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By Supantha Mukherjee STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -When Daniel Ek founded Spotify in 2006, a viable music product was a "moon shot." The global music industry was struggling with years of declining sales, online music piracy was rampant, and services like Apple's iTunes were pricey. Ek believed if access to music was as easy as turning on a tap – in a way that was legal and fair to artists – users would come. The key was streaming, not downloads, an idea that revolutionized the industry and catapulted Spotify into a $140 billion music powerhouse. The serial entrepreneur, who announced on Tuesday he will step down as Spotify's CEO next year, has his sights set on building the next Spotify — albeit not in the music industry. Ek told Reuters on Wednesday he wants to focus on companies in Europe that are "working on some of the biggest challenges through technology that make a meaningful difference." "Big challenges often appear impossible until someone decides to tackle them," Ek said in an email. "At Spotify, we started with what felt like an impossible idea. Nearly 20 years later, that idea is used by almost three-quarters of a billion people around the world … What once looked unreasonable is now obvious." Calling himself an "optimist" and a "problem-solver at heart," Ek said, "We’re at a crossroads for the kind of future we want to build" and that transitioning into the role of executive chair at Spotify would give him the chance to dedicate more of his time to this kind of problem-solving and building beyond Spotify. Ek has pledged to invest through his venture capital firm Prima Materia 1 billion euros ($1.18 billion) of his own wealth in European “moonshot” projects — early-stage startups in deep technology, AI, and climate and health tech. WAR TECH SPARKS ARTIST BACKLASH In 2018, Ek co-founded Neko Health to help people stay healthy through preventive measures and early detection. The company has raised $325 million in total funding. Ek has also invested in Germany's Helsing, a maker of AI-controlled combat drones that has received over a billion dollars to become the largest defence startup in Europe, valued at $12 billion. This investment, though, has drawn criticism. Music groups including Massive Attack, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and Hotline TNT removed their music from Spotify in protest.  "Music and weapons are not a good mix," said Simon Dyson, analyst at Omdia. With some high-profile artists pulling their music from the service, "the sounds of protest are starting to become a distraction," he said. The company declined to comment on Ek's investment in Helsing. Ek has weathered criticism before, from artist pay disputes to controversies around Spotify’s podcast investments. Supporters credit him with creating a legal model that drew listeners away from piracy, but critics note Spotify's outsized influence on artists, which has often translated to inequity for independent labels. FROM CODER TO MUSIC INDUSTRY DISRUPTOR As a 23-year-old coder, Ek started Spotify to challenge online music piracy with a legal alternative, something even big music companies were struggling to address. When he steps down from the CEO role next year to become executive chair, he will pass the reins of a music giant to his two long-trusted aides, Gustav Soderstrom and Alex Norstrom. Ek, now 42, grew up in a Stockholm suburb and worked in several startups before teaming up with co-founder Martin Lorentzon to start Spotify.  His proposition – music funded by subscriptions and ads – helped redirect fans from piracy and pulled labels, artists and advertisers into a single marketplace.  Under Ek, Spotify pushed three big levers that reshaped the business: price-disciplined subscriptions, algorithmic playlists that could mint hits overnight, and an ever-widening content range, from podcasts to audiobooks.  Ek’s legacy is visible in Spotify user habits – a monthly fee that millions treat as a utility, playlists that serve as cultural gatekeepers, and podcasts that have become a daily routine.  A Netflix miniseries, "The Playlist", showcased the birth and rise of Spotify in 2022.  Although Ek plans to focus on building other companies, he intends to stay involved in Spotify. "My Spotify co-founder likes to say that the value of a company is the sum of all problems solved, and history shows that progress often comes from those willing to go against conventional wisdom," Ek told Reuters. ($1 = 0.8511 euros) (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Lisa Shumaker)

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By Milana Vinn and Elvira Pollina New York (Reuters) -Yahoo is in advanced talks to sell AOL to Italian technology company Bending Spoons for about $1.4 billion, four sources familiar with the matter said, as the Apollo Global Management-backed firm sheds one of the most recognizable names of the early internet era. The Milan-based app developer is in advanced talks to purchase the legacy media brand, the sources said. But they cautioned that a final agreement has not been signed and talks could still fall apart. The sources requested anonymity to discuss confidential negotiations. Yahoo is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which acquired a 90% stake in the company from Verizon in 2021 in a $5 billion deal. Bending Spoons and Apollo declined to comment. Yahoo did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. A deal would mark a fresh chapter for the one-time giant of the internet age, known for its email service and "You've Got Mail" notification. AOL was at the centre of the biggest merger in history at the time when it combined with Time Warner in 2000 but the mega-deal resulted in regulatory probes and writedowns.   Bending Spoons has emerged as one of Europe's most prominent technology firms, with a strategy of purchasing struggling tech companies and revamping them. In February 2024, the company completed a funding round that valued it at $2.55 billion, making it a rare "unicorn" in Italy's tech landscape. A unicorn is a private company with a valuation of $1 billion or more. The deal would add AOL's vast user base to Bending Spoons' portfolio of mobile applications. AOL generates revenue from advertising and through its subscription services, including LifeLock identity theft protection, LastPass password management, and McAfee Multi Access malware protection. More recently, AOL's website traffic has grown 20% year-over-year among the users aged 25 and 54, outpacing the growth in the category of users aged 55-plus, a source familiar with AOL's performance said. The growth was driven by the introduction of multiple new content categories to AOL.com, including Health, Fitness, Animals, Science & Tech, Home & Garden, Lighter Side, True Crime, Local, amongst others, the source said. Bending Spoons, whose products count 300 million monthly users, has done several acquisitions recently, including file-sharing service WeTransfer. Last month it agreed a deal to take private video platform company Vimeo for $1.38 billion, its largest acquisition to date. Bankers see the firm as a candidate for an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. Chief Executive Officer Luca Ferrari, who co-founded Bending Spoons in 2013, told Reuters last year that there were no firm plans for an IPO but that the firm was working to be ready for it, and looking beyond Europe.  (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Elvira Pollina in Milan. Additional reporting by Echo Wang. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Alistair Bell)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Milana Vinn and Elvira Pollina New York (Reuters) -Yahoo is in advanced talks to sell AOL to Italian technology company Bending Spoons for about $1.4 billion, four sources familiar with the matter said, as the Apollo Global Management-backed firm sheds one of the most recognizable names of the early internet era. The Milan-based app developer is in advanced talks to purchase the legacy media brand, the sources said. But they cautioned that a final agreement has not been signed and talks could still fall apart. The sources requested anonymity to discuss confidential negotiations. Yahoo is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which acquired a 90% stake in the company from Verizon in 2021 in a $5 billion deal. Bending Spoons and Apollo declined to comment. Yahoo did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. A deal would mark a fresh chapter for the one-time giant of the internet age, known for its email service and "You've Got Mail" notification. AOL was at the centre of the biggest merger in history at the time when it combined with Time Warner in 2000 but the mega-deal resulted in regulatory probes and writedowns.   Bending Spoons has emerged as one of Europe's most prominent technology firms, with a strategy of purchasing struggling tech companies and revamping them. In February 2024, the company completed a funding round that valued it at $2.55 billion, making it a rare "unicorn" in Italy's tech landscape. A unicorn is a private company with a valuation of $1 billion or more. The deal would add AOL's vast user base to Bending Spoons' portfolio of mobile applications. AOL generates revenue from advertising and through its subscription services, including LifeLock identity theft protection, LastPass password management, and McAfee Multi Access malware protection. More recently, AOL's website traffic has grown 20% year-over-year among the users aged 25 and 54, outpacing the growth in the category of users aged 55-plus, a source familiar with AOL's performance said. The growth was driven by the introduction of multiple new content categories to AOL.com, including Health, Fitness, Animals, Science & Tech, Home & Garden, Lighter Side, True Crime, Local, amongst others, the source said. Bending Spoons, whose products count 300 million monthly users, has done several acquisitions recently, including file-sharing service WeTransfer. Last month it agreed a deal to take private video platform company Vimeo for $1.38 billion, its largest acquisition to date. Bankers see the firm as a candidate for an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. Chief Executive Officer Luca Ferrari, who co-founded Bending Spoons in 2013, told Reuters last year that there were no firm plans for an IPO but that the firm was working to be ready for it, and looking beyond Europe.  (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Elvira Pollina in Milan. Additional reporting by Echo Wang. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Alistair Bell)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)