walmart The company is in talks to buy a startup called R&A Data, a company founded by two Israeli scientists working to reduce fraud and counterfeit goods in online marketplaces, according to people familiar with the matter and records reviewed by CNBC.
The potential acquisition comes at a critical time for America’s largest retailer, as incoming CEO John Furner prepares to take the helm early next year. Walmart’s third-party marketplace is central to the company’s strategy to grow profits faster than sales and has helped the company expand its e-commerce business, which grew 25% in the U.S. in the most recently reported quarter.
The company says it has added hundreds of millions of product listings to its platform in recent years, and experts say that growth has increased the need for tools to detect problems with products.
R&A Data has been working with Walmart as a third-party vendor since at least 2024, helping the company review compliance issues such as counterfeiting of products listed on its online marketplace, people and records show. After working with the technology startup, Walmart decided to acquire it, according to CNBC.
Additional details about a potential agreement were not immediately clear. Walmart is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Thursday, but did not respond to multiple requests for comment from CNBC. R&A Data declined to comment.
The news comes two months after CNBC published an investigation into Walmart’s online marketplace, which found that Walmart had loosened its vetting controls on sellers and products over time in an effort to grow the platform and take market share from Amazon. Third-party online sales are a key growth driver for Walmart as the retailer seeks to offer a variety of products to more shoppers.
During its investigation, CNBC discovered at least 43 third-party sellers who had set up accounts using another company’s identity. CNBC authenticated 20 beauty products and supplements offered by sellers using the identity of another company, and all of the products were determined to be counterfeit, either by the brand that manufactured the products or by outside laboratory testing.
“Trust and safety are non-negotiable to us,” Walmart said after CNBC shared its findings.
“Counterfeiters are predators of retail markets around the world, and we are actively working to stop and combat their deceptive practices,” Walmart said at the time. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for prohibited or non-compliant products and continue to invest in new tools and technology to ensure only trusted, genuine products reach our customers.”
How retailers can prevent counterfeit goods and where R&A fits in
Combating counterfeit goods and other fraud generally requires a two-pronged approach, experts previously told CNBC. They said platforms must have robust onboarding and vetting protocols to ensure bad actors aren’t participating in the first place, and listings must be continually monitored to prevent the sale of dangerous, counterfeit or illegal products.
If Walmart were to acquire R&A, it could be able to monitor the hundreds of millions of product listings it hosts on its platform to ensure they comply with rules, according to people familiar with the matter.
Founded in 2022 by entrepreneurs Noam Rabinovich and Raz Abramov, both former members of the Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Corps, R&A Data uses artificial intelligence to monitor listing compliance, according to people involved, the founder’s LinkedIn profile, past interviews, and the R&A website.
There is little public information about R&A Data, but its website, which has been taken down in the past two months, described the company as a “partner in portfolio safety.”
“Scanning millions of products and products at lightning speed with incredible accuracy. Our AI-powered platform delivers reliable protection at scale,” the website says, according to an archive of pages captured on September 5.
Those interested in the software can submit their contact information for more information, but the website says early access registration is “full” and “no further registrations will be accepted.”
“If you would like to be considered for access in 2025, please submit your details,” the website says.
Rabinovich and Abramov previously founded another company, EverC, which helps online platforms and other companies detect and remove risky merchants, money laundering schemes, counterfeits, illegal and dangerous products and other compliance issues, according to their LinkedIn page. Mr. Rabinovich left the company in October 2022, and Mr. Abramov left the company in February 2023, according to their LinkedIn pages.
—Additional reporting by CNBC’s Paige Tortorelli.
