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This digest compiles the latest from TechCrunch.
Today’s TechCrunch Roundup
Warner Bros. Discovery rejects Paramount’s bid again, calls it a ‘leveraged buyout’
7 Jan 2026, 2:56 pm by Ram Iyer
The studio’s board unanimously rejected Paramount Skydance’s revised $108.4 billion bid, calling the proposal a “leveraged buyout” that would saddle the company with $87 billion in debt.
Spotify lowers monetization threshold for video podcasts
7 Jan 2026, 2:00 pm by Ivan Mehta
Spotify is dropping the minimum episode requirement to three, minimum consumption hours to 2,000, and engaged audience member threshold to 1,000 over the last 30 days.
Intel spinout Articul8 raises more than half of $70M round at $500M valuation
7 Jan 2026, 12:00 pm by Jagmeet Singh
Articul8’s valuation for its current funding round marks a roughly fivefold increase since its Series A.
Roblox now requires all users globally to complete age checks to access chat
7 Jan 2026, 12:00 pm by Aisha Malik
Once users complete an age check, they can access age-based chat, which means they can only communicate with others in a similar age group.
McKinsey and General Catalyst execs say the era of ‘learn once, work forever’ is over
7 Jan 2026, 3:09 am by Marina Temkin
Calacanis, General Catalyst’s Taneja, and McKinsey’s Sternfels discussed how AI is reshaping technology and the labor force.
Meta’s Manus news is getting different receptions in Washington and Beijing
7 Jan 2026, 2:52 am by Connie Loizos
Chinese officials are reportedly reviewing whether the Meta deal violates technology export controls, potentially giving Beijing leverage it wasn’t initially perceived as having.
End of today’s TechCrunch roundup.
