Axel Springer vs Bloomberg

Morning Brew Acquires Express Checkout Newsletter

Morning Brew Inc., the business media publisher owned by Axel Springer, has acquired Express Checkout, a creator-led media brand focused on the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. The all-cash deal, whose terms were not disclosed, gives Morning Brew 100% of Express Checkout's intellectual property. Co-founders Nate Rosen and Jenna Movsowitz will join Morning Brew full-time. Express Checkout started as a weekly newsletter covering CPG and e-commerce. This acquisition continues Morning Brew's strategy of bringing independent creators and their audiences into its portfolio.

• Morning Brew Inc. acquires Express Checkout, a creator-led CPG media brand.
• The deal is all-cash and includes 100% of Express Checkout's intellectual property.
• Co-founders Nate Rosen and Jenna Movsowitz will join Morning Brew full-time.

Carsten Schwecke to Lead Retail Media at MediaMarktSaturn

Carsten Schwecke, formerly Chief Commercial Officer at RTL Deutschland and previously head of marketing at Seven.One Entertainment Group, will become co-CEO and Managing Director of MediaMarktSaturn Marketing GmbH on November 1, 2026, leading the retail media and partner marketing unit jointly with CMO Michael Schuld. Schwecke focuses on expanding first-party data activation, offsite media, and the publisher business, broadening the growth strategy beyond retail media and partner marketing. He succeeds Boris Prondzinski and Torsten Ahlers, who are leaving amicably; Ahlers supports the handover until January 31, 2027. In fiscal year 2024/25, retail media revenue reached around 91 million euros, up from about 5 million three years earlier. For offsite expansion, MediaMarktSaturn partners with Unlimitail.

• Carsten Schwecke becomes co-CEO and Managing Director of MediaMarktSaturn Marketing GmbH on November 1, 2026, alongside CMO Michael Schuld.
• Schwecke previously held leadership roles at RTL Deutschland, Seven.One Entertainment Group, and Axel Springer.
• He will focus on first-party data activation, offsite media, and expanding the publisher business as part of a broader growth strategy.

Peter Thiel mit dem Axel Springer Award 2026 ausgezeichnet

Unternehmer und Investor für seinen prägenden Einfluss auf die digitale Transformation gewürdigt / Diskussion über Innovation, Freiheit und die Zukunft westlicher Gesellschaften

Apple to Unveil Home Hub and Smart Home Devices in October

Apple is reportedly planning to announce its new Home Hub, along with updated HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K models, on October 13, possibly during a dedicated keynote. The Home Hub, a six-inch square display, is designed to recognize users via voice and facial recognition, personalizing content for different family members. It will also serve as a smart home control center. Siri AI, which is already available on select devices, will power these experiences, but EU users will initially miss out due to regulatory constraints. Apple is also developing a privacy-focused sensor and a robotic-arm version of the hub. These launches follow years of delays linked to Siri and Apple Intelligence development.

• Apple plans to announce a Home Hub on October 13, possibly at a dedicated keynote.
• The Home Hub features a 6-inch square display with voice and facial recognition for personalized UI.
• Updated HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K models will include faster chips to support Siri AI.

OpenAI investors approach company about new funding round

OpenAI has postponed its IPO to at least 2027 and is raising at least $30 billion in a pre-IPO round at a $1.4 trillion valuation, according to Bloomberg. This follows a record $122 billion raise at an $852 billion valuation in March, led by SoftBank, Amazon, and Nvidia, and a $7 billion secondary sale in August. Run-rate revenue reached $40 billion in August, a 70% increase since July, driven by AI coding. The capital is needed to expand data centers, with projected cumulative negative free cash flow of $278 billion by 2030. SoftBank, the largest investor, is notably exposed, having committed up to $30 billion and issuing $11.15 billion in bonds. Competitor Anthropic is also delaying its IPO, targeting a valuation over $2 trillion, amid concerns about autonomous AI incidents. The IPO market is weakening, affecting companies like Oura and SB Energy.

• OpenAI is raising at least $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation, according to Bloomberg.
• The funding is a pre-IPO bridge round, with IPO postponed to no earlier than 2027.
• OpenAI's annualized revenue exceeds $40 billion, up ~70% since July, driven by AI coding.

Bloomberg Launches Enterprise MCP for AI Data Access

Bloomberg announced the launch of Bloomberg Enterprise Model Context Protocol (MCP), an AI access layer for Data License Plus (DL+), its next-generation data license offering. The solution enables clients' AI agents to discover, understand, and retrieve licensed Bloomberg data across more than 100 million securities and 50,000 fields via a standardized MCP interface. It combines AI-ready metadata, semantic context, and workflow-focused Skills to help agents interpret data correctly. The tool is designed to move firms from AI experimentation to production workflows, covering use cases in research, portfolio management, risk, and operations. Bloomberg hosts and manages the service, while clients control their AI agents and applications. Key features include semantic search, entity resolution, entitlements validation, and client-controlled execution.

• Bloomberg launched Enterprise MCP, an AI access layer for Data License Plus (DL+).
• The solution provides access to over 100 million securities and 50,000 fields.
• It includes AI-ready metadata, semantic search, and workflow Skills.