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Chipmaker AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) has unveiled a range of innovative AI solutions spanning from data centers to personal computers. The AMD Instinct MI300 Series features data center AI accelerators, while the ROCm 6 open software stack introduces new features supporting Large Language Models (LLMs). Additionally, the Ryzen 8040 Series processors come equipped with Ryzen AI capabilities.
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FinTech: Amazon Shoppers In The UAE Can Now “BNPM,” Courtesy Standard Chartered Bank
Buy Now Pay Monthly. According to a report in The Fintech Times, Standard Chartered Bank and Amazon’s United Arab Emirates (UAE) website, Amazon.ae, are now offering installment payment plans to shoppers. Credit cardholders of Standard Chartered Bank can now convert their Amazon purchases into payment through installments up to 12 months.
Digital Assets: Vertalo To Launch STOs For REI Capital, A New Commercial Real Estate Fund
Vertalo is a digital transfer agent that specializes in the tokenization of assets. Its real estate division, Vertalo Real Estate (VRE) launched in June 2020. VRE focuses on the digitization and tokenization of real estate assets. REI Capital Growth, an innovative commercial real estate (CRE) fund, has licensed Vertalo’s platform for the launch of two security token offerings (STOs) utilizing a Reg S exemption from registration.
Venture Capital: Uruguay-Based Payments Processor dLocal Gets Its Horn
General Atlantic led a $200 million funding round for Uruguay-based cross-border payment processor dLocal, catapulting the latter into the hallowed, three-comma-club. dLocal became Latin America’s latest unicorn and Uruguay’s first. New investor Addition also participated in the fundraising.
Artificial Intelligence: Brightseed, Which Uses AI To Explore Phytonutrients, Taps $27M
Brightseed, a biosciences and AI company based in the U.S., achieved fame with its discovery of a phytonutrient – a substance that plants produce to support their growth and defend against pathogens or predators. However, inside the human body, these compounds display anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective and neuroprotective abilities.
Artificial Intelligence: Robotic Dogs Conduct Advance Recces For The US Air Force
The U.S. Air Force recently tested robotic dogs to conduct a reconnaissance (recce) as a part of its thrust to boost the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The Ghost Robotics Vision 60 robots, four-legged, headless dog-like mechanical robots, emerged from inside an Air Force LC-130 Hercules transport. The aircraft had flown from Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado to Nellis, carrying with it airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing.
Liquid Alternatives: The Wilshire Liquid Index Returns 1.3% in August
The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index returned 1.3% in August. The index provides a representative baseline for the performance of the broader liquid alts space. This figure fell short of the 1.54% return from the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index in August.
Venture Capital: Airtable Raises $185M At A $2.5B Valuation
Airtable, whose products deliver the power of a database with the familiarity of a spreadsheet, has raised $185 million. The funding brings the startup’s total fundraising to over $350 million. Thrive Capital led the current Series D round which also saw participation by existing investors including Benchmark and Coatue Management.
FinTech: Klarna Gains More BNPL Muscle With $650M Mega Round
A team of marquee investors, led by Silver Lake, invested $650 million in Klarna, the payments and shopping service known for its “buy-now-pay-later” (BNPL) offering. Klarna now ranks as the biggest fintech unicorn in Europe, and fourth globally, after the round valued it at $10.65 billion.
Digital Assets: Microstrategy May Hike Bitcoin Holdings Beyond $250M
Microstrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) said in an 8-K filing with the SEC on September 11 that it had revised its Treasury Reserve Policy. Under the new Policy, the company’s treasury reserve assets would comprise Cash Assets (in excess of working capital) and Bitcoin.
Venture Capital: Nvidia To Acquire Arm Holdings From SoftBank In $40B Deal
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has agreed to acquire Arm Limited from SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO: 9984) and the SoftBank Vision Fund in a $40 billion transaction.
Digital Assets: Digital Whiskey Fund Snaps Up 1,000 Barrels of Kentucky Bourbon
Wave Financial Group, which announced its plans for a tokenized whiskey fund in March, announced September 11 that it had received its first investments from clients. It thereafter picked up 1,000 barrels of Kentucky bourbon whiskey from the Wilderness Trail Distillery.
FinTech: Robo-Advisor App M1 Finance Charts Torrid Growth
M1 Finance, which calls itself the “Finance Super App,” announced September 9 that it had achieved the $2 billion landmark in assets managed on its platform. It did this within just six months after hitting the $1 billion asset mark in late February 2020.
Liquid Alternatives: “A Must-Have Component” To Weather Volatility
An article by Kathryn M. Fuller, Carol E. Derk, Ronald M. Kosonic, and Roma Lotay of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP titled “2020 Spotlight on alternative mutual funds – opportunities ahead” published in LEXOLOGY on September 10. Alternative mutual funds (informally referred to as “liquid alt funds”) may emerge “as a must-have component of a portfolio’s personal protective equipment,” says the article.
Artificial Intelligence: Pentagon Readying JCF, A Cloud-Based AI Infrastructure
The Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) has commenced the development of cloud platforms that could be used by the military’s AI developers to innovate new uses, including in defense. The JAIC has already migrated its main AI initiatives in preventive maintenance and humanitarian relief to a prototype cloud being developed together with consulting firm Deloitte.
Artificial Intelligence: Defense Secretary Esper Warns AI Could Transform The Battlefield
Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper was speaking at the virtual Joint Artificial Intelligence Center symposium. In his speech, he stressed the need for the U.S. to maintain its lead in Artificial Intelligence, as well as to harness the technology within an ethical framework.
FinTech: NAB Launches An Interest-Free Credit Card To Counter BNPL Fad
National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) has launched, StraightUp, the country’s first interest-free credit card as “Buy Now Pay Later,” or BNPL, schemes become increasingly popular with shoppers.
Digital Assets: REINNO Offers Investors $237M In Tokenized Commercial Real Estate
REINNO intends to disrupt commercial real estate investing by breaking down the financial barriers which limit entry to the small guy. REINNO’s platform offers tokenization of real estate, loans against tokenized real estate, and a marketplace for property owners to list the token offerings. It announced Thursday the launch of its marketplace for tokenized commercial real estate with five offerings worth over $ 237 million.
Venture Capital: Forums For Diversity and Inclusion, On Both Sides Of The Pond
“Access All” is a new, virtual, pitching event for founders from under-represented groups such as blacks, Asians, and other minorities. It is an initiative from a group of U.K.-based VCs to counter the inequities in the venture funding system as visible from a bias in favor of privileged and “more equal” founders, and against certain ethnicities.
Alternative Investments/ESG: BlackRock Unveils Multi-Asset, ESG ETFs
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) has unwrapped three new innovative UCITS funds that are claimed to be Europe’s first offering of tradable multi-asset ESG portfolios built with ETFs. Each of these funds are made up of iShares ETFs to provide access to a wide selection of stocks and bonds.
Alternative Investments/ESG: DWS Launches ESG-Themed Bond And Equity ETFs
DWS, one of the world’s leading asset managers, has launched a USD corporate bond ETF and a euro-hedged global equity ETF under its Xtrackers ESG banner.
Venture Capital: Iron Ox Wraps Up A $20M Series B For Robotic Cultivation
Iron Ox pioneered autonomous and robotic farming when it launched its first farm in 2018. Using a combination of machine learning, robotics, and plant sciences, the company addresses issues such as food security and the cultivation of fresh, more consistent production. It announced Wednesday the closing of its Series B funding round worth $ 20 million.
Digital Assets: Mastercard Creates Platform For Simulating a CBDC Ecosystem
As central banks navigate the feasibility of their CBDC projects through uncharted territory, Mastercard has unveiled a proprietary virtual testing environment for them to evaluate CBDC use cases.
FinTech: Cash Is Still King In India’s Vast Rural Hinterland, Says RapiPay
Cash is still king among India’s millions of banking unserved, residing predominantly in the country’s vast rural areas. Fintech RapiPay, therefore, plans to deploy 500K of its micro-ATMs over the next two years at small businesses. These devices, which look like a calculator, enable consumers to conduct basic banking services including cash withdrawals.
Artificial Intelligence: Rustle Up A Nice Dinner Using AI And Plant Jammer
Hold it. Plant Jammer is not your usual, run-of-the-mill recipe app that churns out a recipe not much different from a physical cookbook. It’s a vegetarian cooking app that encourages people to cook at home using plant-based ingredients available in their fridge, avoid food waste, and eat healthily. This “AI Chef” will serve as “the GPS for your kitchen.”