Jan 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI completed a $20 billion Series E funding round, surpassing its $15 billion target.

- Eli Lilly LLY.N is in advanced talks to acquire Ventyx Biosciences VTYX.O for more than $1 billion.

- Lockheed Martin LMT.N committed to surging its Patriot missile output to roughly 2,000 interceptors a year in response to demand from Pentagon officials gearing up for conflicts on multiple fronts.

- Construction equipment maker Caterpillar's Chief Executive Officer Joe Creed has been elected executive chairman, succeeding D. James Umpleby III who will retire effective April 1.

- Autonomous driving company Mobileye MBLY.O is acquiring artificial intelligence robotics startup Mentee Robotics for $900 million.

- U.S. President Donald Trump said Venezuela's interim authorities will give the U.S. between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil, with proceeds overseen by the White House to benefit both countries.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

((globalnewsmonitoring@thomsonreuters.com))