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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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Hedge Funds: Four Portfolio Managers Leave Citadel
Volatility has shaken the markets. The Dow had its worst quarter in history. The U.S. economy could see GDP fall by 30% this quarter. And four portfolio managers at Citadel won’t be around to see what happens next.
Bloomberg reported that the hedge fund fired four portfolio managers last week. Chris Conner, Tio Charbaghi, Steve Bergman, and Chip Fortson are out, according to the report. The four all worked in Citadel’s Global Equities group. The timing coincided with the hiring of Justin Lubell, a Point72 alum, to take over that group.
Private Equity: Silver Lake Partners Pushes Massive $16 Billion Fund
Silver Lake Partners is going big with its latest fund.
The technology-focused private equity fund wants to raise a new fund worth $16 billion.
Raising funds as market prices have been collapsing is a solid strategy. It will give the PE an enormous amount of capital to buy companies at distressed prices. With losses mounting in current portfolios, however, one must wonder if institutional investors will step up and make new investments.
Liquid Alternatives: How the Pandemic Could Affect ESG Investing (and ETFs)
The coronavirus pandemic throws up ESG in a new light.
Far from spelling doom for ESG investing, the pandemic may have given it fresh, positive potential. An article by Marlene Satter in benefitsPRO outlines nine ways the pandemic could affect ESG, yet launch it as the new normal in investing. And ESG ETFs could benefit from a fresh tailwind.
Venture Capital: Call for UK Government to Support Startups During the Coronavirus Crisis
The Save Our Startups (SOS) campaign launched in the UK on Sunday. It aims to mobilize financial support for the 30,000 startups and high-growth businesses in the country, many of whom may not be covered by the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). (Sifted)
The CBILS will provide financial support to small and medium-sized business firms (SMBs) during the pandemic. However, a large number of startups may not qualify as they have not yet reached the stage of profitability.
A large number of prominent tech personalities vouched for the campaign.
FinTech: Chime Readies to Instantly Pay $1,200 Stimulus Cheques
The digital challenger bank, the largest of its kind in the U.S., stands ready to pay out the stimulus cheques of $1,200 each. In a test run, it randomly chose 1,000 of its clients who met certain criteria with immediate access to $1,200 of spending power through SpotMe while they waited for their government stimulus payment. SpotMe is the firm’s free alternative to bank overdrafts.
Digital Assets: Both Crypto Fundraising and M&A Were Down in 2019 – PwC Report
The 2nd edition of PwC’s Global Crypto M&A and Fundraising Report is out. The report highlights the key trends that prevailed for crypto fundraising and M&A during 2019. The crypto ‘winter’ in deal-making and funding continued in 2019.
Artificial Intelligence: Survivors of Concentration Camps and Genocide Record Their Stories for Posterity
Heather Maio, who has for years worked with exhibits related to the Holocaust, initiated a project to record interviews with survivors of the horrific genocide. These interviews would be interactive, with the viewer (the “interviewer”) getting the impression that the Holocaust survivor is sitting across and answering questions as they are lobbed.
Insider Buying Recap: April 6, 2020
As markets sold-off on Friday, we saw two large purchases by activist investors. We saw a lot of buying at MGM and Zagg. In one case the activist had a board seat and is considered an insider. he was joined in aggressive buying by other executives including the CEO and CFO.
Alternative Investments: Kilter Finance Secures $500 Million in Funding From KKR
KKR (NYSE: KKR) is investing $500 million of equity funding in Kilter Finance. Kilter Finance intends to use the proceeds to make investments into an attractive pipeline of investment opportunities, predominantly in the life, annuity, and health insurance sectors.
Private Equity: TSG Consumer Partners Takes Majority Stake in Pathway Vet Alliance
TSG Consumer Partners announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Pathway Vet Alliance. The consumer-focused PE shop purchased the assets from Morgan Stanley Capital Partners funds. The current management at Pathway will remain in place as part of the deal.
Fintech: M&A In the Fintech Space Will Heat Up
One of the clear winners, if there is such a thing of the current economic situation, will be fintech companies. And we can expect to see a wave of fintech M&A as a result. There was already a trend towards digital platforms in the financial services industry. Now it’s just accelerating. Even those who prefer…
REITS: Industrial Properties Look Promising On These Trends
Like most Real Estate Investment Trusts, the prices of industrial REITs have declined sharply in the coronavirus driven selloff in the equity markets. While there may be real concerns for some sectors of real estate like office space, shopping centers, and even multifamily properties, industrial real estate may well see a dramatic increase in demand for the properties they own and manage.
Private Equity: Is Dave and Busters a PIPE Dream?
Dave and Busters (NASDAQ:PLAY) have been hard hit by the economic downturn.
The restaurant and arcade company closed its stores across the United States. It furloughed at least 15,000 hourly team members, store management, and corporate staff. Meanwhile, it cut the compensation of the senior leadership team by 50 percent.
And the Board of Directors has suspended Directors’ cash compensation for the remainder of the year.
So… what next?
Real Estate: Blackstone Group Pulls Out of Oakland Deal for Upton Station Building
Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) is pulling out of a deal to buy an office property in Oakland, California, for $400 million. Blackstone had planned to use funds from its non-traded Real Estate Investment Trust (BREIT) to buy the Upton Station building from real estate and infrastructure invest firm CIM Group. Blackstone will forfeit a $20 million deposit to exit the transaction.
Liquid Alternatives: ITB, The Home Construction ETF May Have Bottomed
ITB is the largest ETF in the home construction space. It provides exposure to U.S. companies that manufacture residential homes by tracking the Dow Jones U.S. Select Home Construction Index. It currently has assets of $707.64 million and charges an expense ratio of 0.42%.
ITB may be ready to rebound, on account of both technical and fundamental factors.
Digital Assets: Revolut Opens Up Crypto Trading To All Users; Cites 2008 GFC
Revolut is now opening up crypto trading to all 10 million of its users. The facility was previously available only to its Premium and Metals classified customers. Standard users may trade cryptos at a flat fee of 1.5% per trade. However, with effect from May, the fee will rise to 2.5%.
FinTech: Small Businesses Left High and Dry as Lending Platform Kabbage Switches off Loans
Some small business customers of Kabbage received an unpleasant surprise this past week when they found their credit line had been abruptly cut to zero. “This is very bad business ethics,” complained one distraught customer to Bloomberg. “You just turn it off without saying a word — not an email, not a phone call, nothing.”
Venture Capital: Biotech the Flavor of the Season; Two VCs Raise $1B+ Funds Each
Flagship Pioneering Raises $1.1B; Arch Venture Partners Gets $1.46B. While Flagship Pioneering will use the money for sustainability and biotech, Arch Venture will invest in early-stage biotech companies.
Artificial Intelligence: AI to Help Analyze Large Images from Aerial Sources
L3Harris Technologies Inc (NYSE: LHX), a global aerospace and defense technology company, is building a new platform that will apply AI to help make sense of aerial data for the military. L3Harris will create the training data and workflows that will enable a machine learning tool to process data for the Department of Defense and derive actionable intelligence from it.
Alternative Investments: Activists Will Get Busy Soon, Says Tim Melvin
As companies become more undervalued as the economy slows because of shutdown orders across the United States, I expect that the pace of activist activity to increase. We should see more filings later this week as investors hit the deadline to file on shares purchased during the selloff that started yesterday.
Private Equity: Active Triage Happening at KKR and Other Funds
KKR & Co (NYSE: KKR) has shelved a plan to sell Singapore-based Goodpack, a Singapore based shipping containers, and logistics services.
They had bids for the company that was said to be as high as $2 billion, but buyers have pulled back as the spread of the virus has made the company much less attractive at that price level.
This is one example of active triage on portfolio companies and dealing with the limitation of getting things done when under a lockdown order in may cities.
FinTech: Kyash Closes $45M Series C Funding
Kyash, a Japanese fintech startup aspiring to be a leading challenger bank, gained $45 million in a Series C funding. The round was co-led by Greenspring Associates and Goodwater Capital, a global consumer technology investor along with several venture capital firms from around the world.
The startup will use the funds to accelerate its full-stack mobile banking business in Japan, as well as to advance its overall growth strategy and business domain expansion, mainly into the banking space.
Liquid Alternatives: Investors Shovelled $677B Into Money Market Funds In Scramble to Safety
Investors set up a record-breaking first quarter this year for inflows into U.S. money market funds. These funds gained from the massive risk-off sentiment that prevailed as investors realized the economic repercussions from the coronavirus. Investors dumped stocks and bonds and headed for the safety of money market funds.
Venture Capital: CARES Act – Save Our Small Businesses, Urge Pelosi and Khanna
Hundreds of small businesses that have received venture capital finance may be excluded from the relief offered in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a part of the $2 trillion CARES Act coronavirus stimulus package. They would be denied even if the number of their employees is less than the qualifying limit of 500. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Cal.) wrote to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Jovita Carranza, head of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to correct this anomaly.