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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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Digital Assets: Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange Outlines Plans For Crypto
The Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (TLV: TASE) has outlined four goals in its strategic plan for the years 2023-2027 one of which is “creating a platform for digital assets using blockchain (digital ledger technology) and venturing into crypto.”
Venture Capital: BASF’s VC Arm Leads $10M Round In Brazilian Fintech Traive™
BASF Venture Capital GmbH (BVC), the corporate venture company of BASF SE (ETR: BAS), has announced its first investment in South America. BVC will lead a $10 million investment round in Traive™, a Brazilian financial services provider that is developing a technology infrastructure for financial services and AI for credit risk analysis and portfolio management.
Artificial Intelligence: Google’s Dialogflow Service To Power Wells Fargo’s New Digital Assistant
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) announced its launch of Fargo, a new virtual assistant that will assist customers with their banking in the coming months and provide a more personalised, convenient and simple banking experience. Fargo will be built upon the Google Cloud conversational AI platform known as Dialogflow which has language processing capabilities, can understand customers’ intents, and deliver an appropriate response.
Venture Capital: Climate Tech Fund Propeller Raises $100M For Ocean Climate Startups
Climate-tech fund Propeller announced its raise of a $100 million fund to support startups aiming to solve the climate crisis by innovating planet-saving, ocean-based science and technology solutions. The fund is launched in partnership with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a private, non-profit organization established in 1930, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education.
FinTech: India’s PhonePe On Decacorn Path, Mulls Fundraise At Over $12B Valuation
PhonePe is negotiating a fundraise at a valuation of over $12 billion, with General Atlantic likely to lead the round with an investment in the range of $450 – $500 million. If the funding goes through, it would catapult PhonePe to the position of the most highly-valued fintech in India.
Digital Assets: Brazilian Digital Bank NuBank To Float Own Crypto For Rewards Program
Buffett-backed, Brazilian digital bank Nubank (NYSE: NU) announced Wednesday its plans to launch Nucoin, a digital token as “a new way to recognize customer loyalty and encourage engagement with Nubank products.” The move would also mark the neo bank’s move into crypto assets.
FinTech: NatWest Group And Warburg Pincus-Owned Vodeno Tie-Up For Providing BaaS
NatWest Group (LON: NWG) and European BaaS provider Vodeno Group have entered a strategic partnership to float a new entity that will offer Banking-as-a-Service to clients in the UK. The Vodeno Group, which owns the Poland-based Vodeno Sp Z.o.o, a software company providing its API-based technology platform and the Belgium-based Aion Bank, is majority owned by Warburg Pincus (NYSE: WPCA).
Venture Capital: Chinese EV Maker Aion Raises $2.53B Series A
Aion, the EV unit of Chinese automaker GAC (HKG: 2238), has raised a huge RMB 18.3 billion ($2.53 billion) Series A round at a whopping RMB 103.3 billion ($14.28 billion) valuation. That puts Aion at the top of the league of Chinese private, venture capital-backed EV makers.
Venture Capital: AI-Powered, Precision Medicine Startup Tempus Raises $275M In Equity And Debt
Tempus, which uses AI to advance healthcare solutions in drug discovery, clinical trials and diagnostics, has raised $275 million through equity from previous investors and debt financing from Ares Management.
Artificial Intelligence: Adobe Announces Generative AI For Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) has been researching Generative AI for its transformative potential to accelerate creativity and make it accessible to millions of people; for example, by speaking a few words to describe an image, and having the corresponding image magically produced on the computer screen by the AI.
Artificial Intelligence: French Privacy Watchdog CNIL Hits Clearview AI With 20M Euro ($19.6M) Fine
Privacy advocates across the globe have cause to celebrate. Clearview AI, a facial recognition firm that scraped an estimated 20 billion photographs from the internet and social media without permission, has been slapped with a 20 million euro fine by French regulator CNIL for not cooperating with its previous order.
Digital Assets: Walmart Global CTO Says Crypto To Play Big Role In Payments
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) global CTO, Suresh Kumar made it very clear Tuesday that he envisaged a major role for crypto in the company’s future: “Crypto will become an important part of how customers transact. We want to make sure that we make it as friction free for customers to be able to transact, and to be able to buy, and how they are able to derive value out of it.”
Venture Capital: JPMorgan Launching A Platform To Facilitate Venture Finance
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is launching Capital Connect, its own venture capital platform, to simplify the funding process for startups, and expand its own penetration of the private market. Banks have sought to present a friendlier funding face to founders given the rapid increase in recent years in the number and size of unlisted and private ventures.
Artificial Intelligence: Reducing Sulfur In Shipping Fuel Cut Sea Air Emissions (NASA AI Model)
An AI model built by NASA confirmed that an IMO move to slash sulfur content in shipping fuel paid off in spades, because it led to the lowest air pollution levels at sea in 2020. However, part of the credit must also go to the reduced shipping traffic volumes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alternative Investments/ESG: VanEck Launches “Green Infrastructure” Equity ETF
VanEck, an asset manager with $60.8 billion under management, announced the launch of of VanEck Green Infrastructure ETF (NASDAQ: RNEW), an equity ETF offering exposure to companies that would address the huge opportunity in making U.S. infrastructure more “green” and sustainable.
Alternative Investments/ESG: HSBC Launches Four ESG ETFs Across Value And Small Caps
HSBC Asset Management has launched in London four ESG focused ETFs. Two of these are equity value-oriented and span World and Emerging Markets respectively. The other two are equity small-cap oriented and similarly invest across World and Emerging Markets.
Liquid Alternatives: Interview With George Matthews Of Allspring Global Investments
George Matthews is a managing director and co-head of Product for the Systematic Edge Equity team at Allspring Global Investments. In this capacity, he leads global institutional product direction for the Systematic Edge platform. George specializes in factor-based investing and serves as a senior product specialist for the team’s equity group.
Alternative Investments/ESG: New Paris-Aligned World Equity ETF From Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has launched the Goldman Sachs Paris-Aligned Climate World Equity UCITS ETF (WRLD) on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse. WRLD is labelled ‘light green’ Article 8 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
Venture Capital: Lionel Messi Launches Investment Vehicle
San Francisco-based Play Time Sports-Tech HoldCo LLC is a holding company created by soccer superstar Lionel Messi to explore and invest in ventures that include football teams or football technology, said a Bloomberg report.
Digital Assets: Retail Vigilantes Join In The Global Race To Nab Do Kwon
Kang Hyung-suk, who used to work in Do Kwon’s cryptocurrency operator Terraform Labs in Seoul, belongs to the UST Restitution Group, which is trying to locate Do Kwon alongside Interpol and South Korean authorities. Do Kwon is wanted in South Korea on charges of financial fraud.
Artificial Intelligence: AI-Generated Content Platform Jasper Raises $125M Series A
Jasper, the platform for AI-generated content, announced its $125 million Series A round led by global software investor Insight Partners and joined by other leading firms including Coatue, Bessemer Venture Partners, IVP, Foundation Capital, Founders Circle Capital, HubSpot Ventures and more. The round valued the firm at $1.5 billion.
FinTech: VISA Ties With Nuvei, Tender Retail, To Offer BNPL To Canadians
Canadian shoppers at at some of Canada’s largest retailers including Simons, Canada Computers, Soft Moc, and Trévi, will soon be offered an option to pay for their qualifying purchases through smaller, predictable “Installments” payments made over a defined period using an eligible Visa (NYSE: V) credit card.
Digital Assets: FTX And Its Billionaire Owner Sam Bankman-Fried Being Investigated By Texas State Securities Board
Joe Rotunda, the enforcement director of the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB), found that he could easily apply to join FTX’s yield-earning offering even though he listed his Austin address. The problem? FTX has not registered to sell securities in Texas. It appears, therefore, that FTX has been offering unregistered securities to Texas residents through its yield-bearing cryptocurrency accounts – a matter under investigation by the TSSB since last week.
Venture Capital: Under-The -Radar Oncology Start-up Treeline Biosciences Nabs $261M
Treeline Biosciences, a cancer biotechnology startup led by biotech executives and Co-Founders Joshua Bilenker (CEO) and Jeffrey Engelman (CSO), has landed a Series A funding of $262 million to further its research pipeline. Bilenker, who had previously worked a stint in the oncology division of the FDA, went on to found a biotech company called Loxo Oncology which was later acquired by Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) for $8 billion in 2019.