A major step towards AI-led commerce

A major step towards AI-led commerce

“Artificial intelligence (AI) will transform commerce more profoundly than the internet or mobile technology ever did,” Jack Forestell, Visa’s [V] chief product and strategy officer, said in a statement announcing that OpenAI and Visa have expanded their partnership. Under the arrangement, Visa’s payment infrastructure will be integrated into OpenAI’s platform, allowing users to authorise AI agents to carry out transactions such as paying bills or purchasing household items.

China tech stocks get a slap on the wrist

Chinese e-commerce stocks have come under pressure after regulators intensified scrutiny of promotional practices during the annual “618” shopping festival. Authorities criticised the platforms for promoting large-scale discounts without adequately disclosing the actual value of subsidies provided by the companies and participating brands. Shares of Alibaba [BABA] and JD.com [JD] fell sharply in Hong Kong on the news, Seeking Alpha reported. 

Top chipmaker warns of price hikes

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co [TSM] has said that inflation is increasing operating costs across the chip industry, though CFO Wendell Huang told the BBC that the company would avoid the kind of dramatic hikes seen elsewhere in semiconductors. As the world’s leading producer of advanced AI chips for customers including Nvidia [NVDA], Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] and Apple [AAPL], any pricing changes by TSMC could ripple through the AI infrastructure supply chain. 

Is Opendoor more than a meme stock?

Opendoor [OPEN] is somewhere between meme stock dynamics and genuine business transformation. The bull case for the stock argues it is evolving beyond cyclical iBuying into a housing-fintech platform, with Russell 3000 inclusion reinforcing institutional legitimacy and liquidity. The bear case is that it remains a capital-intensive, low-margin property trader exposed to housing cycles, execution risk and structurally thin spreads that technology has yet to solve, as Aureon outlines. 

Canada proposes social media ban

The Canadian government is considering a ban on social media for users under 16, unless platforms adhere to new safety standards. AI chatbot providers are also expected to face new obligations, though not a ban on younger users. The legislation would establish a digital regulator responsible for enforcing the new rules, and violators could face penalties of up to 3% global revenue, or CA$10m.

ORCL can’t get a break

Oracle [ORCL] reported Q4 earnings on Wednesday, with adjusted EPS of $2.11 on revenue of $19.18bn, up 21% year-on-year and above analyst expectations. Growth was largely supported by soaring infrastructure revenue, up 93% y/y, and total performance obligations grew by $85bn, mostly due to “large scale” AI contracts. Revenue guidance for the coming quarter was set at $18.956bn-19.255bn, compared to Wall Street forecasts of $19.05bn. Regardless, ORCL shares fell 1.5% after the report.

Defence Momentum Drives Planet Labs to Q1 Beat

Space-related stocks have soared off the back of the SpaceX IPO. One such is Planet Labs [PL], which is up 55.78% in the year to date and nearly 426.93% in the 12 months to 10 June. Planet is transitioning into a defence-anchored Earth intelligence platform; Aureon sketches the firm’s trajectory to date – as well as its influence on SpaceX – then crunches the numbers from its latest earnings report, which dropped on 4 June.