business if they want to. This is the latest feature Telegram has added in recent months, which include a crypto wallet and usernames as it competes for market share with WhatsApp, iMessage, WeChat, Line and the like.

SpaceX’s Starship may try to fly again on March 14: If you are a fan of watching large rockets launch, then you need to mark March 14 on your calendar: SpaceX may make its third attempt to launch its massive Starship rocket that day, pending final approval. Local regulators gave the company the go-ahead for another test at the end of February.

Before you go

NY Times revamps its gaming biz: The New York Times is more than a news company. It’s also a large gaming company, thanks to its NYT Games app that features word games and similar challenges. It’s a big hit in my household. Now, the company is rolling out a new, rebuilt version of the app. Once, classified ads paid for journalism. Today, it’s Wordle. That works for me!

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