Night Rises & Mattel’s Digital Dreamhouse

The Digital Dealflow

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Quartermast Advisors
February 19, 2026

Good Morning,

Premier management firm Night raised $70 million to bolster its specialized gaming and music divisions. Lastly, Casey Wasserman is reportedly looking to sell his namesake agency following the fallout from the Epstein files.

Gaxos.ai, an AI development tool for game developers, inked a strategic partnership with ByteDance’s BytePlus to integrate AI art tools into its creator platform. Mattel is tired of sharing its toys. The toy giant has acquired full control of Mattel163 from NetEase for $159 million, vertically integrating its digital gaming IP to ensure every cent of mobile revenues stays in the Barbie Dreamhouse.

Seems like the Warner Bros saga doesn’t want to end with Netflix granting WBD to reopen deal talks with Paramount.

Quartermast Creator Economy Index

Layoff Watch

  • LTK: Trimming headcount to reallocate capital toward automated brand-facing technology and partnership tools.

The Weekly Roundup:

  1. Apple Launches Global Video Podcasts: The tech giant has enabled video podcasts worldwide, directly challenging YouTube’s dominance in the video-first creator space (TechBuzz AI).

  2. ByteDance Faces Hollywood Legal War Over "Seedance": Disney and the MPA issued cease-and-desist letters to ByteDance, alleging its new photorealistic video tool, Seedance 2.0, utilizes a pirated library of IP, including Marvel and Star Wars characters (BBC).

  3. Dick’s Creator Program Sees Massive Demand: Over 10,000 creators applied for the retailer's "DSG Fan Class," signaling a major shift toward brands treating creators as long-term storytelling partners (Digiday).

  4. MIP London Elevates Creator IP: The 2026 event features dedicated programming for licensing creator content to traditional broadcast and streaming giants (Tubefilter).

  5. Eros Innovation Debuts AI Universe App: A new ecosystem provides creators with AI tools to manage fan engagement and localized narrative distribution (BW Marketing World).

  6. TikTok Creators Fight AI Script-Stealing: Influencers are sounding the alarm on "copycat" accounts using generative AI to clone successful video scripts (Fast Company).

  7. Creator Income Gap Persists: A new report indicates the average annual income for creators remains below $45,000 despite the industry's massive valuation (MSN).

  8. BNP Paribas Launches Creator Banking: The bank is targeting the €135 billion European market with specialized financial teams for creator-led businesses (NetInfluencer).

  9. YouTube Incentivizes TV Ad Dollars: Sales reps are now being rewarded for pitching "Demand Gen" ads that bridge the gap between TV reach and performance (Digiday).

  10. LTK Refocuses on Brand Technology: The unicorn is betting on its new 360 brand platform to drive growth despite recent internal staffing cuts (Business Insider).

  11. Syracuse Expands Creator Economy Education: The university is scaling its dedicated center with a new facility and a nationwide tour to bridge academia and industry leadership (Syracuse University News)

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