Roundtable Secures 10-Year, $1 Billion Agreement, Bringing its AI/DeFi Media Operating System to Global Scale and Profitability

Founders James Heckman, and Eyal Hertzog, Chairman Walton Comer of Roundtable (Nasdaq: RTB) ringing the Nasdaq closing bell (Source: Nasdaq, Inc. / Vanja Savic)

SEATTLE, Sept. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Roundtable (Nasdaq: RTB) CEO, James Heckman announced a 10-year, $1 billion agreement with The Arena Group, now known as Paradium.AI (NYSE: PAAI), to migrate, operate and monetize Arena’s premium media portfolio on Roundtable’s AI/DeFi-powered MediaOS, bringing global scale to the world’s most advanced platform.

Following deal closure, Roundtable forecasts a $100 million annualized revenue and an EBITDA-positive run rate - on a stand-alone basis, with 100 million monthly consumers - ensuring global media partners can thrive safely in sovereignty.

The transaction will deliver global scale and a profitable ecosystem to the world’s leading professional media brands and journalists. Roundtable’s operating system, powered by AI and DeFi, eliminates publishers’ infrastructure and operational costs by replacing antiquated systems with a single unified AI based platform. It encompasses AI-integration, DeFi reporting and payments, on-chain publishing, hosting, monetization, syndication, ad operations, AI-resistance, brand safety, IP and audience security - while publishers remain fully sovereign over their brands, domains, journalism, IP and audiences.

The partnership reunites founding leaders PAAI CEO Paul Edmondson, with RTB founders Heckman and Bill Sornsin, who were last teamed in 2020. The teams believe combining platforms and distribution will accelerate growth, save tens of millions in costs and amplify profits for both companies. Following the Arena partnership, RTB anticipates hundreds of large-scale customers joining the hundreds of professional journalists already adopting its revolutionary Operating System.

“This is the apex of what we have architected over decades,” said James Heckman, Roundtable CEO. “Roundtable will have the scale to provide premium publishers and advertisers a profitable, brand-safe ecosystem, a revolutionary DeFi payment platform that finances the industry in real time, and global distribution that professional, human journalists and media can leverage to survive and thrive in a world being enveloped by AI.”

RTB co-founder, Bill Sornsin added, “Professional media has historically surrendered economics, data and audience control to big tech, social platforms and intermediaries - and now AI. Roundtable’s operating system reverses that equation. Our partnership provides the infrastructure, financial system, monetization and distribution, so professional publishers can regain independence.”

Deal Highlights:

• 10-Year Agreement - Iconic Brand Portfolio. Two dozen brands and nearly 100 million consumers will migrate to Roundtable’s MediaOS, including TheStreet, Parade, Men's Journal, Athlon Sports, Autoblog, Powder including hundreds of professional journalists.
• Full platform migration. PAAI's publishing, advertising operations and technology, syndication, streaming, data, community, reporting and DeFi payments move to RTB.
• Immediate monetization scale: Partnership consolidates nine-figure ad ecosystem and a decade of market maturity/yield; Roundtable assumes PAAI's ad operations.
• Perpetual technology license: RTB receives a worldwide, non-cancelable, perpetual license to PAAI's technical assets for integration into its platform, for all RTB customers.
• AI/DeFi payments: Hundreds of journalists across two dozen brands will use Roundtable's Coinbase-integrated smart-wallet reporting and real-time payment infrastructure, adding to the hundreds of journalists already utilizing it.
• The agreements are subject to Roundtable’s minority investment in PAAI, $89 million in cash and stock for ~49% of PAAI, in a private transaction, and other conditions precedent, which include funding requirements to complete the transactions in Q4.
  

About Roundtable (RTB Digital, Inc.)

Roundtable (NASDAQ: RTB) is the world’s only AI/DeFi-powered Enterprise Media Operating System, integrating distribution, publishing, monetization, community, syndication and DeFi payment operations, powering professional and major media brands. The Web3 platform was developed over years by digital pioneers and co-founders, Eyal Hertzog, and James Heckman. For more information, visit rtb.io.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs, assumptions and expectations regarding future events, which in turn are based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements that are characterized by future or conditional words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," and "continue" or similar words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss future expectations and plans, which contain projections of future results of operations or financial condition or state other forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding the accretive transactions undertaken in 2026 and future operations and revenues of the company. By their nature, forward-looking statements address matters that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements, such as the company being able to maintain its listing on Nasdaq for the common stock, having sufficient capital for its acquisitions, operations and business expansion, and developing its business and capturing users for its services. Annualized and longer period revenue and business estimates are subject to the effect of macroeconomic events, to industry changes, to competitive forces, to client development and retention, to capital availability, and to many other operational factors; therefore, any financial forecasts offered by the Company must take into account the fact that the underlying assumptions may significantly change over time and projected results may substantively increase or decrease. Other risk factors affecting the Company are discussed in detail in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws.

Investor Relations Contact: ir@roundtable.io

Public Relations Contact: press@roundtable.io