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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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Dealbook: Private Equity Fundraising to Drop in 2020
Private equity fundraising is set to decline next year, according to Pitchbook. In a report, the research firm projected that PE capital raising would slow down in the European and American markets as companies look to deploy capital. The slowdown would follow what has been a record year for capital raising in the sector.
SAP Spinoff Venture Capital Group Raises $1.4 Billion for New Opportunities
Sapphire Ventures has raised $1.4 billion for growth investments, an outlet that will also provide $150 million to boost larger deals. The group, which spun out of SAP, has traditionally focused on enterprise technology companies that operate out of Israel and Europe. It has successfully funded companies like Sumo Logic, TransferWise, and 23andMe. The capital raise represents the largest event to date. The venture arm now has an AUM of $4 billion.
Former Hedge Fund Manager Stanley Druckenmiller Has Regrets
The Duquesne Family Office finally hit double-digit returns last week, according to Stanley Druckenmiller. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, the former hedge fund manager said he “couldn’t have been more wrong” when it came to 2019. Druckenmiller said he had sold all of his equities and turned to the bond market after President Donald Trump increased geopolitical tensions with China. He had been 93% invested in the equity markets at the time.
Digital Assets: Malta-based Digital Asset Exchange OKEx Launches Options Trading
Malta-based Digital Asset Exchange OKEx Launches Options Trading. With the launch of options trading, OKEx becomes the first crypto exchange to offer crypto-to-crypto (C2C), Scott, futures, perpetual swap, and options trading under one roof.
Simulated trading in the options product has already commenced from December 12, 2019.
Private Equity Giant Apollo Global Management-Backed Airline to Fuel Amazon Shipping
Sun Country Airlines is steaming up with Amazon.com to boost its package-delivery business. The low-cost airline – based in Minneapolis – will fly 10 Boeing 737s during the second quarter of 2020. The news is part of a deal to expand Amazon Air, according to company reports.
Digital Assets: The ESCB has Proof-of-Concept of Anonymous Digital Currency
An ECB-coordinated project, conducted by the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), has established a proof of concept (PoC) for anonymity in digital cash, reports COINTELEGRAPH.
The experiment does not indicate that the ECB will actually proceed with a CBDC. It’s just that – a prototype, so to speak.
The Saudi Arabia Sovereign Wealth Fund Launches Fund of Funds Company
The Saudi Arabia Sovereign Wealth Fund has launched its own fund of funds firm. The Public Investment Fund will put 4 billion riyal – or $1.07 billion – forward to support small- and mid-sized businesses.
Sun Life Financial Takes Big Stake in Real Estate Manager
Sun Life Financial and its alternative asset management arm just received a boost. Sun Life announced it plans to purchase an 80% stake in the infrastructure and real estate investment manager InfraRed Capital Partners.
Digital Assets: Fidelity Digital Assets Floats UK Arm to Sell Crypto Services
Fidelity Digital Assets has branched out across the Atlantic and incorporated its UK arm on December 16. The UK office will offer crypto services to European businesses, hedge funds, and family offices.
Venture Capital: Despite Negative Publicity, VC is Alive and Well
Despite the negative publicity surrounding it in recent months, venture capital is quite well, thank you.
There was doom-and-gloom all around in the venture capital industry after the failed WeWork IPO and the fund-raising travails of Softbank’s second Vision Fund. But under the hood, VC is humming along rather nicely, says Dan Primack at Axios.
Alternative Investments: Japanese Corporations Unlocking Value; ETFs to Buy
A Nikkei Quick survey showed that the percentage of Japanese companies that thought their shares were undervalued hit a high of 67% in 2019. This was the highest level since the introduction of Japanese reforms in 2013, according to FT. Japanese corporations shelled out a massive ¥7.2tn ($66bn) on share buybacks in 2019 between January and the end of November. Another trend is afoot and could accentuate in the near term. Japanese corporations are looking closely at their organizations and selling off subsidiaries, listed or otherwise.
Intel Scoops Up Israeli Artificial Intelligence Firm for $2 Billion
Intel Corporation has acquired Habana Labs for $2 billion.
Habana Labs is an Israel-based developer of programmable deep learning accelerators for data centers. The deal will deepen Intel’s artificial intelligence (AI) portfolio. It also accelerates Intel’s efforts into the fast-growing AI silicon market, which it expects to top $25 billion by 2024.
Alternative Investments: Bank of England Weighing Redemption Rejig for Open-Ended Funds
The Bank of England considers the liquidity mismatch in open-ended funds a potential “systemic risk.”
After the recent debacles in the Woodford Equity Income Fund and M&G Investments property fund, the Bank of England may change redemption rules for open-ended funds.
The Bank of England may impose delayed payouts for investors in open-ended funds that hold hard-to-liquidate assets. Alternatively, it may impose a haircut on investors demanding immediate redemptions in such funds.
The bank made these proposals in its latest Financial Stability Report.
ICANN Pauses Sale of PIR to Ethos Capital for 30 days
ICANN, the internet registration firm, announced it will pause its sale of the .org domain registry to the private equity firm Ethos Capital. The delay will last 30 days as stakeholders investigate the planned deal.
Francisco Partners and Evergreen Take LogMeIn Private
LogMeIn announced it has sold itself for $4.3 billion. The agreement allows the firm to go private thanks to a deal with Francisco Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital. The all-cash deal puts shares at $86.05 each.
Hong Kong Funds See $5 Billion in Outflows
Hong Kong capital flight may have hit as much as $5 billion for investment funds in 2019.
The figure comes from the Bank of England, which released its Financial Stability Report on Monday. Since April, when the Hong Kong riots began, investment funds have raised alarms about the impact on both the local economy and their ability to perform. That figure – $5 billion – represents roughly 1.25% of the region’s GDP.
FinTech: As Investors Revolt, Fintech Lenders Get Picky on Borrower Quality
Easy lending to borrowers with sub-prime credit is winding down.
Peer-to-peer lenders, or fintech lender platforms, are back-pedaling on their early promise to provide loans to people with sub-par credit profiles, observes Bloomberg. Burned by loan losses, individual investors have revolted. As a result, the original marketplace-like model of P2P lending has long gone.
Goldman Sachs Prepares to Go Big on Alternatives
A Goldman Sachs alternative capital team will launch soon, according to a memo seen by Reuters. The firm said that it will form an alternatives capital markets and strategy group under its merchant banking division.
Artificial Intelligence: Gecko Robotics Scoops up $ 40 Million in Series B Funding
Gecko Robotics Scoops up $ 40 Million in Series B Funding. Gecko will use the money to develop industrial inspection robots.
Investors that plugged into Gecko Robotics’ $ 40 million series B funding included marquee names such as Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Y Combinator, and Next47. Also opening up their wallets were Mark Cuban, SoftBank senior managing partner Deep Nishar, and Gusto CEO Josh Reeves. Drive Capital led the raise.
Digital Assets: A Bitcoin Video Lands Up On TikTok, Goes Viral
The Wolf of Bitcoin posted the bitcoin video on TikTok.
The TikTok video zooms in through a door with says, “this is why GPU prices went up,” and then pans across a room filled with power cables and computers. It appears to be a cryptocurrency mining location. Catchy, foot-tapping music plays in the background of the video, which has hashtags like bitcoin, explainbitcoin, bitcoin mining, and minecraft.
Blackstone Infrastructure Partners Snaps Up Tallgrass Energy
Blackstone Infrastructure Partners has announced it will purchase the remaining shares of Tallgrass Energy that it doesn’t own. The latest offer of $22.45 per Class A share was a 22.7% premium to the stock’s closing price Monday.
Darden Paper Shows Weak Hedge Fund Performance Post Financial Crisis
Hedge fund performance hasn’t lived up to the hype over the last ten years. This, according to the Executive Director of the Richard A. Mayo Center for Asset Management, University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
Digital Assets: Fidelity Digital Assets Could Add Support for Ether in 2020
Fidelity’s crypto arm has already done a lot of work on Ethereum.
Speaking in an interview with TheBlock, Tom Jessop, who is president of Fidelity Digital Assets, said the firm intended to support the Ethereum cryptocurrency in the New Year, according to cointelegraph.
“We’ve done a lot of work on Ethereum. We intend to support it in the New Year. We’re very led by our clients,” he said.
Japanese Regional Banks: The Trade to Start 2020
Japanese regional banks are starting to look for new capital as it becomes increasingly challenging to grow in a low-interest-rate environment.
In a move similar to what we saw happen in the United States back in 2010. The regional banks tend to be located outside the major population centers and have been dealing with a demographic issue as the population ages and declines. They also face problems with the rising costs of technology and cybersecurity, like those driving U.S.-based consolidation.