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Happy Monday Crunch!

Haje is wrapping up this newsletter before heading to TechCrunch Early Stage 2023 in Boston on April 20. It’s not too late to get your ticket! Meanwhile, on the Equity podcast today, the pod team wonders, what’s an Angry Bird worth? Turns out Sega thinks it’s $775 million for the whole bird farm.

— Christina And haje

TechCrunch’s top 3

Apple’s announcements were important to readers today, so here we go:

• Psst, do you want to install an app?: Apple likes to keep things close to the vest, but Ivan writes that the consumer tech giant would consider letting people download apps to their iPhones in iOS 17.
• Apple makes things interesting: Last October, Apple unveiled a new financial product, and today the company spilled some more tea on its Apple Card savings accounts, with an interest rate of 4.15%, reports Roman.
• look at this: Apple Watch users have been waiting – can we say patiently? — for a new software update. GOOD, Sarah today reports that the watch will likely receive its biggest software update since its debut in 2015.

Startups and VCs

In January, an $810 million deal fell through to buy Angry Birds makers Rovio, but the company suggested they were still in talks with other potential interested parties. Today, Paul reports that the deal became official as Japanese gaming giant Sega confirmed it was buying Finland’s Rovio in an all-cash deal worth $775 million.

As the economy has toughened, many businesses have shifted from buying to renting. There is an acronym for this – XaaS, or “everything as a service”, also known as “servitization”. An example of this would be ServiceNow, which automates services for business operations. A new player in this space is Equipme, Germany, which secured $3.8 million in a seed investment round led by La Famiglia VC, Mike writing.

And we have five more for you:

No, you are not collecting money to increase your lead

haje often hear founders say they are fundraising to increase their track from 18 to 24 months. In a sense, that’s correct, but only from a startup perspective.

This is not what an investor is looking for. Your business surviving another year and a half is not the goal of fundraising; it’s a side effect at best. Ask yourself: what happens at the end of those 18 months?

Founders need to communicate to investors what a funding round unlocks. This is expressed in milestones, not in time. The goal is to transform the business enough that you can do something you can’t do right now, and in this piece, Haje explains how.

Three others from the TC+ team:

Tech Crunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get a head start. You can register here. Use code “DC” to get 15% off an annual subscription!

Big Tech inc.

There was no “up, up and away” for SpaceX today as it attempted to fly its Starship launch system for the first time. Aria reports that the flight test turned into a wet dress rehearsal due to a frozen pressure valve. Now SpaceX is considering April 19 as the next possible date to try again.

Luxury car enthusiasts congregate. Mercedes launches the Maybach EQS SUV, which includes features that Mast written are “dripping in historic Maybach design cues: two-tone paint, chunky wheels, a fitting hood ornament and, yes, a grill with filigree slats even though it’s electric and there’s no radiator to be protected.”

Here are five more for you: