It’s not your imagination: merger and acquisition activity did rise sharply towards the end of last year.  Investment bank LUMA reports that fourth quarter media and martech deals were up 21% compared to the year before, (97 vs 80) even though deals were down by 45% for the first three quarters (149 vs 270).   Martech deals dropped 60% in the first three quarters but bounced back for a 6% year-on-year gain in the fourth quarter.

In the latest round of AI vs. copyright holders, Character.AI has removed Disney characters from its platform in response to a cease-and-desist letter from the company. It’s unknown if this will prove to be a precedent. OpenAI’s Sora is taking a different approach by requiring copyright holders to opt out of being used.