This week’s round-up of the latest mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and account moves include Nvidia, Meta, Clever Advertising, Activision, and Amazon Ads.
Deal Desk rounds-up the latest moves across the global affiliate and digital marketing industry and why it matters.
This week Nvidia invests $3bn in Meta; Clever Advertising acquires Pickswise; and Activision teams up with Amazon Ads and Omnicom to support the launch of the new Call of Duty.
Nvidia expands partnership with Meta
Nvidia will invest $3bn in an equity offering by Meta as part of an expanded partnership.
The collaboration will focus on the Facebook-owner’s artificial intelligence model, Muse, which became one of the most downloaded apps within a week of its launch.
In a joint statement, the two companies said they will collaborate on improving inference and training performance for Muse.
Jensen Huang, Nvidia chief executive said: “NVIDIA and Meta are expanding our partnership to optimise the computing infrastructure end-to-end for capable, efficient and secure AI agents.”
Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive of Meta, added: “Muse is how we bring personal super intelligence to everyone. We’re excited to keep working with NVIDIA to deliver the best personal agents and frontier models for billions of people.”
Leaders take
This was an inevitable collaboration, which is based on a long history of the two companies working together, including other infrastructure deals. Under the investment deal, Meta will gain access to additional computing technology from Nvidia to help develop its Muse models and other AI infrastructure. This means, Nvidia is essentially powering Meta’s AI agents.
There were also discussions between the pair about agent supervision technologies, although this has not be disclosed. But such a proposal could see Meta start go ahead in the AI arms race among the big tech.
Clever Advertising acquires Pickswise
Clever Advertising has acquired Pickswise, an American sports betting picks and analysis brand owned by Spotlight Sports Group.
Pickswise, which was launched in 2019, covers the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, UFC, as well as college football, basketball, and football. Its platform brings in 1.4 million visits per month, reaching fans through Android and iOS apps, as well as on social media including Instagram, X, and YouTube.
Rui Meireles, chief publishing officer at Clever Advertising said: “Pickswise readers are fans who want the reasoning behind a pick before they bet, and that’s the audience licensed operators want to reach.
“Pickswise is now our most important asset in the US market. We’ll keep investing in the brand, starting with new Playzone games for the NBA and MLB, as a key driver of our long-term growth and our expansion in the US.”
Mark Renshaw, chief executive officer of Spotlight Sports Group added: “We launched Pickswise in 2019 and grew it into one of the leading free picks brands in the U.S. Over the past year, the team at Clever Advertising has advanced it further and they’re the right owner for its next chapter. For us, the move sharpens our focus on Racing Post and our partnerships with operators and media groups around the world, where we see the biggest opportunities.”
Leaders take
This acquisition is a natural and important step for Clever Advertising. The performance marketing agency has been working with Pickswide since late 2025 and has since led its content strategy, relaunched its app, grown its social channels, and improved its website. It also launched Pickswise Playzone, starting with the NFL Career game.
By buying out the platform from Spotlight Sports Group gives the agency a foothold in the lucrative US market. Commercial sports betting revenue in the US reached as much as $17bn in 2025, up 22.8% from 2024, according to the American Gaming Association.
Activision pairs with Amazon Ads and Omnicom Media
Activision has teamed up with Omnicom Media and Amazon Ads to support the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 with a first-of-its-kind, full-funnel activation across experiential, streaming, digital media, and commerce.
Amazon Ads will deliver campaign elements to deepen fan engagement, which extends the experience across digital and physical touch points. This includes an immersive, real-world experience recreating a Korean alleyway at London’s Electric Garden in Shoreditch High Street and in LA’s Sunset Boulevard, transforming audiences into operatives inside the game world.
Working alongside Omnicom Media, Amazon Ads also developed several bespoke elements within the experience to deepen engagement and connect the physical activation to Amazon’s digital offerings. This included mission cards with code-breaking and puzzles that needed to be solved; prize bags; and a gamified brand store.
Beyond experiential, Amazon Ads delivered a full-funnel media campaign for Activision spanning Twitch, Prime Video, live sport, display, online video, and brand store.
Tyler Bahl, chief marketing officer at Activision said: “Call of Duty has always been at its best when it extends beyond the game and into culture.
“With the Korean Alleyways in both London and LA, we’re giving fans the opportunity to step inside the world of Modern Warfare 4 through an immersive experience inspired by the sights, sounds and atmosphere that helped shape the game. Together with Amazon, we’ve been able to extend that experience beyond the physical space and connect with fans in new and engaging ways ahead of launch.”
Kate McCagg, global head of Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab, added: “Call of Duty is one of the most iconic franchises in entertainment, and this campaign required an approach that matched that scale and ambition.
“By combining immersive real-world experiences with Twitch-powered interactivity and a full-funnel media strategy, we’ve created something that puts fans at the centre of the story.”
Leader take
This collaboration showcases the modern full-funnel marketing strategy, across traditional and digital. Amazon Ads and Omnicom used a fun a creative way to transform attendees into operatives inside the game world.
Brand Innovation Lab, the creative team within Amazon Ads, including its Twitch Brand Partnership Studio, led the development in collaboration with Omnicom for Activision to create the most ambitious integrated gaming launch. It has set a new blueprint for how entertainment brands can create cultural moments at scale.
Other notable deals
Anthropic plans to sell $3.5bn worth of shares to Japanese investors. The new shares will go towards raising capital and funding operating expenses and capital expenditure. The filing did not confirm the state or size of the valuation of the IPO.
DoorDash has acquired Instacart in a $17bn deal, paying roughly $65 per share. The aggregate transaction will be at least 75% in cash, and Instacart stockholders will be able to choose cash, DoorDash stock, or a combination of both.
YouTube has launched its shopping affiliate programme in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Eligible creators will now be able to tag products in their content and earn commission from viewers.
Sportradar is partnering with Borussia Dortmund football club. The agreement is part of an ‘integrity partnership’ to conduct investigations into potential sponsors and commercial partners.
iGaming.com’s flagship UK casino gets Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (QMRA) certification for its prominent comparison platform.
Adform’s MCP server has released results around its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Initial users gave the platform 9.5 out of 10 and a usefulness rating of four out of five, with campaign reporting presenting as the biggest user case.
