Keeta announced the first-ever blockchain-native credit bureau created in partnership with SOLO, a credit data infrastructure platform backed by over 100 banks. Keeta is enabling SOLO’s PASS, a digital certificate that consolidates fragmented financial credentials into a verified identity, for seamless lending, peer-to-peer credit, and on-chain financial reputation, all backed by 100% provable data and assets. Keeta is the only blockchain that can facilitate PASS for institutions and platforms to confidently underwrite loans with verified, user-permissioned data. The product also enables modern credit rails for wallets, dApps, and embedded finance, while allowing for pseudonymous lending and borrowing based on trusted credentials. Now, crypto & Web3 builders, global earners paid in stablecoins, DAOS, VCs, banks, and others have access to a robust on-chain credit system. As a bank-grade, verified financial identity layer, PASS includes KYC, KYB, income, crypto assets, and business credentials. It provides users instant, secure, and self-owned credentials, granting them access to the global economy. They control when, where, and how they share information. With PASS, banks can now serve their crypto-native customers with full visibility, spend controls, and risk alignment. The partnership will be rolled out in phases, with verified profiles launching in Summer 2025. Additional features will include a lending marketplace with verified reputations, stablecoin-based loan origination offering real-world APR relief to crypto-native borrowers, and bank integrations.
The new Walmart “Retail Rewired Report” reveals that the trust gap between AI-based recommendations and influencer endorsements is much smaller than may have been anticipated.
The new Walmart “Retail Rewired Report” reveals that the trust gap between AI-based recommendations and influencer endorsements is much smaller than may have been anticipated. More than one-in-four (27%) surveyed consumers prefer AI suggestions to those from social media influencers (24%), which Walmart says signals a turning point for AI. The preference for AI suggestions was most pronounced among the respondent subsets of earning $100,000 or more per year (40% AI/23% social media influencers), males (36% AI/23% social media influencers), Gen X (32% AI/20% social media influencers) and parents (39% AI/30% social media influencers). The survey also shows that respondents have a general desire for a fast shopping experience, with many seeing AI as a valuable tool for speeding things up. Seven-in-10 (69%) said speed of the entire shopping experience is a priority. This number climbed to 80% among parents. More than half (54%) of respondents agreed that using digital shopping agents or assistants saved time, while 25% disagreed. The top three respondent concerns regarding AI shopping agents were privacy and security when sharing preferences and data (37%), irrelevant product suggestions (33%), and getting pushed toward products and brands they do not have an interest in (29%). Based on survey results, Walmart issued the following three findings about consumer attitudes toward AI: Traditional search methods still reign supreme, Trust in AI varies by product category, AI can recommend — but not replace — human decision-making
Palantir and fintech Bolt partner for Checkout 2.0 that delivers personalized flows that evolve with the user—prioritizing preferred payment methods, remembering prior selections and surfacing relevant information at just the right time
Bolt and Palantir have partnered to usher in a new era of intelligent ecommerce checkout—one that’s personalized, dynamic and deeply informed by data. Checkout 2.0, a self-learning, self-improving checkout, replaces static, form-based flows with an adaptive, real-time system that responds to each shopper’s unique preferences, behaviors and context. Rather than displaying the same interface to every shopper, Checkout 2.0 delivers personalized flows that evolve with the user—prioritizing preferred payment methods, remembering prior selections and surfacing relevant information at just the right time. Bolt will leverage Palantir’s platform to help scale Checkout 2.0 across enterprise retailers and expand it within Bolt’s recently launched SuperApp—an all-in-one finance and crypto hub that delivers real-time shopper signals. As both platforms evolve, Checkout 2.0 will bring deeper personalization and intelligence to every phase of the buying journey. Through this partnership, Bolt will integrate Palantir’s advanced decisioning engine to dynamically adapt checkout flows and enable smarter, contextually aware logic. Merchants will also benefit from intelligent post-checkout payment routing. Checkout 2.0 will evaluate transaction attributes—such as volume, category or geography—and select the optimal payment gateway to maximize authorization rates and reduce processing costs. This behind-the-scenes intelligence delivers better margins and a smoother experience. Checkout 2.0’s architecture includes: Self-learning shopper profiles that adapt over time based on usage, behavior and purchase history; Dynamic payment method reordering based on shopper preferences and device; Post-checkout routing optimization to improve processing economics in real time; Native crypto payment support.
Walmart is exploring agentic AI to optimize activities across ecosystem such as associate tasks in stores, customer shopping journeys online and merchandise planning in home office
When it comes to the power of AI at retail, Walmart recognizes the fact that the future won’t be defined by AI for its own sake, but by how well AI serves its customers’ needs. The retailer is shedding light on its technology and AI strategy following the release of its new Retail Rewired Report. The report shows the gap between the trust in AI-based recommendations versus those given by an influencer is only shrinking, with 27% of respondents preferring AI suggestions and 24% favoring those from influencers. SVP Tech Strategy & Emerging Tech Desiree Gosby believes this is a profound shift and is happening because AI is helping shoppers with a profoundly personal experience, and the technology can create highly personalized recommendations. According to the report, shoppers are using AI in very functional ways – to compare prices, shipping times and availability, receive alerts on price drops, and to narrow down options. The retailer is focused on using the technology to solve for specific use cases tailored to its business needs, including tasks such as item comparison and shopping journey completion, all within its GenAI-powered shopping assistant. Merchant tools are also getting the agentic AI treatment, automating many time-intensive tasks like entry and analysis, as well as the Trend-to-Product tool that shortens the traditional production timeline for Walmart fashion. “We are exploring agentic systems to further optimize activities across our ecosystem such as associate tasks in our stores, customer shopping journeys online and merchandise planning in our home office,” wrote Hari Vasudev, chief technology officer, Walmart U.S.
Solidroad reinvents customer service with AI that coaches, not replaces- transforms insights into actionable improvements through individualized training simulations for human agents and refinement recommendations for AI systems
Solidroad, an AI startup that promises to solve one of customer service’s most persistent problems, has raised $6.5 million in seed funding to expand its platform that automatically trains customer service representatives and improves AI agents. Solidroad’s platform operates as what Hughes calls “an aggregation layer” that sits atop existing customer communication channels, analyzing every interaction between companies and their customers. Unlike AI solutions that attempt to replace human agents entirely, Solidroad focuses on making both human representatives and AI systems more effective. The platform automatically reviews 100% of customer conversations across multiple channels, applying AI-powered quality assurance that traditionally required manual review of just 1-3% of interactions. More critically, it transforms these insights into actionable improvements through individualized training simulations for human agents and refinement recommendations for AI systems. The system generates personalized training scenarios based on actual conversation patterns and identified skill gaps, creating targeted coaching at scale without adding process overhead or additional staff. Early customer results suggest the approach delivers measurable improvements. Crypto.com, the cryptocurrency exchange, used Solidroad to reduce average handling time by 18% while simultaneously improving customer satisfaction scores from 87% to 90% — a 3-percentage-point increase that represents significant improvement in the customer service industry. Marketing automation platform ActiveCampaign reported saving the equivalent of a full year of manual coaching time, which the company reinvested into higher-leverage training initiatives and faster feedback mechanisms. Customer engagement platform Podium cut new hire ramp time in half by embedding Solidroad’s AI simulations into their onboarding process.
72% of people who are part of the Sam’s Club Members Mark Community said they are actively seeking ‘Made Without’ minimally processed foods
Walmart-owned Sam’s Club is celebrating a major milestone within its Members Mark private label line. The club retailer announced that 96% of the ingredients in Members Mark products now meet the goals of its “Made Without” list, which includes ingredients that Sam’s Club is striving to remove or replace from its food and beverage items, ranging from artificial colors and aspartame to high-fructose corn syrup. The “Made Without” list was compiled based on member feedback, industry trends and nutritional guidelines, and includes 40 unique ingredients. Sam’s Club expects to reach 100% achievement by the end of 2025. Indeed, 72% of people who are part of the Sam’s Club Members Mark Community said they are actively seeking minimally processed foods. Another 90% said they either live, or aspire to a live, healthier lifestyle. Sam’s Club shared that, moving forward, it is exploring opportunities to bring its “Made Without” promise to Members Mark products beyond food and beverage, including household essentials, health and baby.
Walmart drone delivery launches at 100 stores throughout Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas, in addition to current operations in Northwest Arkansas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area
Walmart has become the first retailer to scale its drone delivery to five states with its recently announced service expansion in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa. The new service will launch at 100 stores throughout Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas, in addition to current operations in Northwest Arkansas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Walmart is continuing its partnership with Wing as it expands the delivery service. Wing operates within FAA guidelines and flies its drones within up to a 6-mile aircraft range from any given store. “As we look ahead, drone delivery will remain a key part of our commitment to redefining retail,” said Greg Cathey, SVP, Walmart U.S. transformation and innovation. “We’re pushing the boundaries of convenience to better serve our customers, making shopping faster and easier than ever before. This expansion of our drone delivery service marks a significant milestone in that journey, enhancing our delivery offerings with a focus on speed.”
Nectar Social’s agentic platform for social commerce listens in real-time, surfaces nuanced insights and attributes engagement to revenue across the funnel to deliver >12% campaign conversion rates vs 1-3% for traditional channels
Nectar Social, the agentic social commerce platform for disruptor brands, today announced its emergence from stealth with $10.6 million in combined pre-seed and seed funding co-led by True Ventures and GV (Google Ventures). Nectar steps in as the embedded agent built for today’s commerce—listening in real time, surfacing actionable insights, attributing engagement to revenue, and much more. Nectar is more than a platform—it’s the teammate every brand needs. It listens to customer feedback in real time, surfaces nuanced insights brands didn’t know to ask for, and engages automatically in the moments that matter most in an authentic way. Nectar is built for the way people actually shop now—starting from social platforms. OLIPOP, Jones Road Beauty, and Solawave are among the many businesses leveraging Nectar to unlock the potential of AI and drive greater impact with their teams, with customers achieving >85% AI-assisted responses within 30 days and seeing social DM campaigns deliver >12% conversion rates compared to 1-3% for traditional channels. Early customers have generated six figures of revenue, with some experiencing a 150% lift in engagement rates and 50% increase in content impressions after implementation. How Nectar Transforms Social into a Revenue Channel: Grow and manage communities with social copilot agents; Real-time insights and listening across brand and influencer; Full funnel revenue attribution and selling in DMs.
Xnurta unveils AI reporting agent to accelerate speed-to-insight for Amazon Ads
Xnurta, the agentic AI-powered advertising platform, today announced the launch of its latest AI innovation: the Xnurta AI Reporting Agent. “The Xnurta AI Reporting Agent automates the reporting process using deep research,” said Kashif Zafar, CEO of Xnurta. “Our 20,000-plus client profiles give us a unique view on which insights matter to brands and agencies. With our AI Reporting Agent, you can generate an in-depth, customized report in minutes rather than hours, so brands and agencies can focus on higher-value work like analyzing results and building strategy.” Key Features and Capabilities: Time Efficiency, Comprehensive Data Analysis, Multi-Format Reporting, Transparency & Accuracy. Xnurta’s AI Reporting Agent flips the script, serving up actionable insights without the fluff. It’s the kind of tool that lets you focus on strategy, not spreadsheets. Use Cases: Automated Performance Reports: Produce branded, presentation-ready reports in minutes with key metrics like ROAS, ACOS, CTR, CVR, CPC, etc., tailored by prompt. Instant Audits for New or Prospective Clients: Agencies can quickly generate full account diagnostics with just account access to produce stand-out recommendations. Campaign Wrap-Up Summaries: Turn post-event performance into clear, visual reports benchmarked against past campaigns with just a few clicks.
Magnite integrates Anoki ContextIQ Platform and AI Copilot to bring scene level targeting to CTV, analyzing scene content, sentiment, and brand safety
Magnite announced the integration of Anoki ContextIQ, the industry-leading multimodal AI platform for contextual video intelligence at scale. As the first SSP to adopt ContextIQ, Magnite is helping bring the benefits of the platform and its AI copilot to CTV advertising. The collaboration unlocks exclusive access to ContextIQ through Magnite SpringServe, giving buyers access to scene-level contextual targeting and planning tools. Anoki ContextIQ is a purpose-built AI engine that analyzes scene content, sentiment, and brand safety in CTV environments. Integrating the technology within Magnite SpringServe helps unlock greater transparency for buyers and resonance with the scene and emotions ahead of the ad break. This allows campaigns to be aligned with content and helps unlock the full potential of scene-level buying. Publishers can gain deeper insight into the contextual value of their content, helping them to surface high-value inventory that aligns with brand objectives, improves yield and unlocks new monetization opportunities. Kristen Williams, SVP, Partnerships at Magnite said “By embedding AI-powered scene analysis into our CTV stack, we’re equipping advertisers with smarter, more scalable tools to reach their audiences in the most relevant moments, all while maintaining transparency and control. ContextIQ leverages multimodal AI to capture the full emotional, visual, and auditory context of every scene. That allows publishers and advertisers to unlock more precision, brand safety, and emotional resonance in CTV.