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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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Alternative Investments: A New ETF for Infectious Disease Companies is Called GERM
The ETFMG Treatments, Testing, and Advancements ETF (NYSEARCA: GERM) is a newly launched fund from the stable of ETF Managers Group or ETFMG. It offers investing exposure to companies engaged in the testing and treatment of contagious diseases.
Artificial Intelligence: The Menace of Sea Ice, and Faster Warnings by AI
Seagoing vessels in the polar area need to keep tabs on sea ice and the usual source is ice warning data issued by The Norwegian Meteorological Institute and similar centers. Unfortunately, this is a very expensive process that needs supercomputers and satellites. AI could change that, according to Sindre Markus Fritzner, a doctoral research fellow at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.
Venture Capital: DoorDash Nabs $400M as COVID Pushes its Valuation to $16B
According to CNBC, which quoted data from Edison Trends, food delivery company DoorDash grabbed 45% of delivery orders after the lockdowns started in the US in mid-March. UberEats at 28%, Grubhub at 17% and Postmates at 7% were the also-rans in the food delivery sweepstakes.
Venture investors obviously liked the numbers, because they just forked over $400 million to DoorDash, valuing it at an impressive $16 billion in a Series H round.
FinTech: The Newly-Launched PayId Global Alliance Will Disrupt Cosy Payments ‘Silos’
Industry leaders across finance, technology and the non-profit sectors have come together to launch PayId, a simplified payment ID process for global remittances. The Open Payments Coalition, an alliance of leading companies such as GoPay, Ripple, Blockchain.com, BitPay, Brave, Flutterwave, Mercy Corps and others, will develop PayId.
Digital Assets: Aussie Beer Manufacturer Lion on the Hook for $800K in Ransomware Demand
In the second ransomware attack on Australian drinks manufacturer Lion in less than a week, the cyber villains have demanded a ransom amount of $800,000. The amount must be paid in the Monero cryptocurrency by June 19, failing which the amount doubles to $1,600,000.
Alternative Investments: A New WisdomTree Alternative ETF Will Invest in Bitcoin
A filing by WisdomTree for the proposed WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund shows it intends to invest up to 5% of its net assets in bitcoin futures contracts. The balance of the funds would be invested in four commodity sectors, namely, energy, agriculture, industrial metals, and precious metals primarily through investments in futures contracts. The fund will not invest directly in bitcoin or in physical commodities.
Alternative Investments: Heart-Searching the End of a Negative Fee ETF
Salt Financial just sold its Salt Low TruBeta U.S. Market ETF (BATS: LSLT) to Pacer Advisors. The ETF was the first and only negative-fee ETF, which meant investors got paid to invest in it. At the time of its launch in March 2019, the idea of such a fund was a no-brainer given the relentless fall in fund management fees. Yet, it appears that investors did not find the fund appealing enough. At the time of its sale to Pacer, the Salt Low TruBeta U.S. Market ETF had a tiny $9 million in assets.
Venture Capital: GreenLight Biosciences Notches $102M to Expand RNA-based Products
GreenLight Biosciences, which is pioneering technology to create cell-free, high-performing natural RNA products, announced its raise of $102 million in an oversubscribed Series D funding round led by Chinese investment firm Morningside Ventures.
Digital Assets: Komainu, an Institutional Grade Custody Service for Digital Assets, Set To Go Live
Japan’s biggest brokerage and investment bank, Nomura, blockchain security firm Ledger, and digital asset investment house CoinShares have come together to launch Komainu, a custodial service for digital assets aimed at institutions.
FinTech: Investors Beat a $102M Path to Pagaya’s AI-Driven Asset Management
Global fintech Pagaya, which uses artificial intelligence in asset management and institutional investment, notched up $102 million in a Series D round led by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. With the latest funding, Pagaya has raised $147 million since its launch in 2016.
Artificial Intelligence: Broadridge Launches LTX, an AI-Powered Bond Trading Platform
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., (NYSE: BR), a global fintech company with over $4 billion in revenues, unveiled its LTX platform for trading in corporate bonds. The AI-driven platform has already traded successfully in recent weeks.
Venture Capital: Monzo, The Poster Child of UK Fintech, Raises £60M in Down Round
Online challenger bank Monzo has raised £60 million at a valuation of £1.25 billion, a 40% down round that has brought the industry face-to-face with the harsh fallout from the virus outbreak. The neo bank laid off 80 employees earlier this month, raising speculation about a valuation cut in the latest funding. However, the bank faced some inertia from investors suffering “challenger bank fatigue” even before the lockdowns.
Digital Assets: Bank of Canada Making Contingency Plans For its Own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
The Bank of Canada is putting in motion plans for a “contingent system for a central bank digital currency (CBDC).” This proposal came to the fore when the bank posted an opening for “Project Manager, CBDC,” on its website.
FinTech: Credit Sesame Acquires Canadian Neo Bank STACK After Resounding Success of Sesame Cash
In late 2019, Credit Sesame and Canadian challenger bank STACK joined hands to offer Sesame Cash, a checking account service that put users in control of their banking and credit in one place. Since mid-May, when Sesame Cash became available to the general public, more than 200,000 customers signed up in less than a month. Over 62% of Credit Sesame’s 15 million members are interested in the Sesame Cash service. Credit Sesame announced Tuesday its acquisition of STACK.
Artificial Intelligence: The U.K. Arms Itself With AI to Combat Invasive Plant Species
Invasive plant species cost the U.K. economy an estimated £1.7 billion annually. Though about 3,000 alien plant species are found in the country, only 234 of them are currently considered a threat to its ecosystem. These harmful species have properties such as the ability to reproduce rampantly, or to spread themselves across a range of habitats. In so doing, they develop an edge over native flora. The U.K. is now taking recourse to AI to counter these disruptive aliens called Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS).
Alternative Investments: How ETFs Held Up in a Crisis
Reflections on COVID-19…on ETFs’ 20th birthday in Europe.
Funds Europe checked out ETFs and how they performed during the crisis triggered by a black swan event such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
FinTech: Facebook’s WhatsApp Kicks Off Mobile Payments in Brazil; India to Follow?
WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has launched a facility to make digital payments for users in Brazil. The announcement came Monday on the WhatsApp blog. Users can now send money to other users, or local businesses, from inside a chat.
Artificial Intelligence: Daphne Koller, Founder, Insitro: “In Biopharma, It’s Difficult to Fail Fast”
Insitro has brought together a high-throughput lab (“beyond the frontier on multiple levels,” according to Koller), top-flight biologists, and machine learning and data science people who are at the cutting edge of their profession. The objective is to accelerate decision-making during drug discovery and to assess faster whether the drug could succeed. Fast Company’s Ruth Reader interviewed Daphne Koller on how Insitro was making a difference in drug discovery and development.
Digital Assets: Nasdaq-Listed Software Company Sapiens Paid $250K Ransom to Hackers Amidst COVID
Sapiens International Corp. N.V. (NASDAQ: SPNS), an Israeli software company listed both on the Nasdaq and in Tel Aviv, was allegedly forced to pay $250,000 in bitcoin to hackers amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
Venture Capital: Epic Games, Maker of Fortnite, to Raise $750M at $17B Valuation
Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, said to be the world’s most popular multi-player battle royale game with 350 million users, is raising $750 million. Deal valuation is placed at a whopping $17 billion, post-money.
Digital Assets: Bank of Korea Sets Up Legal Think Tank To Review CBDC
The Bank of Korea has commissioned a legal task force to assess regulatory roadblocks for the issue of a South Korean central bank digital currency (CBDC). Last February, the Korean central bank had set up a research team to look into the possibility of a digital currency and assess moves in this regard by other central banks. That move was reportedly triggered by Chinese advances towards a digital yuan, including a pilot test. It may be recalled that the Bank of Korea said on December 1 that “we are considering issuing digital currency (CBDC).”
FinTech: Digital Islamic Investment Platform Wahed Invest Lands $25M
Wahed Invest, a digital Islamic investment platform aimed at Muslim investors with a sharia-compliant offering, has raised $ 25 million. Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures (also known as Wa’ed Ventures) led the round. Existing investors such as BECO, CueBall Capital, Dubai Cultiv8, and Rasameel also participated.
Venture Capital: Andreessen Horowitz’s Thesis – “Multiplayer Game Experiences are the Next Social Networks”
Worldwide gaming has become serious business with the number of gamers estimated to run in the billions and industry revenues topping $160 billion. In February, a16z led an investment of $150 million in Roblox, an online game platform and game creation system that allows users to program games and play games created by other users. Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, the billion-dollar venture capital firm, is stepping up investments in games. Its thesis: “Multiplayer Game Experiences are the Next Social Networks”
Artificial Intelligence: Outgoing JAIC Director Shanahan Says the Pentagon Will Transform Itself Through AI
AI and machine learning are going to be inextricably woven into the functioning of every area in the Department of Defense (DoD). That’s according to Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, Director, Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC). In the interview, Shanahan said: “There is no part of the department that will not be impacted by this. From the back office to the battlefield, and as I like to say, from under the sea to cyberspace and outer space, and all points in between – everything could be made better through the application of AI.”