Meta announced the acquisition of Manus, a Singapore‑based developer of general‑purpose AI agents, as part of its push to integrate AI agents across its platforms. The deal, disclosed in Meta’s earnings call, underscores the company’s $115‑$135 billion capex plan for AI and data centers, though financial terms were not disclosed.
AI video creation startup Higgsfield announced an $80 million Series A extension, bringing its total funding to $130 million and valuing the company at over $1.3 billion. The round, reported by ADWEEK, underscores growing investor interest in AI-driven marketing platforms.
Creative AI startup Flora announced a $42 million Series A round led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from a16z Games, Menlo Ventures and Twitch founder Justin Kan. The funding will be used to expand its AI‑powered creative suite for brands and agencies.
LEGO Education has introduced the “We Trust in Kids” campaign to give children a voice in AI education, unveiling new computer‑science and AI teaching kits for K‑8. The initiative is based on research showing 65 % of students feel excluded from...
72andSunny has secured the agency‑of‑record role for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Compute platform, winning a competitive pitch that ends McCann Worldgroup’s eight‑year tenure. The creative firm will craft a global brand campaign that spotlights the chip’s AI‑driven processing power, with the first...
Google and Walmart announced a deep AI partnership at the NRF Big Show, enabling shoppers to buy Walmart and Sam’s Club products directly through Google’s Gemini chatbot. The collaboration also introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol, a joint effort with other...
Nvidia has appointed Alison Wagonfeld, a longtime Google executive, as its first chief marketing officer, starting in February. The move formalizes Nvidia’s marketing function as the company deepens its role in the AI economy. Wagonfeld previously built Google Cloud’s marketing operation...
CES 2026 showcased a dramatic shift as artificial intelligence moved from screen‑based software to tangible hardware. The four‑day show spanned 2.6 million square feet, hosted 3,500+ exhibitors, and attracted roughly 142,000 attendees. Among the highlights were AI‑powered robots, smart wearables, and...
At CES 2026, ad‑tech leaders focused on five hot topics: the infrastructure needed for agentic advertising, the persistent draw of live‑sports inventory, accelerating agency consolidation, AI‑driven search eroding publisher revenue, and the evolving role of AI in creative production and media...
Omnicom Media CEO Florian Adamski announced that the $13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group has reshaped Omnicom, absorbing most of IPG Mediabrands. He described a “renaissance moment” driven by client fatigue, prompting a return to integrated creative‑media models. Adamski emphasized an...
Disney announced a suite of ad‑technology upgrades at its CES Tech and Data Showcase, aiming to streamline CTV advertising through AI and self‑service tools. Highlights include an AI‑driven video generation platform that assembles brand‑compliant commercials, an internal AI planning system...
The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green told CES that 2026 will be the strongest year yet for the open internet. He said AI‑driven targeting and new measurement tools will lure brands away from walled‑garden platforms toward premium web inventory. Green...
Marketers are rapidly adopting AI, yet most have not re‑engineered workflows to capture its full value. At CES, Code and Theory unveiled The Machine, an agentic AI operating system that embeds automation and intelligence into existing marketing stacks instead of...
Panelists at ADWEEK’s CES 2026 forum warned that ads embedded in large language model (LLM) responses will appear by 2027. They envision paid placements, commerce links, and conversational prompts replacing traditional banner and link ads. Auction‑style pricing is expected to carry...
Havas introduced AVA, an AI‑powered, no‑code platform, at CES to centralize knowledge and automate agency workflows. The system gives every employee instant access to data, campaign results, and AI tools, aiming to boost productivity across the holding company. AVA is...
Equinox launched its “Question Everything But Yourself” New Year campaign, juxtaposing absurd AI‑generated images with realistic human portraits to stress authenticity. Developed by Angry Gods and rolled out on Jan 5 across out‑of‑home, digital and social channels, the ads feature bizarre...
Walmart has begun serving ads inside Sparky, its AI shopping assistant, after a pilot last fall. The sponsored prompts appear when shoppers ask for product recommendations, and 81 % of Walmart customers have already used Sparky to check availability. Leveraging its...
Viant has launched Outcomes, an AI‑driven campaign manager built on its 2024 Viant AI platform, designed to meet cost‑per‑action and return‑on‑ad‑spend goals with minimal human input. In a beta test against a human trader, Outcomes outperformed by 2.3× on CPA...
ADWEEK’s executive editor Alison Weissbrot released a year‑ahead outlook for 2026, highlighting AI’s deepening influence across advertising, media, and technology. The preview outlines six dominant AI trends, including intelligent agents that will reshape search, community engagement, and ad transactions. It...
Reddit unveiled Max Campaign, an AI‑driven media‑buying platform, at the CES conference. The tool automates audience targeting, bid management, and creative optimization while tapping Reddit’s vast repository of community‑generated conversation data. By promising higher transparency, it aims to lure performance‑focused...
Creative directors are becoming the most indispensable role in agencies as AI takes over routine execution. While AI can generate thousands of variations instantly, it lacks the human judgment to identify which outputs resonate. Directors bring taste, cultural insight, and...
Matt Britton outlines five consumer AI trends that will reshape how people search, shop, and create by 2026. AI is collapsing the gap between idea and execution, enabling individuals to produce content in hours. Generation Alpha, raised on omnipresent AI,...
2026 is set to eclipse 2025 as a record‑breaking year for tech, media and advertising M&A, with deal flow accelerating after a modest start to 2025. Total M&A volume reached $4.3 trillion in 2025, a 39% jump from 2024, and analysts...
iFit’s SVP of Marketing Kirsten Spittel‑Sloan discussed how the company stays ahead in fitness‑tech by investing equally across the marketing funnel, building a high‑trust adaptable culture, and leveraging AI‑driven personalization. She highlighted a multi‑layered consumer intelligence approach that combines social...