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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: Marqeta to Power JP Morgan’s Virtual Cards Program
Marqeta, a global card issuing platform, will provide its card tokenization capabilities to JPMorgan Chase’s (NYSE: JPM) virtual card program in 2021. The bank would, therefore, be able to issue its virtual cards into the mobile wallets of its commercial card clients.
Digital Assets: This Popular Korean Beach Will Accept Crypto Payments
Haeundae (pictured above) is South Korea’s most popular beach. Alongside is the rival Songjeong Beach, which is more popular with surfers. Both tourist spots will accept payments in cryptocurrencies, effective August 2020.
Artificial Intelligence: An AI Program Identifies Prostate Cancer With Almost 100% Accuracy
Researchers at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh have trained an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to recognize and characterize prostate cancer with near-perfect accuracy.
Alternative Investments/Digital Assets: World’s First Actively Managed Bitcoin ETP Launches
FiCAS AG, a Swiss crypto-asset investment firm founded by Ali Mizani Oskui, has received the approval from the SIX Swiss Exchange and other regulatory clearances to list the Bitcoin Capital Active ETP (BTCA) on the Exchange.
Venture Capital: What COVID? Indonesian Travel Aggregator Traveloka Snags $250M
Indonesian online travel portal Traveloka announced Tuesday that it raised $250 million in a round led by a global financial institution with participation by some existing investors. Traveloka said the investment came despite the travel sector being in an “unprecedented challenging state,” and a historic drop in its own business activity “to levels never seen before.”
Hedge Funds Meet Real Estate: A Texas Case Study
Hayman Capital in Focus. Hedge fund investor Kyle Bass recently bought, among other real estate, the downtown Dallas Statler hotel. He purchased a 50 percent stake in four real estate properties and a minority stake in the Statler hotel. In addition to the Statler, he purchased a stake in the Entrada development and the Central…
Private Equity: Healthcare Firm Edifecs Lands PE Deal
Private equity firms TA Associates and Francsico Partners announced that they will complete a deal with healthcare software company Edifecs. CEO of Edifecs Sunny Singh intends to lead the company through a transformation. The healthcare industry is quickly changing with the help of the technology sector. According to Singh, “Today’s healthcare industry is in a…
Digital Assets: Anybody Can Use Tokenizer To Issue Asset-Backed Tokens
The much-awaited democratization of blockchain-based tokenization is here. Now anybody, even a computer noob, can choose to tokenize one or more of their real-world assets using the Tokenizer platform.
Alternative Investments/ESG: BlackRock Warns of Water Stress, a Climate Change Fallout
Watch for ETFs focused on ESG, climate change, and water resource stocks. Recent research from the BlackRock Investment Institute (BII) warns that investors have not factored in the potential risk from a growing global “water risk,” when demand for H2O exceeds its supply. Such a situation would be a fallout from the increasing evidence of…
Venture Capital: Telehealth Company Ro Raises $200M at a $1.5B Valuation
Ro, the NY-based, patient-driven telehealth company, completed a $200m Series C funding round on Monday. Existing investor General Catalyst led the round. Other existing investors that participated included FirstMark Capital, Torch, SignalFire, TQ Ventures, Initialized Capital, 3L, and BoxGroup. The Chernin Group invested in Ro for the first time. Ro has now raised a total of $376 million.
FinTech: Buy-Now-Pay-Later Platform Sezzle Teams With Plaid
Sezzle, a fintech that offers interest-free installment purchase plans to 1.4 million consumers at online stores and physical locations, has tied up with Plaid. Sezzle’s customers can now connect (via Plaid) their financial accounts maintained with the traditional banks to the Sezzle platform.
Artificial Intelligence: Testing A COVID Vaccine For All Geographies; MIT’s Optivax
A team of researchers at MIT CSAIL is using machine learning to predict its efficacy across populations. Their Optivax design system is a combinatorial machine learning system. It selects peptides (short strings of amino acids) that are predicted to provide high population coverage for a vaccine.
CrossFit Builds Muscle with Berkshire PE Investment
Eric Roza Teams with Berkshire. Berkshire Partners announced that it will partner with Eric Roza to buy CrossFit. CrossFit, a leading health and fitness brand, begain in a garage 20 years ago in California and now serves millions of people in their fitness endeavors. The company has about 14,000 gyms around the world. According to…
Private Equity in Focus: Retirement Plans Would Benefit From PE
SEC Chairman Clayton is an advocate. Private equity may soon become a part of retirement plans in America. Several Trump administration officials are in favor of allowing individual investors to invest in private equity through their 401(k) plans. SEC chairman Jay Clayton is one of these advocates. Officials contend that this move can expedite American…
Venture Capital Giant Sequoia Says World Awash With Capital
Anandan was speaking at a session of the Global Fintech Fest organised by the NPCI, Payments Council of India and Fintech Convergence Council. The Sequoia India Managing Director said that there was no scarcity of global capital for Indian companies notwithstanding the coronavirus epidemic and its bruising economic impact.
Nuveen Expanding Impact Investing Initiatives
The Impact Investing community is buzzing over Nuveen’s continued build out of its impact investing focus. Rekha Unnithan, who joined the firm in 2012 with the intention of investing in solving societal issues, says “Impact investing is now all of a sudden having its moment…It’s cool now and is getting a lot more attention. We…
Digital Assets: Now, A Secure XRP Wallet Running In Your Browser
Craig DeWitt is a director of product at Ripple, the blockchain payment infrastructure firm. Payburner is his project for an eCommerce platform that would enable buying, selling, paying, and donating on “both sides of the crypto commerce equation” using XRP.
Real Assets Investing Through REITs
“We desperately need income, but we are in a yieldless world,” writes analyst Jussi Askola in “The New Gold Rush.” Zero or negative interest rates are going to push investors into real assets.
Artificial Intelligence: An AI Solution to Safeguard From Grid-Triggered Wildfires
Buzz Solutions, based in Stanford, California, launched an AI solution for electricity utilities. It flags faults in the grid structure or power lines in time for repair. This avoids the risk of a wildfire that can cost human lives and millions of dollars in losses.
FinTech: Revolut Scoops Up Another $80M in the February Series D
It’s as if the pandemic never happened for Revolut, the UK-based challenger bank and fintech. It just got another $80 million in its Series D kitty from TSG Consumer Partners, the private equity company focused on consumer product companies and running an AUM of $5 billion. TSG’s investment was made at the same Round D valuation of $5.5 billion struck in February. That valuation tripled from its previous one of $1.7 billion in April 2018.
Private Equity Eyes Cannabis Investments
Pandemic and Cannabis Stock Declines Create Opportunity. As a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, investors are uncertain how their portfolios will evolve as we move further into 2020. With cannabis stocks having fallen in recent months, investors increasingly are looking to the cannabis industry as a potential source of dip-buying. According to managing director…
Venture Capital: TalkDesk Raises $143M, Triples Valuation to $3B
Talkdesk, the maker of cloud-based customer service software, announced Thursday its Series C raise of $143 million at a valuation of more than $3 billion. The startup achieved unicorn status in its previous funding round in October 2018 when it raised $100 million at a valuation of over $1 billion.
Shariah Compliant UAE Equity ETF From Chimera Capital
Abu Dhabi-based Chimera launches the UAE’s first ETF tracking a Shariah-compliant index. The Chimera S&P UAE Shariah ETF is a sub-fund of the Chimera Umbrella Fund, the first SCA umbrella fund to be launched in the UAE. The ETF’s shares will trade on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange with gains reinvested into the fund while class B shares will be listed on the Dubai Financial Market with dividends distributed to investors.
FinTech: Amazon Now Selling Auto and Bike Insurance in India
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced Thursday that its Amazon Pay service had begun to offer two and four-wheeler insurance policies in India, in partnership with Acko General Insurance Ltd.