The Briefing: Judge Rules Apple Must Allow Links To Outside Payment Systems, Amagi Gets $100M Investment, And More

Here’s what you need to know today in startup and venture news, updated by the Crunchbase News staff throughout the day to keep you in the know.

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Judge rules Apple can’t stop developers from linking to alternative payment systems

A judge ruled Friday morning that Apple could no longer prohibit developers from linking out to their own payment systems in the App Store.

The ruling, part of Epic Games’ antitrust suit against Apple, also said that Apple wasn’t a monopolist, and requires Epic Games to pay damages related to breach of contract. The game developer built an alternative payment system within its popular Fortnite game to get around the App Store and its fees, which led to Apple removing Fortnite from the App Store, according to The Verge.

— Sophia Kunthara

Amagi picks up over $100M

Amagi, a provider of cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV, with a focus on targeted advertising, announced that Accel, Avataar Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, and existing investor Premji Invest have invested over $100 million in the company. The venture funds have bought out the stake held by Emerald Media (an investment platform backed by KKR) and Mayfield India.

BuzzFeed revenue rises as SPAC merger closure nears

BuzzFeed reported quarterly earnings for the first time since the media company announced plans to go public via a merger with a SPAC, 890 5th Avenue Partners. The company reported $89.1 million in total revenue for the second quarter, an increase of about 51 percent compared with the year-earlier period.

Automation

Blendid raises $2M for smoothie robotics: Sunnyvale, California-based Blendid, a food automation startup known for its smoothie-making robots, raised $2 million in a crowd funding campaign on StartEngine. With the latest financing, Blendid has now raised  a total of $20 million.

Illustration: Dom Guzman