June 16th, 2025: Palantir Partners with Bolt, Amazon Releases AI Video Generation Tools, Sezzle Sues Shopify For AntiCompetitive Practices, and Walmart Releases New AI Tools
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It’s June 16, 2025 and this is the Watson Weekly - your essential eCommerce Digest!
Today on our show:
Palantir Partners with Bolt
Amazon Releases AI Video Generation Tools
Sezzle Sues Shopify For AntiCompetitive Practices
Walmart Releases New AI Tools
- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.
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To hear new episodes of the show every Monday morning, subscribe now at rmwcommerce.com/watsonweekly and wherever you get your podcasts.
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[PAUSE]
BUT FIRST in our shopping cart full of news….
Palantir Partners with Bolt: "Self-Learning Checkout" - Fancy Words, Many Yawns
Bolt and Palantir have partnered. OK so we have a self-learning checkout. What does it learn how to do?
* Personalized flows.
(Like put the shipping address before the billing address instead of the opposite? How personalized? How many flows are there in a 1-page checkout?)
* Prioritized payment methods.
(If you used the payment method last time, it will put that payment method on top? Is that self-learning or just a preference?)
* Remembering prior selections.
(Saving things in a database is now "self-learning".)
* Surfacing relevant information at just the right time.
(Are there press releases that ever mention surfacing information at the wrong time?)
* Palantir will now be embedded into Bolt's SuperApp of crypto and cash.
(Uh-huh. Which is different than Block and Paypal how?)
* Univeral Shopper Network of ... 80 million global users.
(As opposed to 434 million from Paypal and 150 million on Shop Pay)
I won't get into the Breslow situation here, just the announcement non-announcement is enough to make one pause.
What's Palantir doing at all is a better question? Palantir being used by Bolt implies that Bolt is paying them. Unless Bolt is paying them in your data which is so valuable to Palantir that Bolt is using this to recover its valuation.
I would love to see those terms of service.
Why not just partner with Paypal unless Bolt severely undercut their price? Or PayPal was not willing to do things with its user data that Bolt is.
It does make one wonder if this is just the start of a Bolt reputation rehabilitation tour.
>> closer
[References:]
Our Second Story
Amazon Releases AI Image Generation Tools
Add your Product ID, and get six AI generated videos, that’s what Amazon has been developing for sellers recently according to the website MarketingDive. These tools were previously in testing, but now they have been provided to all US advertisers.
You know it really wasn’t that long ago when brands paid good money for SKU building services, which included building imagery and videos. Now, the value of such services has gone to zero.
The release from Amazon follows Meta and Google offering similar services for advertisers.
Video generator lives on Amazon’s sponsored brand campaign builder and can surface six videos in a matter of minutes based on the advertiser’s input and campaign needs
What’s a little surprising is the tools are completely free. I’m sure that is out of the goodness of Amazon’s heart. It’s cold, money grabbing, advertising heart.
[References:]
Our Third Story
Sezzle Sues Shopify For AntiCompetitive Practices
The website PYMNTS reports that Shopify has been sued for anti-competitive practices by a Buy Now Pay Later provider Sezzle. The report claims that Shopify is limiting competition by choosing winners in its payments network.
To be clear, Sezzle is a payments app on Shopify, but it is not allowed in Shop Pay which is kind of the crown jewel of Shopify. Instead, Shop Pay Installments is powered by a single provider Affirm.
No doubt that this lawsuit isn’t about really taking down Shopify, it’s more about getting some kind of settlement. Did I say settlement? I mean Sezzlement. Imagine a world where you could choose your own Buy Now Pay Later provider within Shop Pay rather than being limited by Shopify’s options, and you have some idea of the type of settlement that Shopify is after.
I suspect many payment providers, Adyen and Paypal chief among them, might be watching this lawsuit very closely.
[References:]
https://www.pymnts.com/antitrust/2025/sezzle-lawsuit-accuses-shopify-of-stifling-bnpl-options/
[PAUSE]
And Our Last Story
Walmart Releases New AI Tools
If you don’t know who Sparky and Wally are, you might benefit from both of them soon if you are a Walmart customer. Meet your new AI buddies.
Wally which was released earlier this year to store associates, help Walmart’s merchants stock stores with the best products.
Sparky sounds similar to Rufus on Amazon who summarizes reviews and answers your product questions. Sparky AI is available in Walmart’s app and reminds of a lot of Microsoft’s old Clippy app, always there smiling at you waiting you to ask it a question.
While it can only answer direct questions today, Walmart has plans for Sparky to be able to reorder items for your automatically — after all Walmart has no subscribe and save like Amazon today — including doing things like booking services.
Is it possible that Walmart has a more expansive AI vision than even Amazon? That will definitely make for interesting competition as we go forward
[References:]
https://www.retaildive.com/news/walmart-launches-generative-ai-assistant-sparky/750300/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202025-06-10%20Retail%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:73937%5D&utm_term=Retail%20Dive
https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2025/06/06/walmart-the-future-of-shopping-is-agentic-meet-sparky
It’s That Time Friends, for our Investor Minute. We have 5 items on the menu today.
First
Salesforce to Acquire Data Management Company Informatica in $8B DeaL
Salesforce, a cloud-based CRM and software platform, has announced its acquisition of Informatica, an enterprise data management company, at a valuation of $8 billion. Informatica’s shareholders of Class A and Class B-1 common stock will receive $25 in cash per share. In the AI age, owning the data is crucial.
Second
Logistics Automation Startup Pallet Closes $27M Series B
Pallet, a logistics automation platform, has announced that it has raised $27 million in Series B funding that will be used to further develop its AI workforce solution (CoPallet) through hiring. Logistics encompasses repetitive tasks, such as administration and coordination, that can be automated through the use of AI solutions in conjunction with existing software.
Third
EQT to Sell Acumatica to Vista Equity Partners
Private equity firm EQT has announced that it is selling Acumatica, a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform, to Vista Equity Partners in a transaction valued at approximately $2 billion. This represents a significant shift in the mid-market ERP sector, driven by a robust partner ecosystem, and highlights Vista Equity Partners' willingness to pay a premium for Acumatica.
Fourth
E.l.f. Beauty to Acquire Hailey Bieber Skincare Brand Rhode in up to $1B Deal
e.l.f Beauty has announced a definitive agreement to acquire model Haley Bieber's lifestyle beauty brand, rhode, in a transaction worth up to $1 billion. The $1 billion deal is comprised of $800 million in a combination of cash and e.l.f Beauty stock, and a $200 million earnout dependent on the future growth of the brand over a three-year timeframe.
AND FINALLY …
LuminX Raises $5.5M in Seed Funding
Inventory automation and visibility for warehouses startup, LuminX, has raised $5.5 million in seed funding, which will be invested in product development, hiring, and go-to-market efforts. LuminX uses AI-powered camera systems that can be placed on warehouse infrastucture or be used as a handheld for real-time insights and automation.
[PAUSE]
Did you know that RMW Commerce has another podcast? Check out The Watson Weekend for an unfiltered and lively eCommerce chat each week with me, Rick Watson, my co-host Jess Lesesky, and an array of interesting guests and topics. All focused on eCommerce. You can find the Watson Weekend by searching for it on iTunes, Spotify, or Youtube.
That’s all for this week! Till next time Watsonians.....
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Hi, I’m Rick Watson, CEO and Founder of RMW Commerce Consulting and host of the Watson Weekly podcast - your essential eCommerce Digest.
Our production partner for the series is Podcast on the Fly. This podcast is produced by RMW Commerce.
To hear new episodes of the show every Monday morning, subscribe now at rmwcommerce.com/watsonweekly and wherever you get your podcasts.
