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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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Artificial Intelligence: Now, AI-Powered Ultrasound Solutions for the Heart and Bladder
LVivo RV and LVivo Bladder, two new AI-powered ultrasound tools from Israeli Ai specialist company DiA Imaging Analysis Ltd., have received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a European CE Mark. The LVivo RV, the first automated analysis of the right ventricle of the heart based on AI, will help to combat COVID-19 mortality linked to right ventricle heart failure. The LVivo Bladder is an AI-powered solution for automated, ultrasound measurement of bladder volume.
FinTech: FinMason Brings Muni Bond Analytics to Wealth Managers
FinMason, which is committed to building the largest analytics engines for financial services platforms, announced Thursday its launch of municipal bond analytics. Previously, the firm launched coverage of the entire global government and the corporate bond universe.
Digital Assets: Tokai Tokyo and Singapore’s iSTOX Buy Stakes in Blockchain Firm
Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings Inc (TYO: 8616), a Japanese financial institution with a market cap of ¥61.1 billion ($571 million), is buying a stake of 33% in blockchain firm Hash Dash Holdings. Hash Dash has developed the blockchain technology for issuance of digital securities and trading them on smartphones. iSTOX, the blockchain-based digital exchange, is also a shareholder in Hash Dash. Tokai and iSTOX plan to tokenize Japanese real estate and list the securities.
Venture Capital: Gene Engineering Platform Poseida Therapeutics Raises $110M in Series D Round
Within a few days of filing an S-1 registration statement to raise $115 million via an IPO of its common stock, Poseida Therapeutics has switched tracks and opted to raise $110 million in a Series D round. Fidelity Management and Research Co. led the round with participation from Adage Capital Management and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, as well as several unnamed existing investors.
Liquid Alternatives: Rhode Island Pension Gains from Liquid Alts; Adds Wilshire Veteran Andrew Junkin
The Rhode Island pension system beat the median U.S. public pension plan by 4.2% during the first quarter of 2020, according to data from Investment Metrics. That ranked the fund 28th among the 546 public pension funds across the country. Even during the coronavirus mayhem in the markets, the Rhode Island pension fell 9.6% compared to the decline of 13.8% of the median pension plan.
Artificial Intelligence: BMW’s Robots Powered by Nvidia AI
BMW (OTCMKTS: BMWYY) is known for allowing a high degree of customization in their cars to customers. For a car, as many as 100 different options are available, and as a result, 99% of car orders are unique to each customer. This level of customization translates into massive challenges in computing, logistics planning, and data analysis for BMW. The company has therefore deployed several robots at its factories.
Alternative Investments: Cannabis ETFs Because States are COVID-strapped for Cash
According to a report from ArcView, a San Francisco-based cannabis investment and research firm, the cannabis market in the USA will grow to $33.9 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 18.2%. During the pandemic, marijuana was decreed as essential, and business has been booming since then. Further, more states are expected to legalize cannabis as a source for additional revenues.
Venture Capital: In-Home Health Care Company DispatchHealth Raises $136M in a Series C Round
In the hands of DispatchHealth founders Mark Prather and Kevin Riddleberger, the rather “old-school” service of a doctor’s house call combines with mobile technology to provide high acuity, lower cost, in-home medical care. Venture capitalists continue to like the idea and have backed DispatchHealth with $135.8 million in the latest C round of funding.
FinTech: Facebook’s WhatsApp Payments Service Hits Regulatory Wall in Brazil
Banco Central Do Brasil (BCB), the Brazilian central bank, has ordered Visa (NYSE: V) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA) to suspend payments transactions through the payments service newly introduced by Facebook’s (NASDAQ: FB) WhatsApp message application. Brazil’s anti-trust regulator, Cade, also blocked Cielo S.A, the payments processor partnering the WhatsApp events service, from continuing the arrangement.
Liquid Alternatives: IG Launches Four New iProfile Portfolios
Canadian fund manager IG Wealth Management has launched four new managed funds that were available for purchase effective June 22. The funds, dubbed iProfile Portfolios, will suit a wide variety of investor profiles and preferences, enhance their financial confidence, and help them achieve long-term investment goals. The iProfile Portfolios include various investment options such as active allocation, passive ETFs, liquid alternatives and unique private assets.
Digital Assets: KPMG Launches Chain Fusion to Bridge Analytics Across Blockchain and Traditional Assets
KPMG, the big four auditing firm announced the launch of KPMG Chain Fusion. It is a patent-pending suite of advanced analytical tools presented in a structured model that combines data from blockchain infrastructures, and traditional systems for managing business, risk, and compliance requirements.
FinTech: Mastercard Acquires Finicity for $825M
Global payments processor and cards provider Mastercard (NYSE: MA) will pay $825 million to acquire Finicity, a fintech startup specializing in real-time data aggregation and provider of insights. If certain targets are met, Mastercard will pay an additional amount of $160 million. The purchase gives Mastercard technology that will help banks take faster credit decisions and improve account verification processes using Finicity’s platform. It allows access to financial data for businesses and individuals.
Venture Capital: What COVID-19 Did To VC Investing in the U.S. (Report)
An article by Itay Sagie, co-founder of VCforU.com, which helps over 17,000 startups, uses Crunchbase data for the period March 18-June 17, 2020, to assess how the pandemic changed the venture capital investment landscape in the U.S.
Artificial Intelligence: Amidst COVID, Eye Tests Powered by AI at Home
The generations-old eye test that uses a chart full of alphabets of varying sizes or even the new-fangled digital eye tests may soon be disrupted. The virus pandemic has forced shelter-in-place and homebound people to seek an alternative. What if your glasses broke and you didn’t have a spare set? There may soon be an AI-based alternative – an eye test that can be done online, with the patient using a computer at home.
Alternative Investments: Investors Back up the Truck On The World’s Largest Gold ETF
According to the World Gold Council (WGC), it appears that investors really loaded up on gold ETF shares on Friday. Investors bought up 27.3 tonnes (974,000 ounces worth more than $1.7 billion at Monday’s prices) of gold via ETFs, the WGC said. The single biggest beneficiary of investors’ gold fixation was the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA: GLD) ETF, which received inflows of 23.1 tonnes or 742,492 ounces.
FinTech: Global, White-Label, SaaS-on-Cloud Banking Platform Mambu Now on Google Cloud
Mambu, which calls itself the only true Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) banking platform, and the industry leader in cloud banking, has teamed up with Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Cloud. Mambu’s cloud-agnostic banking platform will now be available end-to-end, and around the world, to customers in 50 countries. Expansion into new locations now becomes very easy for Mambu customers.
Digital Assets: Paypal and Subsidiary Venmo May Allow Users To Transact Cryptos
According to a report by Coin Telegraph, PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) is looking to recruit digital experts such as a Crypto Engineer and a blockchain research engineer. Significantly, the first posting describes the role to include “designing, developing and maintaining key crypto products/features targeted towards availability, performance, and scalability of PayPal services.” These job ads have popped up simultaneously with rumors in the crypto world that payments giant PayPal and digital wallet subsidiary Venmo are about to make a splash in cryptocurrencies.
Venture Capital: Andreessen Horowitz Leads $102M Funding in Cedar, a Medical Billing Startup
Cedar has just raised $77 million in Series C equity funding led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Other participants in the round included Kaiser Permanente and Concord Health Solutions, as well as existing investors, Kinnevik, Thrive Capital, Lakestar, and Founders Fund. Cedar raised an additional USD 25m in venture debt provided by JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM).
Artificial Intelligence: The NOAA’s S.O.S to AI and Robotics for Coral Restoration
Coral reefs, one of the most precious of Earth’s ecosystems are in grave danger. Globally, half have already died. The other half could vanish by the end of this century, according to Tom Moore, coral reef restoration program manager for the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Efforts by human divers are inadequate to restore coral reefs. We need AI and robotics to reverse coral damage, says the NOAA.
Alternative Investments: Investing in Water Resource Stocks Through an ETF
The Invesco Water Resources ETF (NYSE: PHO) holds a number of water resource companies in its portfolio. Drinking water is a precious resource and a need that can never go out of fashion. Clean and safe drinking water will always enjoy consumer demand, as well as their dollars. This ETF could deliver excellent returns in the long-term according to MENAFN.
FinTech: UK-based Checkout.com Lands $150M at a $5.5B Valuation
Checkout.com has done it again. Last year it made waves with its Series A round worth $230 million, gatecrashing the unicorn party with a valuation tag of $2 billion. Today, it followed that up with an announcement of a Series B round, picking up $150 million at a stunning $5.5 billion valuation.
Venture Capital: Palantir Scores Another $500M From Japanese Insurer
Palantir Technologies, the secretive data analytics firm led by billionaire and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, raised $500 million from Japanese insurer Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings Inc according to Bloomberg. On June 10, Palantir had raised $50 million from another Japanese company Fujitsu Limited pursuant to a strategic partnership between the companies. There’s speculation this might be the data analytics company’s last raise before an IPO.
Digital Assets: Crypto Industry Agog With Anticipation on Jay Clayton’s Exit From the SEC
On Friday, June 19, Attorney General William P. Barr announced that President Trump intended to nominate Jay Clayton, currently the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to serve as the next United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). The crypto industry is excited that the chances for approval of a bitcoin ETF may improve with Clayton’s exit.
Artificial Intelligence: Fully Autonomous Greenhouses In the Realm of Reality
Ever-increasing populations, less and less arable land, and climatic changes make it increasingly difficult for the planet’s food producers to keep up with demand. Fresh, sustainable food needs to be put on millions of tables and there is a great need to develop new methods for cultivation. Greenhouses and indoor cultivation will become commonplace. AI and machine learning can be deployed with great results in these spaces.