News
Each day, DailyAlts tracks major developments across the alternative investment world. Our content is procured from primary contacts in the industry and secondary sources across the web. Our goal is to give readers the most up-to-date news and engaging experience to open new doors and areas of knowledge. Our stories cover nine separate verticals of the alternative investment industry.
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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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FinTech: U.K. Fintech Wise Teams With South Korea’s Shinhan Bank For International Transfers
Shinhan Bank, one of South Korea’s oldest and largest national banks, and a part of the Shinhan Financial Group (KRX: 055550) has integrated Wise Platform from the U.K.-based fintech Wise. Shinhan becomes the first South Korean bank to offer international money transfers without any exchange rate markups.
FinTech: Indonesian Bank Jago To Implement Mambu’s SaaS Banking In The Google Cloud
SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu announced Wednesday that PT Bank Jago Tbk (Bank Jago) (IDX: ARTO) an Indonesia-listed bank, has become its first customer in that country. Bank Jago, which is embarking on a path to become a technology-based bank, will implement Mambu’s SaaS banking platform on the Google Cloud.
Digital Assets: Wealth Management App Abra To Offer Loans Against Crypto @ 0%
Abra, a crypto-based wealth management platform that trades over 100 cryptocurrencies and is fully compliant, offers interest of up to 10.5% on select digital assets through its Abra Earn feature. Abra announced Wednesday its Abra Borrow in-app feature that will allow users to borrow against bitcoin and ethereum at a 0% rate of interest.
Venture Capital: New Fund News
Three venture funds that will spike your interest. Three venture funds that will spike your interest. Founder-backed FirstMinute, Toyota Venture in a new avatar, and asset-based financier Architect.
Artificial Intelligence: Wu Dao 2.0, China’s Fire-Breathing New AI System, Is 10X Bigger Than GPT-3
Earlier this week, researchers from the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence launched a new version of Wu Dao, their own deep learning natural language model, which appears to be leagues ahead of GPT-3, the model from Open AI, and Google’s Switch Transformer. The last-named two models each represented massive advances in natural language processing.
Alternative Investments/Digital: Osprey Launches Investment Vehicle For The Algorand Blockchain
Digital asset management firm Osprey Funds launched last week the Osprey Algorand Trust, which offers accredited investors an easy and cost-effective way to obtain exposure to ALGO, the native token of the Algorand network. Efforts are on to list the fund on the OTCQX market as soon as possible.
Digital Assets: Prosegur Launches Bunker-Like Custody Solution For Crypto
Spanish security company Prosegur (BME: PSG) has taken its digital asset custody solution to a whole new level. To ensure that its institutional clients sleep well, Prosegur has ensured Fort Knox-like security for their digital assets. It announced June 1 the launch of its first “bunker” for maximum-security digital custody of cryptocurrencies.
Venture Capital: Space Debris And Satellite Tracker LeoLabs Nabs $65M
LeoLabs Inc seeks to secure safe and sustainable operations in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) ecosystem by mapping the orbits of spacecraft, satellites and space debris. It’s a daunting task, because there are thousands of satellites, teams of astronauts, and tons of debris in the space surrounding the earth. This floating stuff moves at high speeds and has colossal destructive energy.
Artificial Intelligence:Indian Government Launches X-Ray Setu, An AI-Powered COVID Detector On WhatsApp
The Indian Government has launched X-Ray Setu which operates on a WhatsApp bot and detects COVID-19 through the upload of a X-ray image. The system will hopefully be useful in India’s rural hinterland and small towns where RT-PCR diagnostics and CT scans are unavailable for diagnosing COVID-19.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Horizons ETFs Launches Global Green Bond ETF
Horizons ETF Management launched the Horizons S&P Green Bond Index ETF. It is Canada’s first ETF focused exclusively on providing exposure to a portfolio of global green bonds. Green bonds are instruments used to raise capital for environmental projects.
Digital Assets: Standard Chartered And BC Group Team Up To Form Crypto Brokerage and Exchange
SC Ventures, the venture arm of Standard Chartered (LON: STAN) and BC Technology Group (HKG: 0863) announced today their plans to establish a digital asset brokerage and exchange platform for institutional and corporate clients in the UK and Europe. BC Technology is the parent company of Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)-licensed digital-asset platform OSL.
Alternative Investments/Digital: Simplify Launches A New ETF For 80:20 Exposure To Stocks: Bitcoin
Simplify announced last week the launch of the Simplify U.S. Equity PLUS GBTC ETF (NASDAQ: SPBC), an ETF that will invest at least 80% of its net assets in U.S. equity securities and expects to invest up to 15% of net assets in bitcoin via the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
Venture Capital: YieldStreet, Which Brings Private Investing To Retail, Raises $100M
Yieldstreet’s mission is to reinvent an industry by providing investors access to investments previously available to the top 1%. Mom and pop investors can now access opportunities that were typically off-limits. Yieldstreet announced Wednesday its raise of $100 million via a Series C funding round.
FinTech: U.K.’s Wise To Challenge Indian Banks’ Strangle On Foreign Remittances
Wise has rolled out its foreign remittance services for Indians, offering them transactions that are much faster and cost significantly less compared to legacy banks. Indian citizens can now send money to 44 countries globally, including the UK, US, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, and other countries in the Eurozone. Wise previously did business as TransferWise.
Artificial Intelligence: Candela Presents Electric “Flying Boat” Running On An AI-Powered Hydrofoil System
Swedish electric boat maker Candela Speed Boat AB presented its Candela C-7 boat at the Venice Boat Show on Tuesday. It is described as an entirely new type of watercraft equipped with the world’s first active hydrofoil system. The AI-powered hydrofoil lifts the hull of the C-7 completely above the surface of the water. This cuts friction by 80% and allows the boat a longer range on battery power.
Digital Assets: DBS Launches Digital Bond As An STO On Its Crypto Exchange
DBS Digital Exchange (DDeX) took another step forward in its development as a venue for issuers and clients to access their funding needs. DBS (SGX: D05), the parent of DDeX, announced Monday that it had priced a privately-placed SGD 15 million digital bond, the DDEX’s first Security Token Offering (STO). The transaction is likely to be the forerunner of more STO issuances and listings on DDeX as businesses raise funds through asset tokenization.
FinTech: German Digital Insurer wefox Hits Purple Patch With Record $650M Funding
The largest Series C funding globally by an insurtech has been achieved by Berlin-based wefox, the startup announced today. The round, which valued the company at US$3 billion post-money, was led by Target Global. In 2020, wefox reported a profit for its insurance business, wefox insurance, making it the first digital insurance company to become profitable. Furthermore, wefox’s revenue increased to $143M in 2020, doubling its 2019 revenue.
Venture Capital: Australian Agritech Focused VC Firm Closes $35M Fund
Tenacious Ventures is a dedicated agrifood tech VC firm investing in Australian seed and Series A agrifood tech startups. It announced Monday the successful closure of its first fund, Tenacious Ventures Fund I, raising $35 million.
Artificial Intelligence: AI-Powered Sex Dolls Could Develop Personalities
San Marcos, California-based RealDoll produces sex dolls, and one range possesses AI capabilities. Equipped with an advanced X-Mode system, these robots can conduct a conversation, and even display typical emotions such as jealousy and affection. They could even be AI-trained to be become more like a “partner,” mimicking their personality and responses.
Liquid Alternatives: The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index Returns 1.54% In April
The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index Returns 1.54% In April. That figure underperformed the 1.63% monthly return from the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index in the month of April.
Venture Capital: New VC Funds – FM Capital ($150M); Darryl Finkton Jr ($200M); Base10 Partners ($250M)
FM Capital raised a new $150 million fund focusing on the automotive and transportation sectors. Darry Finkton Jr. closed on a $200 million fund that will back founders from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds. Base10 Partners will route half profits from late-stage investing of a $250 million fund to create student scholarships and support university endowments at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Artificial Intelligence: NERSC Launches Perlmutter, The World’s Fastest AI Supercomputer, For “Extreme-Scale” Science
On Thursday, the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is DOE Office of Science’s (SC’s) mission high-performance computing facility, launched supercomputer Perlmutter. It is designed for the most demanding, AI-based, “extreme-scale” science applications such as developing new energy sources, improving energy efficiency, discovering new materials, mapping the universe, and analyzing massive data sets from scientific experimental facilities.
Digital Assets: A 300 MW Solar Plant Will Power A Montana Town And Ethereum Mining
Madison River Equity LLC is proposing to build a 12-foot-tall solar array on 1,600 acres of private ranchland in south Butte. Known as the Basin Creek Solar project, the $250 million facility would generate 300 MW of solar power annually, enough to power 40,600 single family homes. There are only 14,605 homes in Butte-Silver Bow County, and the excess power would be consumed by Atlas Power, an Ethereum mining facility operated by FX Solutions, Madison River’s holding company.
Liquid Alternatives: Formidable Asset Management Launches Liquid Alternatives ETF
Formidable Asset Management, LLC announced the launch of the Formidable ETF (NYSE:ARCA: FORH), the firm’s first ETF product. The ETF is an actively managed, liquid alternatives portfolio diversified among multiple distinct strategies, including tail hedging, inside a single ETF.