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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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Artificial Intelligence: AI-Powered MAGIC Goggles To Assist Field Personnel Perform Medical Procedures
DARPA has picked Raytheon (NYSE: RTX) BBN to develop goggles that are equipped with Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities to serve as a virtual medical assistant to combat medics on the field. The device would provide real-time, hands-free guidance for 50-different medical procedures.
Digital Assets: Gucci To Soon Accept More Than 10 Cryptocurrencies At Five Select US Stores
By the end of this month, Gucci will start to accept cryptocurrency payments in a few US stores, and later extend the pilot to all of its directly operated stores in the US this summer. More than 10 currencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, Litecoin, Shiba Inu, and five stablecoins pegged to the US dollar, will be accepted by the iconic brand. The Gucci stores at Wooster Street in New York, Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, Miami Design District, Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, and The Shops at Crystals in Las Vegas will be the first to take crypto payments.
Alternative Investments/Fintech: AXS Investments Launches Leveraged Innovation ETF
Alternative investment asset manager AXS Investments launched the AXS 2X Innovation ETF (NASDAQ: TARK), a 2X leveraged product focused on companies involved in transformational industries, such as fintech, autonomous vehicles, genomics and next-gen internet.
Venture Capital: Shopify Agrees To Buy E-Commerce Logistics Startup Deliverr For $2.1B
Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) announced Thursday its agreement to acquire Deliverr, a logistics network and provider of fulfilment technology, for $2.1 billion. The startup, which was founded in 2017, currently delivers over a million orders per month across the US.
FinTech: Fast-Growing Neo Financial Raises $145M , Turns Canadian Unicorn
Canadian fintech Neo Financial has raised US$145 million dollars in its latest funding and attained unicorn status after achieving a valuation of over $1 billion. The new financing round was led by Valar Ventures and saw participation from Tribe Capital, Altos Ventures, Blank Ventures, Gaingels, Maple VC, and Knollwood Advisory.
Artificial Intelligence: FDA Approves The New VideaHealth AI-Powered Cavity Detection System
VideaHealth, which leverages AI, data, and analytics to improve decision-making and diagnosis for dentists and dental insurers, has secured the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new AI-powered cavity detection system. The system serves as a valuable confirmatory tool for dentists.
FinTech: Shipping And Logistics Giant Maersk Turns To Stripe For International Payments
Maersk (CPH: MAERSK-B), the shipping and logistics giant founded in 1905, has a logistics network across 130 countries and moves many billions of dollars worth of shipments around the world annually. The company recognized earlier than peers that it needed to transform its operations to keep up with the rising trade volumes. A critical area was international payments.
Alternative Investments/AI: Pacer Launches Robotics & 3D Printing ETF
Pacer ETFs has announced the launch of its all-new Pacer BlueStar Engineering the Future ETF (BULD) that tracks the BlueStar Global Robotics & 3D Printing Index. Accordingly, the ETF targets manufacturing and engineering developments leading to The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, which is characterized by disruptive industrial automation, and dependency on 3D printing and robotics.
Alternative Investments/Real Estate: Merk Investments Launches First Stagflation-Themed ETF
Merk Investments announced the Merk Stagflation ETF (NYSEARCA: STGF) which focuses on investments that would benefit from stagflation, or a situation comprising high and persistent inflation amidst weak economic growth. These investments are a dynamic basket of inflation hedges in the sectors of real estate, oil, bullion, and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS).
Digital Assets: Liechtenstein’s LGT Bank Offers Crypto Investing
LGT Bank, the largest private banking and asset management group in the world that is wholly owned by an entrepreneurial family – the Princely House of Liechtenstein – had assets under management of CHF 285.8 billion as of December 31 (US$ 292.75 billion at current exchange rates). The bank announced the launch of crypto investments using US dollars for its select clientele.
Venture Capital: The Home Depot Launches ‘Home Depot Ventures’ To Advance Home Improvement Technologies
The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) announced the launch of Home Depot Ventures, a $150 million venture fund that will accelerate the development of home improvement technologies and enhance the customer experience at the home improvement retail chain.
Artificial Intelligence: Toyota To Deploy The Invisible AI Computer Vision Platform At North American Factories
Toyota Motor North America (TNMA) and Invisible AI have joined hands to improve quality, safety, and productivity at the 14 Toyota factories in the US through the use of AI. The platform works with so-called ‘invisible eyes’ to track real-time human motion to help customers run accurate, reliable and safe operations. The first TNMA plant to implement this technology, Toyota Indiana, will initially deploy 500 of these ‘edge AI’ devices this year.
Alternative Investments/Digital: CI Global Launches Blockchain and Metaverse ETFs
CI Global Asset Management has launched two new ETFs focused on the digital megatrends of blockchain and metaverse. The CI Galaxy Blockchain ETF and CI Galaxy Metaverse ETF commenced trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 3 under the tickers CBCX and CMVX, respectively.
Venture Capital: Battery Active Materials Producer Group14 Raises $400M In Porsche-Led Round
Group14 Technologies is a global manufacturer and supplier of advanced silicon-carbon technology for lithium-silicon batteries that would “enable the electrification of everything.” It announced today its successful $400 million Series C round of funding led by Porsche AG (ETR: PAH3) with participation from OMERS Capital Markets, Decarbonization Partners, Riverstone Holdings LLC, Vsquared Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, and other large institutional investors.
FinTech: LatAm Fintech Xepelin Raises $111M Including From PayPal Ventures
Xepelin, a Latin American fintech for B2B payments and financial services focused on SMBs, has closed on a $111 million Series B round led by Avenir and Kaszek with participation from PayPal Ventures, Wellington, DST Global, Battery Ventures, MSA Novo, Endeavor Catalyst, FJ Labs, Picus, Amarena, Gunderson, Carlos Garcia, Cathay-Seaya Latam, Gilgamesh, among others.
Artificial Intelligence: AI-Powered Vehicle Inspections Detect Defects In Seconds
The availability of powerful computing hardware and dramatic advanced in AI and software technologies have made it possible to conduct highly reliable and accurate vehicle inspections that generate reports in real-time.
FinTech: Banking Giant Truist Acquires Gamified Savings App Long Game
Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC) has acquired Long Game, a mobile savings gamification app that change how users engage with their bank by using prize-linked savings and casual gaming to motivate smart financial behavior, driving account growth and client retention. The result of a 2019 merger between BB&T and SunTrust, Truist is the sixth-largest bank in the US and has $488 billion of assets. Long Game, founded in 2015, is fintech startup with a team of 12 persons.
Digital Assets: VanEck Offers The First Ever NFTs From A Global Asset Manager
VanEck, a global asset manager with about $85.5 billion of assets under management, has launched the VanEck Community NFT via the release of 1,000 VanEck NFTs. The VanEck Community NFTs are being designed in partnership with NUMOMO, a premier global creative NFT agency, and reside on the Ethereum ecosystem, an open source blockchain with smart contract functionality.
Alternative Investments/ESG: RBC iShares Launches Four Megatrend ETFs
RBC iShares has expanded its ETFs suite with the launch of four new Megatrend ETFs focused on the transformational themes of exponential technologies, clean energy, immunology and healthcare, and cybersecurity.
Venture Capital: Precision Farming Startup Solinftec Raises $60M
Founded in 2007 by a group of automation engineers from Cuba, Solinftec is an agtech focused startup with headquarters in both São Paulo, Brazil and West Lafayette, Indiana. The company raised $60 million in a growth investment round led by Lightsmith Group and joined by existing investors Unbox Capital and Circularis Partners and several undisclosed investors.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Helps Identify An Enzyme That Eats Up Climate-Choking Plastics
Engineers and scientists at the University of Texas, Austin, have used machine learning to create FAST-PETase, an enzyme variant that can break down plastic waste in a matter of hours or days at lower temperatures. Plastic waste is a serious environmental problem because it is generated in quantities of billions of tonnes, piles up in deadly landfills, pollutes land and oceans, and takes centuries to degrade.
Digital Assets: Buffett Wouldn’t Buy All The Bitcoin In The World For $25
Buffett, who once called bitcoin “rat poison squared,” again had the cryptocurrency in his sights at the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) Annual Shareholder meeting on Saturday. He panned bitcoin for not producing anything tangible and therefore called it a “non-productive asset.”
Venture Capital: Anthropic Raises $580M Series B For Safer AI Systems
Anthropic, a public benefit corporation and AI startup launched in 2020, raised a $124 million Series A in 2021, and has just announced a massive $580 million Series B round led by Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX. The round also included participation from Caroline Ellison, Jim McClave, Nishad Singh, Jaan Tallinn, and the Center for Emerging Risk Research (CERR).
FinTech: Klarna Enables Block For Non-Card Gambling Payments
A gambling block helps customers keep in check their own urge to splurge on gambling sites. Gambling blocks were first launched by challenger bank Monzo in 2018, but applied only to card payments. Klarna announced April 28 that it had now enabled banks to extend voluntary gambling blocks to open banking-driven payments powered by its subsidiary, SOFORT. SOFORT is one of Klarna’s direct bank-to-bank payment methods, used by 75,000 merchants across Europe, including some online gambling and gaming sites.