APPS
The software giant Oracle will oversee the security of Americans’ data and monitor changes and updates to TikTok’s powerful recommendation technology under a new deal to avert a ban of the service, according to a senior White House official. A copy of the algorithm, the recommendation engine that powers the app’s addictive feed of short videos, will be licensed from China to an American investor group that will oversee the app in the United States, the official said. Oracle will also invest in the new American TikTok, as will private equity firm Silver Lake, another senior official said. It will be “secured” in the United States outside the control of TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, one of the officials said. The US-run TikTok will work to retrain the copy on users’ data in the United States, and China will not have access to the data, the officials added. — NEW YORK TIMES
DEALS
Five months after ending development of its own obesity treatment, Pfizer is accelerating its push into the rapidly growing field with a nearly $5 billion acquisition. The COVID-19 vaccine and treatment maker said Monday that it will pay $47.50 in cash for each share of development-stage drugmaker Metsera. That represents a premium of more than 42 percent to Metsera’s closing price Friday. Pfizer also could pay an additional $22.50 per share depending on how Metsera’s product pipeline develops. Metsera Inc. has no products on the market, but its pipeline includes four programs in clinical development and one in mid-stage testing. Pfizer said the deal will add expertise and potential oral and injectable treatments. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHARMACY
CVS Health Corp. subsidiary Omnicare Inc. has filed for bankruptcy after the pharmacy-services provider was ordered to pay $949 million over claims it improperly dispensed prescription drugs to individuals in long-term care. Omnicare and certain affiliates sought court protection Monday in Texas listing assets of at least $100 million and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion on a Chapter 11 petition. The $949 million civil judgment is listed as Omnicare’s largest unsecured debt, though the company is challenging it. The company has lined up $110 million in Chapter 11 financing to fund its operations and the bankruptcy. The financing and cash it will continue generating from its operations “will provide sufficient liquidity for Omnicare to meet its ongoing business obligations during the court-supervised process,” the company said. Omincare said the Chapter 11 filing will give it time to evaluate its options to resolve the judgment and “address other financial challenges facing the broader long-term care pharmacy industry.” The company said it could pursue a standalone restructuring of its business or sell its business. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Chipmaker Nvidia will invest $100 billion in OpenAI as part of a partnership announced Monday that will add at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia AI data centers to ramp up the computing power for the owner of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT. Per the letter of intent signed by the companies, the first gigawatt of Nvidia systems will be deployed in the second half of 2026. Nvidia and OpenAI said they would be finalizing the details of the arrangement in the coming weeks. “This partnership complements the deep work OpenAI and Nvidia are already doing with a broad network of collaborators, including Microsoft, Oracle, SoftBank, and Stargate partners, focused on building the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure,” the companies said in a release. Those companies pledged to invest at least $100 billion in building data centers for OpenAI in January. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
ADVERTISING TECH
The Justice Department said Monday that Google should be broken up to address its monopoly in advertising technology, kicking off a hearing that could reshape the technology giant’s power online. Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in April that Google had built a monopoly over tools that websites use to sell ad space. Google also monopolized the software that connects those publishers with markets looking to buy space, she said. On Monday, she began hearing arguments from the government and the company over how to best fix Google’s monopoly. Brinkema is expected to order those measures, known as remedies, in the coming months. In an opening statement in Monday’s hearing, the government said Brinkema should force Google to sell the software that connects buyers with sellers. She should also open up the computer code that powers the tools publishers use to auction ad space. Google’s lawyers countered that the government’s proposals were extreme and offered more modest changes to the company’s advertising software that would benefit publishers, among other smaller fixes. — NEW YORK TIMES
E-COMMERCE
A federal trial beginning in Amazon’s hometown this week is set to examine whether the online retailing giant tricked customers into signing up for its Prime service and made it difficult to cancel after they did so. The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon in US District Court in Seattle two years ago and has alleged more than a decade of legal violations, including of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, a 2010 law designed to help ensure that people know what they’re being charged for online. Jury selection began Monday, with opening statements to follow. Prime provides subscribers with perks that include faster shipping, video streaming, and discounts at Whole Foods for a fee of $139 annually, or $14.99 a month. It’s a key — and growing — part of Amazon’s business, with more than 200 million members. The company said it does clearly explain Prime’s terms before charging customers and that it offers simple ways to cancel membership, including by phone, online, and by online chat. But the FTC said Amazon deliberately made it difficult for customers to purchase an item without also subscribing to Prime. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
REAL ESTATE
Two of the nation’s biggest real estate services companies are combining in a deal that will bring Century 21, Compass, and several other major brokerage brands under the same umbrella. New York-based Compass has agreed to acquire rival Anywhere Real Estate in an all-stock transaction that will create a combined company with a total value of roughly $10 billion, including debt, the companies said Monday. Compass runs a platform for use by real estate agents in customer relationship management, marketing, and other tasks. It also operates its namesake real estate brokerage and Christie’s International Real Estate. Anywhere Real Estate is home to several major real estate brokerage brands: Century 21, Better Homes and Gardens, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, ERA, and Sotheby’s International Realty. The Madison, N.J.-based company also operates relocation, title, and settlement businesses. — ASSOCIATED PRESS