With AI, it's not the "cool" factor that's hard, it's that other thing: utility and business value. Chris Kellner, the CEO of DigitalGenius, is no stranger to AI. He has been focused there for years, well before the recent hype. Here's why this episode is a must-listen:

As a UK business coming to the US market, it has been a struggle. Outbound playbooks are not universal as US buyers simply do not pick up the phone (who's with me?). AI allows for the localization and personalization needed to bridge those market gaps. Whether you are building or buying, the goal remains the same: move past the buzz and start building pipelines that actually deliver.

The Money: M&A and Earnings

Funding & Deals:

UPS announced earnings today with fourth-quarter 2025 consolidated revenues of $24.5 billion; US revenue decreased 3.2%.

Are the rights to Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo up for grabs now?

Smithfield Foods announced a definitive merger agreement to acquire famous hot dog makers Nathan’s Famous in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $450 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Smithfield will purchase all outstanding shares of the iconic hot dog brand at $102 per share, representing a nearly 10% premium over its recent trading price.

This acquisition marks a major strategic shift from a partnership to full ownership. Since 2014, Smithfield has held the exclusive licensing rights to manufacture and sell Nathan’s products in the U.S. and Canada. By bringing the brand entirely under its corporate umbrella, Smithfield secures the rights to the Nathan’s name in perpetuity, eliminating the need for future license renewals and royalty payments. Smithfield is using the vertical integration playbook to ensure it owns many, if not all, of the top brands in its packaged meats portfolio. Sounds eerily familiar to the PayPal-Cymbio transaction from earlier in the week, which also evolved from partnership to acquisition.

No word if the hot dog record will need to go even higher than 70.5 to compensate for the new revenue.

Products are starting to show up in ChatGPT searches.
OpenAI reportedly targets $60 CPM for ChatGPT Ads.
Is this burning the candle at both ends, or desperation to find cash?

This was a momentous week in the history of e-commerce (maybe this is drinking the agentic commerce koolaid), but is it not ironic that we have the sighting of products inside ChatGPT while the company is trying to convince brands to spend $60 CPM for ChatGPT Ads, which are sponsored products with no real analytics being offered to the brands expected to pony up $1 million in advertising spend.

It took Google two years to go from testing ads to offering them. How long will OpenAI test it? How many impressions lead to a conversion? Asking for a friend.

The second-order impacts of this week have not been discussed, but are brands ready for an additional 4% charge, which requires additional analytics to understand faceless demand? Why are we not talking about this being the end of the road for digital advertising as we currently know it, and conversion rates becoming more important as impressions start to vanish from reports? Brands will do all the work like customer support, logistics to and from customers, and returns for a channel that is an experiment for many in 2026.