Tinder takes Apple to India’s Competition Commission – Report; Omnivore’s OmniX Bio picks the second startup

Tinder-owner Match Group has filed an antitrust case against Apple with the competition regulator in India, accusing the iPhone maker of "monopolistic conduct" that forces developers to pay high commissions for in-app purchases. And OmniX Bio, an initiative from VC firm Omnivore to fund early-stage agri-science startups has picked its second venture in Loopworm. Notes: Tinder-owner Match Group has filed an antitrust case against Apple with the competition regulator in India, accusing the iPhone maker of "monopolistic conduct" that forces developers to pay high commissions for in-app purchases, Reuters reported yesterday, citing a legal filing it has seen. Tinder’s complaint with India’s Competition Commission comes at a time when Apple is stepping up both its efforts to expand market share and local production of its iPhones and other products as it tries to reduce dependence on China. Match argues Apple's conduct restricts innovation and development of app developers that offer digital services by enforcing the use of its proprietary in-app purchase system and "excessive" 30 percent commission, according to Reuters. A similar dispute in the Netherlands resulted in a 50 million euro fine for Apple and an agreement to allow different payment methods in Dutch dating apps. South Korea has also banned the 30 percent commission charged by Apple and Google. The Delhi government plans to introduce a time-of-day tariff system for charging electric vehicles (EVs) to incentivize users to charge their vehicles during off-peak hours, Mint reported yesterday. Consultations are currently in an initial stage, and the system may be introduced in a year, Jasmine Shah, vice-chairperson of the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi, told Mint in an interview. The idea behind this move is that as the number of EVs increases, grid stability needs to be maintained. Loopworm, an insect biotech startup in Bengaluru, has raised $3.4 million in seed funding from Omnivore and WaterBridge Ventures, with participation from Titan Capital and angel investors including Nadir Godrej, Sanjiv Rangrass, and Akshay Singhal. Loopworm, founded in 2019 by IIT Roorkee graduates Ankit Alok Bagaria and Abhi Gawri, is optimizing insect farming for smallholders while producing value-added nutrients and ingredients for B2B customers, the company said in a press release. Loopworm is Omnivore’s second investment under its OmniX Bio initiative, which backs early-stage agri-food life science startups. With Loopworm, Ankit and Abhi aim to tackle food waste and increase the incomes of smallholder farmers. Using multi-species insect biotechnology, Loopworm is upcycling food waste into protein-rich nutrients and value-added ingredients with applications in aquaculture, pet food, and nutraceuticals. OmniX Bio’s first investment was in BioPrime, which is developing biological crop inputs that improve yields without causing unintended environmental consequences, Inc42 reported in December last year. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds