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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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Venture Capital: VC-backed Small Businesses May Get Short Shrift from the SBA in Stimulus Relief
A startup may have as few as 20 employees but still not qualify for stimulus relief by way of SBA loans.
The devil is surely in the details, as VC-backed startups with less than 500 employees will tell you. They may not qualify for SBA relief loans because their employees may be classified as “affiliates” of the VC firm that financed them.
DailyAlts Playbook: Commercial Real Estate Woes, Crude Collapse, 2002 Music Reviews, and Ackman’s “Hell is Coming” Defense
THE DAILYALTS PLAYBOOK March 30, 2020 Today, the DailyAlts Playbook talks about Commercial Real Estate Woes, Crude Collapse, 2002 Music Reviews, and Ackman’s “Hell is Coming” Defense. PRIME OVERVIEW Good morning: The markets are flat this morning, and my projection this week is that we’re looking at more downside pressure. We are likely heading into…
Real Estate: Taubman Letter Shows How Ugly April Will Get for Commercial Real Estate
Taubman Centers (NYSE: TCO) sent a letter to tenants last week saying that they must honor their leases and pay rent despite the spread of coronavirus. In a letter dated March 25, the mall operator said that it needs the cash flow to meet its obligations to utility companies and mortgage lenders.
Private Equity: Winners and Losers from The $2 Trillion Stimulus Package
The $2 trillion stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Trump last week contains wins and losses for the private equity industry. While none of the legislation was directly aimed at the industry, restrictions on which companies can access aid will affect those companies with private equity ownership.
Alternative Investments: Howard Hughes Corporation Announces Secondary Offering
The Howard Hughes Corporation (NYSE: HHC) announced a secondary offering on Friday. The offering consists of two million shares at $50 a share.
The company said it also entered into a purchase agreement with Pershing Square Capital Management.
Pershing Square will buy another 10 million shares. Combined, the two stock sales netted the real estate developer and operator more than $580 million.
Venture Capital: PE and VC Firms Turn to Asia for Deals
Carlyle Group (NYSE: CG) announced this week that they had raised 2.3 billion for its fourth Japanese buyout fund, Carlyle Japan Partners IV. The fund will invest in upper mid-market investment opportunities in Japan across Consumer, Retail, and Healthcare, General Industries and Technology, Media, and Telecom. They will also look to make equity investments in larger companies on an opportunistic basis, according to the Carlyle press release announcing the deal.
Private Credit: Coronavirus to Shift Market in Profound Ways
Private credit has been one of the fastest-growing areas of the credit market since the great credit crisis ended a decade ago. As banks stepped back from small and mid-market lending, especially in riskier areas like expansion and takeovers, funds sprang up to fill the void for a price. Institutions pensions placed enormous sums of…
Private Equity: Goldman Sachs Says PE Ready to Deploy Dry Powder
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is said to have released a report advising companies to ignore the advances of private equity firms right now.
With valuations compressed dramatically in a very short period of time, private equity is looking to deploy its cash stockpile of around $1.5 trillion. Goldman, along with other investment banking firms, is advising clients that want to remain independent to take advantage of bridge loans and other funding provisions in the stimulus package that is being passed today rather than sell equity at bargain-basement levels.
Liquid Alternatives: Semi-transparent ETFs Get Advisor Love
Assets under actively managed ETFs constituted a minuscule percentage (< 3%) of total ETF assets ($4.4 trillion) as of end-2019. The most commonly attributed reason for this phenomenon is the fear that active managers face regarding their “secret sauce.” They are loath to make full daily disclosure of holdings as required by regulations for ETFs, as other fund managers and traders copy their strategies. However, a new breed of “non-transparent” ETFs that “mask” some or all of the fund’s portfolio, may soon become a reality.
These may be great for fund managers, but what about advisors and investors? Certainly, there is evidence of rising advisor interest in non-transparent ETFs.
FinTech: Grandmother-inspired Quick Checkout Startup Fast Adds $20M In Series A
Fast announced Thursday its Series A funding round worth $ 20 million. The round was led by Stripe though existing investors Index Ventures and Susa Ventures also chipped in. Fast is a San Francisco-based start-up aiming to make online shopping a wholly ‘one-click’ experience. It’s ‘Fast Login,’ a free to use one-click login tool, is already available to consumers.
Artificial Intelligence: Using AI to Unearth Unexploded Bombs in Cambodia
The demining of the Vietnam war era bombs in Cambodia has so far been ineffective. Machine learning and AI may help. Researchers have now combined artificial intelligence, satellite images, and declassified US military records in a model to unearth these lurking dangers to life and limb.
Venture Capital: HighByte, Which Makes Sense of Industrial Data, Raises $875K
HighByte, an industrial software company based in Portland, Maine, closed on its pre-seed round funded by angel investors and early-stage venture capitalists. Investors included Maine Venture Fund and Momenta Ventures. HighByte raised a total of $ 875,000 comprising $ 625,000 in convertible debt and a long-term, low-interest loan of $250,000 from Maine Technology Institute (MTI).
Digital Assets: Traditional Trading Firms May Adopt Digital Assets in a Big Way – Acuiti
Acuiti Management Intelligence, in association with Bitstamp and the CME Group (NASDAQ: CME), conducted a study on institutional adoption of digital assets’ trading. The key question: What’s holding back institutions?
Hedge Funds: Paul Tudor Jones Expects Stocks to Retest March Lows
Paul Tudor Jones said Wednesday that he expects that the market will push higher by June. However, he expects there to be a very volatile market come April.
In an interview with CNBC, the money manager said that things could get bumpy once we start to look at the real economic impact of coronavirus.
Hedge Funds: Bodenholm Capital to Shutter Its Doors
Bodenholm Capital, a large Swedish hedge fund with $511.2 million in AUM, is shutting its doors and returning money to its investors. A report indicates that the multi-strategy fund has struggled to perform in the ongoing coronavirus downturn. One of its core investors, Brummer & Partners, said on its website that Bodenhelm was shutting.
Sovereign Wealth: Norway Taps New Manager After $124 Billion Loss
The Norway sovereign wealth fund has tapped a new manager at the height of the coronavirus panic. The world’s fifth-largest sovereign fund has hired Norwegian-born Nicolai Tange to take control of the fund. The news comes after the fund lost a staggering $124 billion during the ongoing coronavirus breakdown in the markets.
Digital Assets: How ‘Helicopter Money’ Will Affect Bitcoin and Gold
The Senate unanimously approved Wednesday a massive stimulus package worth $2 trillion to steady an economy feared to be on the ropes from the coronavirus. How will this ‘Helicopter Money’ stimulus affect Bitcoin and gold?
Venture Capital: Limited Partners at DCVC Get an Inside Edge on Virus Tests
An email DCVC sent out on March 24 to its investors has landed the VC base in some controversy. It apparently offered to “expedite delivery of a test kit” through a “unique relationship with one of our portfolio companies.” One recipient of the mail – tech entrepreneur Michael Arrington – vented his outrage at the preferential treatment in a tweet the next day.
Digital Assets: The Corona Fund Index Cryptocurrency (CFIX) From HashCash
HashCash Consultants are launching a new cryptocurrency, the Corona Fund Index Cryptocurrency (CFIX) in a drive to battle the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The new crypto will launch on April 2 and trade on digital exchange PayBito, as well as other global exchanges. The CFIX crypto is backed by an inverse ETF tracking the S&P500.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Tool For Diagnosing COVID-19 Made Publicly Available For Development
Linda Wang and Alexander Wong, researchers at the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute, Canada, have developed COVID-Net, a Deep Convolutional Neural Network designed to detect COVID-19 cases from chest X-rays. For a deeper understanding, and further development of the AI network, the researchers have open-sourced and made it available to the general public.
FinTech: FinFit Makes Its Financial Wellness Platform Free for Employers
Fintech platform FinFit previously reached out to members suffering temporary or permanent unemployment by extending financial wellness resources and support. The U.S.-based firm, which provides over 150,000 employers with a holistic financial wellness benefit platform, has now gone a step further. In a gesture of solidarity with America’s working population, Finfit has made its platform free for employers.
Hedge Funds: Did Bill Ackman Make $2.6 Billion on the Coronavirus Outbreak?
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman says Pershing Square Capital earned $2.6 billion by betting that the coronavirus outbreak would pummel markets. The news comes a week after Ackman appeared on CNBC to tell Americans that “hell is coming” for the domestic market.
Private Equity Dry Powder is Ready to Deploy
Private equity managers will likely deploy more than $2 trillion in cash that has sat on the sidelines during the recent carnage and volatility in the financial market.
Artificial Intelligence: Mobile AI and ML Platform Fritz Raises $5 Million
Mobile AI and machine learning startup Fritz AI will use the $5 million it raised in its recent funding to expand and accelerate its product launch. The round was led by Foundry Group. NextGen Venture Partners, Inner Loop Capital, Eniac Ventures, Uncork Capital, and Hack VC also participated in the funding.