Musk launches AI; Recursion stock pops; Tesla’s new quadbike

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Musk to launch new AI company

Elon Musk has announced the launch of a new AI company, called xAI, with the modest goal of deciphering “the true nature of the universe”. More details will be released on Friday. Meanwhile, Meta [META] is set to release a commercial version of its own AI model, and Google [GOOGL] has said that its chatbot Bard can now analyse images and give audio responses, and is available in 40 languages.

Recursion stock doubles after $50m Nvidia investment

The share price of Recursion Pharmaceutical [RXRX] — which uses AI to discover new medicines — surged as much as 78% this week following an investment from Nvidia [NVDA]. Elsewhere, Google’s Med-PaLM — a large language model-based AI that helps doctors rapidly access information — is in the testing phase, but research shows that it is more than 90% accurate. Lastly, UNESCO has warned that AI-driven neurotechnology urgently requires a “universal ethical framework”.

Tesla launches quadbike; Kia ramps up US production

Tesla [TSLA] is to launch a $1,670 electric quad bike in China. With a top speed of 8 km per hour and a battery life of 1.5 hours, it is aimed at children between eight and 12 years old. In other electric vehicle (EV) news, South Korea’s Kia [000270.KS] is to invest $200m in its assembly plant in the US state of Georgia, while Saudi Arabia-backed Lucid Group [LCID] has said its second quarter production dropped due to supply chain issues.

Amazon shopping event drives sales

Driven by significant discounts on a range of products including appliances and toys, Amazon’s [AMZN] Prime Day shopping event prompted a surge in online sales, which rose nearly 6% against last year, to $6.4bn. Adobe Digital Insights anticipates that the event will have netted Amazon as much as $13bn. Rival retailers, among them Walmart [WMT], Target [TGT] and Best Buy [BBY], have been piggybacking on the event by likewise offering large discounts.

Public.com aims to break into the UK

New York-based investing platform Public.com is expanding into the UK, its first new market outside the US. Considered a rival to Robinhood [HOOD], the firm will allow retail investors to access data and research services and to trade more than 5,000 stocks. The move is a prelude to further expansion within the EU. “The goal is to have the same product experience in all markets,” co-CEO Leif Abraham told Bloomberg.