Walmart Achieves $1 Trillion Market Value as Musk Consolidates Business Interests
Walmart reached a $1 trillion market valuation for the first time, becoming the first traditional retailer to join an elite group of mostly tech firms, including Nvidia and Alphabet, with valuations exceeding that mark, according to Reuters. The milestone reflected the US retail giant's booming e-commerce business and success in attracting price-conscious shoppers. Meanwhile, Elon Musk was consolidating his business interests, with SpaceX acquiring his artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, xAI, in a deal that could value the combined entity as the world's most valuable private company.
Walmart's stock price soared, prompting its move from the New York Stock Exchange to the tech-heavy Nasdaq, reinforcing the retailer's push to be seen as a digital company, Danielle Kaye, Business reporter reported. Wall Street has responded enthusiastically to its investments in artificial intelligence (AI). The company's shares hit a high on Tuesday morning trade as the stock continued to soar on the news of a new CEO and looming trade negotiations with India, where the Arkansas-based company maintains a large presence both in supply chain and domestic markets within India, according to Andy Hirschfeld and Reuters. The stock was up 2.1 percent from the market open in midday trading.
In other news, Elon Musk's SpaceX was taking over his artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, as the billionaire continues to unify some of his many business interests, according to the BBC. SpaceX confirmed the deal to acquire xAI, a smaller firm known for its Grok chatbot, posting a memo from Musk about the merger on its website. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, a source familiar with the matter said it valued xAI at $125 billion and SpaceX at $1 trillion, potentially making it the most valuable private company ever. In his memo, Musk said the combination would form an "innovation engine" putting AI, rockets, space-based internet, and media under one roof.
Separately, French investigators raided the Paris offices of Musk's social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, according to Sky News. Prosecutors said they had summoned Musk, the platform's billionaire owner, to come for questioning. The investigation, originally launched last month, will now cover the site's alleged complicity in the possession and distribution of child abuse images. Present and past employees, including former chief executive Linda Yaccarino, who left the company last year, were also summoned as witnesses.
Adding to the AI landscape, Matt Schlicht, head of commerce platform Octane AI, launched Moltbook in late January, a social network designed for AI, according to Laura Cress, Technology reporter. The platform allows AI to post, comment, and create communities known as "submolts." Humans are "welcome to observe" Moltbook's goings on, the company says, but we can't post anything.
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