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# Stagwell buys Freestar as ad industry doubles down on AI bets
- URL: https://www.medianexis.com/stagwell-buys-freestar-as-ad-industry-doubles-down-on-ai-bets/
- Published: 2026-11-02T15:20:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-02T15:20:59.000Z
- Description: ExchangeWire’s Sheila Obeng-King reports that Stagwell acquired publisher monetisation platform Freestar for its Owned Media division, while Anthropic’s IPO filing showed ad spend quadrupling to $147 million in 2025, and Meta seeks $95 billion to fund AI expansion.
- Author: The Signals Desk
- Tags: Agencies, Deals, Sheila Obeng-King, ExchangeWire weekly ad/M&A roundup

*Signal from* [*exchangewire.com*](https://exchangewire.com/?ref=medianexis.com) *·* [*Sheila Obeng-King*](https://www.medianexis.com/tag/by-sheila-obeng-king/) *·* [*read the original*](https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2026/10/30/the-stack-ads-acquisitions/?ref=medianexis.com)*.*