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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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Alternative Investments/ESG: Fidelity Expands ESG Funds Lineup With Mutual Funds, ETFs, And A Bond Fund
Fidelity Investments announced Wednesday the launch of five new actively managed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) funds. These comprise two mutual funds, two ETFs, and one bond fund.
Venture Capital: Graph Database Platform Neo4j Scores $325M At Over $2B Valuation
Neo4J, claimed Thursday it raised the largest investment in a private database company after its Series F $325 million round. Eurazeo led the funding, which saw new investors GV, DTCP, and Lightrock also participating. Existing investors Greenbridge Partners, One Peak, and Creandum also chipped in.
Digital Assets: World Bank Refuses To Assist El Salvador In Bitcoin Implementation
Last week, El Salvador created history by becoming the first country ever to adopt a cryptocurrency as legal tender. On June 9, the country’s legislators approved a move to give bitcoin the status of being legal currency for use in the nation. El Salvador does not have a currency of its own and has so far used the U.S. dollar as its means of exchange. Bitcoin will not replace the US dollar, instead will function alongside it. However, the World Bank has denied the country’s request for help in the implementation of the move.
FinTech: Fintech Credijusto Snaps Up Mexican Bank; Becomes Regulated Neobank
According to Entrepreneur, Credijusto, the Mexican fintech and lending platform acquired Banco Finterra for about $50 million, in the process bagging a banking license. Banco Finterra specializes in financing solutions for the agri-food sector.
Artificial Intelligence: Canon’s AI Cameras Insist Employees Say “Cheese”
At Canon Innovation Technology’s Beijing office, the workplace management system relies on AI-powered facial recognition instead of key cards. Last year, the Japanese tech giant incorporated a “smiling face technology” into the system that makes it mandatory for employees to smile into the camera to qualify for entry. Canon Innovation is a subsidiary of Canon, Inc (TYO: 7751).
Digital Assets: Iran’s Kish Island To Turn Into A Hub For Crypto Exchanges
The picturesque tourist island of Kish, located in the Persian Gulf, will soon become a mecca for crypto exchanges looking for a captive and dependable source of power, and financial carrots to set up operations in the island.
Liquid Alternatives: The Emles Alpha Opportunities ETF For A Long/Short Equity Strategy
Emles Advisors announced last week the launch of the Emles Alpha Opportunities ETF (EOPS) which applies a long/short strategy while investing primarily in value stocks of North American companies with a focus on “old economy” sectors like industrials, consumer discretionary, and materials. The fund is trading on the CBOE BZX Exchange and applies an expense ratio of 1.75%.
Venture Capital: U.K.-Based Tractable Scores $60 Million For AI Processing of Motor Claims
Tractable, an AI company that works with insurers to accelerate claims processing, announced today its Series D round of $60 million led by Insight Partners and Georgian. The round tagged Tractable with a value of $1 billion, making the startup the world’s first computer vision ‘unicorn’ for financial services.
FinTech: U.K. Fintech Wise Announces Plans for A Direct Listing on the London Stock Exchange
This is the first time a tech company is going public via a direct listing in London. Wise, previously known as TransferWise, announced Thursday its decision to go public via a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange. The company justified a direct listing in favour of an IPO on grounds that it is “a…
Artificial Intelligence: AI Is Detecting Wildfires in Sonoma County
The 37,000-acre Tubbs Fire, in 2017, was the most destructive wildfire in California’s history. According to Sam Wallis, a community alert and warning manager in Sonoma County, California, it was “an absolutely massive and fast-moving fire that we had no way of tracking.” But he now has help from ALERTWildfire, a system of artificial intelligence and sophisticated cameras to help him tackle fires before they rage out of control.
Venture Capital: Home Management Platform Thumbtack Raises $275M
Home management platform Thumbtack enables its millions of customers to find and hire small businesses and local professionals for virtually any home-related task. It announced Tuesday that, “on the heels of incredible growth,” it had raised a $275 million investment led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and joined by Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM) as well as G Squared. Existing investors Baillie Gifford, CapitalG, Founders Circle Capital, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global also participated.
FinTech: 10X, The Fintech Founded By Ex-Barclays Chief Antony Jenkins, Rakes In $187M To Scale Massively
Founded in 2016 by Antony Jenkins, former CEO of Barclays (LON: BARC), fintech 10X Future Technologies has raised $187 million from a clutch of bulge bracket investors. The firm’s oversubscribed Series C was co-led by BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). Existing investors JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Nationwide (LON: NBS), Ping An (SHA: 601318), and Westpac (ASX: WBC).
Artificial Intelligence: LVMH Ties With Google Cloud For AI-Powered Experiences At Maisons Luxury Brands
LVMH (EPA: MC) announced today its tie-up with Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Cloud for the development of cloud-based AI solutions. LVMH and Google Cloud will work together and deploy the latter’s cloud technology and AI/ML tools for every part of the value chain at LVMH – from product development to supply chain, to the interfaces with employees, partners, and customers.
Alternative Investments: HSBC Consolidates Alternatives Units Into “HSBC Alternatives”
HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) has created HSBC Alternatives, an umbrella unit to house its disparate alternatives assets. It will be formed from multi-manager Hedge Fund and Private Market teams, as well as the firm’s Private Debt, Venture Capital, and direct Real Estate teams, with existing capabilities in the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and the US. With 150 employees, the new business unit will house assets under management and advice of US$53 billion.
Venture Capital: Online Car Marketplace Carro Banks $360M Series C
Carro, a Singapore-based online car marketplace, announced today its raise of $360 million in a Series C round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 and said it had achieved unicorn status. The portal’s users can buy, sell or lease both used or new cars. It also sells financing options, insurance, and maintenance services for those vehicles.
FinTech: Stripe Shareholders Sold $1B Shares Last Month (WSJ); Company Launches ID Tool
Major investors last month snapped up $1 billion worth of shares from existing shareholders in Stripe in a tender offer that received as much as $4 billion in bids according to the WSJ.
Digital Assets: Goldman Sachs Beefs Up Crypto Desk; Plans To Offer Ether
Matthew McDermott, who took charge of Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE: GS) digital currency unit last year, told Bloomberg that the bank plans to offer ether to its digitally inclined clients in the coming months. Goldman restarted its crypto desk this year for bitcoin linked futures trading.
Artificial Intelligence: Clinical Stage Pharmatech Startup Exscientia Acquires AI-Powered Allcyte
Exscientia, which uses AI to design and create drug candidate molecules satisfying complex therapeutic requirements with revolutionary efficiency, has acquired Allcyte, the Austrian company that uses AI for cancer screening. Exscientia will pay 50 million euros ($60.6 million) in a combination of cash and shares for the acquisition.
Alternative Investments/Digital: Invesco Files For Two ETFs That Would Invest In Blockchain And Crypto Companies
Invesco has filed to launch two cryptocurrency-focused exchange-traded funds, joining other asset managers that propose to work their way around the impasse at the SEC on a bitcoin ETF. The proposed ETFs are named the Invesco Galaxy Blockchain Economy ETF and the Invesco Galaxy Crypto Economy ETF.
Alternative Investments/ESG: U.K.-Based Vitality Launches EnVIRO Range Of ESG Funds
Vitality, the U.K.-based health and life insurance and investment business that sells its products through financial advisers and brokers, announced a new range of funds called EnVIRO. EnVIRO is a set of five index-tracking funds spanning different asset classes but with a focus on ESG.
Artificial Intelligence: AI-Powered Tool From Penn Detects Certain Cancers By “Sniffing” Blood Samples
A study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine shows that a new tool uses AI and machine learning to “sniff” vapors emanating from blood samples and thereby distinguish between benign and pancreatic and ovarian cancer cells with up to 95% accuracy.
FinTech: Virgin Money Australia, A Digital Bank, Goes Live On Temenos Cloud
Temenos (SIX: TEMN), a global leader in banking software, announced the successful launch of Virgin Money Australia on the Temenos Banking Cloud. Fully integrated digital banking, bringing together credit cards, transaction and savings accounts, plus a loyalty program and personal financial management tools into a single, native mobile app, is now available to Virgin Money customers.
Venture Capital: Abu Dhabi Sovereign Fund ADQ To Invest $500 Million In India’s Flipkart (Bloomberg)
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ may invest as much as $ 500 million in Walmart-backed (NYSE: WMT) Indian e-commerce site Flipkart, according to Bloomberg. The investment could value Flipkart between $ 35 billion and $ 40 billion according to sources knowledgeable of the matter.
Digital Assets: Tesla To Accept Bitcoin If Crypto Miners Use ~50% Clean Energy (Musk); Bitcoin Jumps
At 7:30 PM ET on Sunday, June 13, bitcoin had rallied nearly 9% to $38,911 after Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) would commence accepting bitcoin for its cars when there was evidence of the use of clean energy in crypto mining.