Trade Minister Parks Tau.
Image: File
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From boardroom shakeups and billion-dollar bets to the latest tech breakthroughs rewriting the rules, The Company Brief is your front-row seat to the stories moving markets and mindsets.
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Musk’s xAI in advanced talks to raise $15 billion at $230 billion valuation
Elon Musk’s artificial-intelligence startup xAI is in advanced talks to raise $15 billion in fresh equity at a valuation of $230 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The fundraising terms were outlined to investors by Musk’s wealth manager, Jared Birchall, on Tuesday night, the report said. It was not clear whether the valuation figure Birchall shared was pre- or post-money, the paper added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Jared Birchall could not be immediately reached. XAI, in what seemed like an automated reply, said "Legacy Media Lies" in response to a Reuters request for comment. The new valuation would more than double xAI’s $113 billion mark disclosed when it merged with Musk’s social-media platform X in March.
Asia markets teeter ahead of Nvidia earnings test
Asian markets struggled to make headway on Wednesday as a bout of nerves over AI valuations held back investors ahead of an earnings update from chip titan Nvidia. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.2% overnight, notching a second straight day of losses. Valuation jitters have knocked it more than 6% below a record peak hit late in October. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures had slipped a further 0.2% by the Asia afternoon. European futures fell 0.1% and FTSE futures rose 0.1%. Japan's Nikkei, which has declined more than any other major market for November so far, with a loss of around 7% in U.S. dollar terms, gave up small gains to trade flat. Mainland China indexes (.CSI300), (.SSEC) were steady, and Hong Kong shares fell 0.5%. Nvidia, which sells the graphics processing units (GPUs) underpinning artificial intelligence, has been at the heart of a rally that has carried stock markets around the world to record highs and lifted any stock with even tangential links to AI. It reports after market close in the U.S. and is expected to deliver a 56% jump in its fiscal August-October quarter revenue to $54.92 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Meta defeats antitrust case over Instagram, WhatsApp acquisitions
Facebook parent company Meta Platforms defeated a U.S. attempt to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp on Tuesday when a federal judge ruled the company does not hold a social media monopoly. The ruling gives Big Tech its first decisive win against the antitrust crackdown started in President Donald Trump's first term, and is a major setback for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which is pursuing a separate antitrust case against Amazon.com. The agency sought to force Meta to restructure or sell Instagram and WhatsApp to restore competition, saying the company spent billions of dollars on the acquisitions to eliminate nascent competitors. Meta shares pared losses after the news and were down just 0.3% at $599.95 in late afternoon trading.
South Africa just declared war on spam calls
South Africa is setting up a national opt-out registry for direct marketers, designed to fight back against spam and unsolicited telemarketing calls. The Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC) is driving the creation of the registry, following a proposal by Trade Minister Parks Tau. The National Consumer Commission (NCC) will oversee it, giving the regulator visibility into all registered direct marketers. The registry has two modules: “Complaints Handling” (already active) and the “Opt-Out Registry” (to be effective once regulations are finalised). Consumers can already sign up on the NCC’s website by providing ID/passport details, contact info.