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Artificial Intelligence: AMD Takes On Rivals In The AI Chip Sweepstakes

December 7, 2023

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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Digital Assets: Investors Bid up Privacy-Focused Digital Assets in 2019 Says eToro Report

April 20, 2020

Investors are putting a premium on digital assets that are focused on privacy according to the latest crypto report from eToro and The Tie. The report named digital tokens Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR) that outperformed bitcoin during 2019, and continue to do so in Q1 of 2020.

Alternative Investments: Larry Fink Rejects Bailout Talk During Blackrock’s Q1 Call

April 17, 2020

Blackrock CEO Larry Fink took umbrage with at a question from Patrick Davitt of Autonomous Research. Davitt asked during a conference call this week if the Fed buying ETFs was a bailout for Blackrock.

McKinsey Talks Private Equity Outperformance

April 17, 2020

Global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. has published a study that examines what private equity firms can do to outperform their peers during times of crisis. They examined what high performing private equity firms did during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 did to achieve outstanding results. The consultants who worked on the project suggested…

Digital Assets: CZ Says QE Will Impact BTC Few Months Down the Line

April 17, 2020

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), chief executive and founder of leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, spoke on the prospects of bitcoin (BTC) amidst the coronavirus. He was speaking at the Virtual Blockchain Conference BlockDown 2020 being held in response to the pandemic between April 16 – 17.

Venture Capital: Payments Unicorn Stripe Raises $600 Million at a $36 Billion Valuation

April 17, 2020

In its largest funding round yet, California-based payment platform Stripe announced that it raised $600 million in an extension of its $250 million series G funding round. The unicorn said it intended to use the new money to expand its workforce, advance its software, make strategic acquisitions and expand across the globe.

FinTech: Commission-Free Investing Pioneer Robinhood To Raise $250 Million from Investors

April 17, 2020

Online brokerage Robinhood, which has recently been in the news for repeated system outages, is said to be raising $250 million from investors led by Sequoia Capital. Bloomberg, which broke the news of the funding, quoted sources who requested to remain anonymous. However, Bloomberg said it had received no confirmation from either Robinhood or Sequoia on the deal.

Artificial Intelligence: The Pentagon’s JAIC is Shopping For Tools to Test AI

April 17, 2020

The Joint Artificial Intelligence Centre, or JAIC, is looking for tools to test and evaluate future artificial intelligence products and certify them as safe and effective.

Real Estate: Barbara Corcoran Talks Changes In Commercial Demand

April 17, 2020

Commercial real estate markets have been severely impacted by the economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus. Barbara Corcoran, Shark Tank judge and founder of the Corcoran Group, a New York-based residential brokerage, told Yahoo Finance today that some of these changes may be permanent.

Hedge Funds: So… Elliott Management Sounds Pretty Bearish…

April 16, 2020

Hedge fund Elliott Management isn’t bullish on the U.S. economy as we approach the deepest downturn in 80 years. Paul Singer’s fund said Wednesday that global stocks could decline by as much as 50% from February highs. Reuters reports on a letter sent to clients. The fund called the sharp March decline in the market…

Crown Asia-Pacific Private Equity

Private Equity: BlackRock Reports Earnings for Q1 2020

April 16, 2020

BlackRock Q1 earnings dropped today.

The world’s largest asset manager reported revenue s growth 11% compared to a year ago. However, profits fell slightly compared to the first quarter of 2019. The asset manager also said that they continue to reward shareholders as they bought back $400 million of share repurchases in the current quarter and increased the quarterly cash dividend to $3.63 per share, or 10%. Earnings of $5.15 a share fell short of the analyst consensus estimates of $6.61 per share.

Liquid Alternatives: Gold ETCs See Record Inflows on Safe-Haven Buying

April 16, 2020

In a record-breaking March quarter, gold ETF holdings and assets added US$ 3 billion in net inflows, the largest quarterly gain in history, according to the World Gold Council. Over the past year, gold ETFs have boosted their AUM by 57%, the highest annual increase since the GFC. One beneficiary from this craze for gold was the Invesco Physical Gold ETC.

Real Estate: Blackstone Faces Toughest RE Market Since BREIT’s Founding

April 16, 2020

Blackstone’s non-traded real estate fund (BREIT) faces the most challenging environment since its 2017 inception.

BREIT has $34 billion in total assets. The group has been a big part of the firm’s real estate fundraising efforts in the past few years. Concerns exist that non-traded REITs like Blackstone’s offering are currently over-inflating their asset value. Publicly-traded REITs have seen their asset values fall by 20% or more in the past month. The REIT is priced once a month with the help of outside sources. 

FinTech: iProov Launches Web Authentication for Web Browsers

April 16, 2020

iProov is a three-time winner of Finovate Best of Show. It is bringing a version of its renowned mobile identify verification app to laptops/PCs. According to data, consumers still prefer to use desktops and laptops for larger purchases. In 2019, web usage accounted for more than half of online revenue but only 37% of web traffic.

Venture Capital: VC Investing and Life After the Pandemic

April 16, 2020

Mike Abbaei, of Naples Technology Ventures, peers into the VC crystal ball in a guest article “How investment will change in a post-pandemic world,” published in Venturebeat.
In Abbaei’s view, the coronavirus pandemic is a traumatic and transformative event similar to 9/11. Just as 9/11 forever changed our approach to air traffic, travel reservations, and airport security, the pandemic will usher in permanent changes in our lifestyles and business operations, healthcare, security and the regulatory environment.

Digital Assets: China’s Virtual Currency To be Tested in Mobile App

April 16, 2020

The Agriculture Bank of China is making available a new mobile app to a select group of users. It appears to be downloadable from a website link (currently down) provided by the Bank. According to a report, the bank is perhaps launching a test run for the country’s virtual currency. It is also known as a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or in China, as DCEP.

Artificial Intelligence: AI is Helping Itself to Get Smarter and Smarter

April 16, 2020

Software programs have now become sophisticated enough to build AI programs that can improve and build upon themselves without human intervention. In testing, the program could leapfrog decades of AI research. Perhaps a seminal achievement, the Google program called AutoML-Zero could possibly discover more about AI than humans themselves.

Real Estate: Commercial Real Estate Development is at a Standstill, Broker Confidence Has Plunged

April 16, 2020

The continued spread of the COVID-19 outbreak is creating significant hurdles for many sectors of the commercial real estate development industry.

In New York City, the epicenter of the current crisis, development has slowed to a crawl. The Real Estate Board of New York’s Q1 2020 Quarterly Real Estate Broker Confidence Index shows very low sentiment.

“The survey found that, overall, for the first quarter of 2020, commercial broker confidence was 3.23, representing a 56% decrease since REBNY surveyed brokers in the fourth quarter of 2019, a decline directly attributable to the impact of the pandemic,” writes Erika Morphy of GlobeSt.com.

Real Estate: Green Street Advisors Talks Coronavirus and Real Estate

April 15, 2020

Leading real estate and REIT research firm Green Street Advisors has recently commented on the impact of the coronavirus on commercial real estate markets.

They note that that as recently as five weeks ago, no one was all that concerned with what the virus might do to real estate investment trusts balance sheet. That has changed quickly as the economic shut down to prevent the spread of the virus has altered both public and private real estate markets in a material fashion.

Venture Capital: Forbes Releases the 2020 Midas List

April 15, 2020

Forbes magazine has published its annual Midas List of the top 100 people in the venture capital business.

The list is put together by Forbes and TrueBridge Capital Partners ranks industry participants by the success of the companies that have funded and eventually exited. 

Investors are ranked by their portfolio companies that have gone public or been acquired for at least $200 million over the past five years, or that have at least doubled their private valuation since initial investment to $400 million or more over the same period.

One-fourth of men and women on the list have been on the list for eight years.

The 2020 Midas List contains 12 newcomers and six returnees.

Liquid Alternatives: Moody’s Cracked the ESG Whip in a Third of its Rating Actions Last Year

April 15, 2020

Rating agency Moody’s is stepping up its assessment of companies’ performance on ESG counts. An analysis of Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) private sector rating actions last year revealed that ESG risks were cited as material in a third of the cases.

Digital Assets: TradeStation onboards Crypto Exchange ErisX To Add Liquidity

April 15, 2020

Online brokerage TradeStation’s subsidiary, TradeStation Crypto, will integrate with crypto exchange ErisX’s order book in a tie-up announced Wednesday. The partnership will encourage TradeStation customers to try their hand at crypto trading. More seasoned traders will appreciate the deeper liquidity and tighter spreads.

FinTech: World Bank Pushes for Financial Inclusion Via Fintech

April 15, 2020

The new report from the World Bank focuses on new digital technologies, particularly fintech.
The report “payment aspects of financial inclusion in the fintech era,” discusses the opportunities and challenges that come with using fintech to promote financial inclusion. Issued by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the World Bank, the report connects fintech innovation with financial inclusion.

Artificial Intelligence: The FTC’s 5-Point Mantra for Managing AI

April 15, 2020

In a blog, the FTC emphasized its actions such as bringing suits against businesses that violate laws relating to AI and automated decision making. In particular, it cited laws such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), enacted in 1970, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), enacted in 1974. The Commission said it used the FTC Act to avert injury to consumers from AI.
The consumer watchdog also codified its principles for the protection of consumers from AI and algorithms.

Venture Capital: Climate Analytics Startup ‘The Climate Service’ Raises $3.825M

April 15, 2020

Durham, North Carolina-based The Climate Service (TCS) announced Tuesday the successful completion of its $3.825m Series A investment round. The startup focuses on analytics and climate risk. Persei Venture LLC led the investment round with participation from existing investors and new investors including the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), and Synovia Capital.