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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: Daycations Platform ResortPass Lands $26M Series B Including From Gwyneth Paltrow
Ever considered a daycation (day+vacation) at your nearest luxury hotel, spending hours enjoying facilities at the property such as the pool, spa, fitness center, and more, without breaking the bank? It’s possible with ResortPass, which makes it possible to enjoy these ‘experiences’ right there in your neighbourhood, at hotels including Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, W Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Fairmont, and Westin. ResortPass announced a Series B raise of $26 million.
FinTech: Wise Reports Solid H1, Klarna May Be Profitable In 2023, And Revolut Eyes Japan
London-based fintech giant Wise plc (previously known as Transferwise) reported a total income of £416 million during the six months ended September, up 63% from the corresponding period last year. Revenue grew 55% to £397 million. Further, the adjusted EBITDA increased by 52 percent to £92 million with a margin of 22 percent, and it ended the period with a pre-tax profit of £51.3 million, which increased by 173 percent.
Digital Assets: More Crypto Players Follow FTX Down The Bankruptcy Route
The unfortunate failure of FTX and sister firm Alameda Research has claimed another victim – Solana-based decentralized exchange Serum said its program on the mainnet became defunct as the upgrade authority was held by FTX. It said that lead protocols such as Jupiter and Raydium had moved away from Serum as the security of the exchange was in jeopardy. Moreover, Serum also said the future of its SRM native token was uncertain due to the coin’s exposure to the turmoil unleashed by the collapse of FTX.
Artificial Intelligence: Global Specialty Chemicals Major Nouryon Invests In AGEYE Technologies
AGEYE Technologies aims to help indoor farms become sustainable and scalable through significant reductions in operational costs by using AI, IoT sensors, and its automation platform. The platform monitors every connected vertical farm or greenhouse 24/7, 365 – and uses state-of-the-art artificial intelligence to turn these visual inputs into growth development insights and autonomous actions, improving harvest predictability and profitability. Dutch speciality chemicals producer Nouryon has announced a collaboration with, and an investment, in AGEYE.
Artificial Intelligence: Tickeron Launches AI Robots That Use Fundamental Analysis To Trade For You
Tickeron, the marketplace for AI-based trading algorithms, is offering a new breed of algos, or AI Robots, that have cut their teeth on Fundamental Analysis (FA) – a sea change from Tickeron’s hitherto reliance on Technical Analysis (TA) for training the bots.
Artificial Intelligence: AI To Be Used For Security At Maha Kumbh 2025, India’s Mega Religious Festival
The Maha Kumbh Mela, to be held in Prayagraj in 2025, is likely to be a massive religious congregation by any global standard with millions of devotees expected to attend the event. It is a sacred pilgrimage undertaken by devout Hindus from across the globe who will gather to take a dip in the holy Triveni Sangam (confluence) of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers. The act is believed to wash off all their sins, and help them attain freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth.
FinTech/ESG: Carbon Management App Cogo Partners With Digital Bank Tandem
Cogo is a carbon management expert that pairs its Carbon Footprint model with live banking data allowing a bank’s customers to track how much carbon is associated with their spending anywhere, anytime. Cogo has announced a partnership with digital challenger bank Tandem to initially feature on the bank’s green living hub, which offers practical advice, information and tools for customers. Cogo will integrate with the Tandem banking app fully in 2023.
Digital Assets: (More) Crypto Contagion – BlockFi Is Insolvent
The domino-like chain reaction from the bankruptcy of FTX has claimed another victim in BlockFi, the troubled crypto player that offers a trading exchange and interest-bearing custodial service for cryptocurrencies. BlockFi (and eight affiliates) have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey following the “shocking events surrounding FTX and associated corporate entities,” the firm said in a client update today.
Artificial Intelligence/VC: AI-Enabled Business Automation Company AAICO Raises $42M
London-based The Applied AI Company (AAICO), which applies its proprietary AI platform to transform legacy business models, announced its raise of US$42 million from investors including G42, A.R.M Holding, Plug and Play Investment Group as well as distinguished families in Europe and the MENA region.
Alternative Investments/AI: Global X Japan Debuts ETF For Autonomous And Electric Vehicles
Global X Japan has launched the Global X Autonomous & EV ETF on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO: 2867). The thematic ETF targets opportunities in the rapidly evolving automotive industry due to the disruption of the internal combustion engine by autonomous and electric modes of transport.
Alternative Investments/ESG: HSBC Lists Five Shariah-Compliant ESG Equity ETFs On European Exchanges
Five new ETFs from HSBC aim to provide investors with exposure to ESG-enhanced, Shariah-compliant exposure to stocks. Two of the new ETFs are already listed on the London Stock Exchange, SIX Swiss Exchange, or Euronext Paris.
Artificial Intelligence: CICERO, An AI That Plays The Diplomacy Game “At A Human Level”
Meta (formerly Facebook) (NASDAQ: META) announced on Wednesday the launch of CICERO, the first artificial intelligence (AI) agent to achieve human-level performance in the popular strategy game Diplomacy. So far, Diplomacy was a huge challenge to AI given that the game needs human like capabilities such as persuasive conversation, complex planning, strategies and their adjustment and an understanding of other players’ perspectives and motivations.
Venture Capital: Astera Labs Lands $150M At $3.15B Valuation
Astera Labs announced a $150 million Series D funding round led by Fidelity Management and Research that valued the company at $3.15 billion. Other existing investors, including Atreides Management, Intel Capital, and Sutter Hill Ventures also participated in the round. Astera also said it had expanded both its board of directors as well as its product lineup.
FinTech: Expedia And Afterpay Tie Up To Offer BNPL For Travel
Indeed, according to a CNN article, travellers should get prepared for the most expensive holiday travel season ever. Average air fare is up about 40% from 2021, and rates for hotel rooms and rental cars have jumped 12% and 46% respectively from where they were in 2019. But travel demand, which was pent up during the pandemic, is still on the up and up and inching towards pre-pandemic levels. Fortunately, travellers reeling from the holiday sticker shock now have a BNPL option from Expedia and Afterpay.
Digital Assets: Crypto Contagion Spreads To Miners – Iris Energy Unplugs Mining Hardware Amidst Default
Iris Energy (NASDAQ: IREN), the Australia-based bitcoin mining firm, said in a filing that it had taken down a large chunk of its mining capacity that had been used as collateral for a loan of $107.8 million. Iris defaulted on the said loan because the operation did not produce cash flow enough to service the loan obligations. The development is symptomatic of the financial stress prevalent in the digital assets market after a severe bear market led to the insolvencies of many key players including FTX, Voyager Digital, and Celsius.
Venture Capital: At Home Healthcare Provider DispatchHealth Lands $330M Funding
DispatchHealth, the Denver-based in-home care provider has raised $330 million as it addresses the rapidly growing demand for at home care and works on a proprietary platform called the Last Mile Health Care Technology Platform. The platform aims to help with care delivery via logistics, clinical support and coordination with other parties in its ecosystem.
Artificial Intelligence: Thanks To AI, Insurers Now Have SuperNormal Powers, Says Sompo Chief
These prophetic forewarnings range from the weather, natural calamities, and even senile dementia, according to Mikio Okumura, chief of Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings (TYO: 8630). The forward-looking company invested $500mn investment two years ago in Palantir (NYSE: PLTR), the US specialist in big data analysis. It also has bought a stake in Abeja, a Japanese AI start-up.
Venture Capital: Schneider’s SE Ventures Launches EUR 500M Fund II
Menlo Park, California-based SE Ventures, which is the VC arm of Schneider Electric (EPA: SU), announced today a 500-million-euro fund-II to accelerate climate and industrial technology start-ups within the firm’s overall target sectors of electrification, digitization, and decarbonisation.
Artificial Intelligence: 3M Launches AI-Powered Speech Recognition For Clinicians
3M (NYSE: MMM) unveiled the 3M M*Modal Fluency Direct, its latest speech and AI-powered technology, at the 2022 HIMSS Middle East Health Conference & Exhibition in Riyadh from November 19 to 21, 2022. The technology will enable clinicians to accurately and quickly feed the interaction with the patient into the medical records system, freeing them up for patient care.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Investment Advisory Wahed Launches Shariah And US Equity ETP
A new ETP (Exchange Traded Product) launched by Wahed, a registered investment advisor focused on Halal investments, will invest in US stocks that have passed through a screening process to determine their Shariah status. The ETP, named the Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF, has listed on the LSE.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Vanguard Unveils ESG Corporate Bond ETFs In Europe
Vanguard, the fund manager with assets of over $8 trillion under management, has launched two ESG-tilted, corporate bond ETFs denominated in EUR and USD respectively, for European investors. The funds are listed on the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Boerse, Borsa Italiana, SIX Swiss and Euronext Amsterdam bourses.
Alternative Investments/ESG: BlackRock Debuts An Environmentally Focused REIT ETF
iShares, the ETF unit of BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), launched last week the iShares Environmentally Aware Real Estate ETF (NASDAQ: ERET). The ETF will invest in REIT and real estate holding and development companies that have a sustainability focus and are environment-friendly – specifically, companies with an increased exposure to green certification and energy efficiency. According to the Fund, buildings are the source of 37% of global carbon emissions.
Digital Assets: Binance Agrees To Buy (Non-US) FTX After Bankman-Fried Reveals Liquidity Crunch
Binance, the world’s largest crypto firm, has agreed to buy rival crypto exchange FTX, which is owned by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, for an undisclosed amount. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed in a tweet that FTX asked for Binance’s help in tackling a significant liquidity crunch, and therefore it “signed a non-binding LOI, intending to fully acquire http://FTX.com and help cover the liquidity crunch.”
Artificial Intelligence: AI Claims Aussie Pensioner Is A British Lord Wanted For Brutal 1974 Murder
Facial recognition analysis carried out be renowned expert Professor Hassan Ugail of the University of Bradford has established that an elderly pensioner living in Australia is a definite match for runaway murderer Lord Lucan. The researcher ran his AI algorithm, perfected over two decades, over 4,000 cross-checks of seven photos comprising four of Lucan and three of the unnamed Australian pensioner.