Good Morning, Builders.

Today, we look at Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Trump’s plans for national AI rule, and Pinterest’s pivot to shopping companion. Let’s get to work.

Just days after Netflix agreed to pay $72 billion for major Warner Bros. Discovery assets, Paramount flipped the table with a $77.9 billion all-cash hostile bid for the entire company. The offer, which values WBD at roughly $30 per share, went directly to shareholders and is backed by the Ellison family, RedBird Capital, and $54 billion in debt commitments from major banks. Paramount is framing its bid as both richer and cleaner than Netflix’s deal, arguing it brings more immediate cash and fewer regulatory headaches. With HBO, DC, Harry Potter, and CNN on the line, shareholders now have until January 8 to choose between Netflix’s breakup-heavy proposal and Paramount’s higher cash offer. (Complex)

President Trump says he will sign an executive order this week aimed at creating a single national rule for AI, overriding the growing patchwork of state-level AI laws. Tech giants like OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Andreessen Horowitz have pushed for federal standards, arguing that navigating 50 different regulations slows innovation and weakens the U.S. against China. State leaders from both parties are pushing back, warning that federal preemption would remove key consumer protections around privacy, deepfakes, discrimination, and AI-generated abuse. (Reuters)

Pinterest is partnering with Walmart to let users turn recipe inspiration into a shopping cart with a single tap. U.S. users can now add ingredients from eligible recipe Pins directly to a Walmart cart, swap products, see real-time pricing, and choose pickup or delivery before completing checkout in the Walmart app. It’s a smart move for a platform where recipes and meal planning already drive high intent, and another step in Pinterest’s evolution into a shopping companion for its 600 million monthly users, shrinking the gap between inspiration, product discovery, and purchase. (Social Media Today)

X has deactivated the European Commission’s advertising account days after the EU fined the platform approximately $140m under the Digital Services Act. Regulators said X’s paid blue checkmark system was deceptive and increased impersonation and scam risks, while also citing failures in ad transparency. X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, claimed the decision was unrelated to the fine, accusing the Commission of exploiting a loophole in the platform’s ad tools to artificially boost reach. The European Commission denied wrongdoing, saying it used X’s tools in good faith and noting it has suspended paid advertising on the platform since 2023. The standoff marks another escalation in tensions between Elon Musk’s X and European regulators, with further penalties possible if X fails to comply within set deadlines. (TechCrunch)

Singapore-based fintech Airwallex is making a decisive U.S. pivot after raising $330 million at an $8 billion valuation, opening a San Francisco headquarters and reducing longtime Chinese shareholder Tencent’s stake to below 10%. The move brings in U.S. investors like T. Rowe Price and Robinhood Ventures, adds distance from growing data-security scrutiny tied to China, and signals IPO ambitions within three to four years. CEO Jack Zhang says the expansion is about talent and survival, betting heavily on AI engineers in Silicon Valley as Airwallex races to stay competitive while Big Tech pours billions into its own AI arms. (Financial Times)

Airlines have a little-known perk that savvy travelers are using to stretch one plane ticket into two vacations. It’s called a stopover. Unlike a layover, which keeps you stuck in the airport for less than 24 hours, a stopover lets you pause your trip for days in an airline’s hub city without raising the fare. Carriers like TAP Portugal, Icelandair, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines do it to boost tourism, keep hubs busy, and earn traveler loyalty. The trick is booking multi-city instead of round trip, planning within each airline’s stopover limits, and booking directly with the carrier. Translation: more cities, more memories, same airfare. (Travel And Tour World)

To the Arena,
- Nathan

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