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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Artificial Intelligence: Spot Changes Hands Again; Hyundai Acquires Boston Dynamics
Hyundai Motor Group (KRX: 005380) announced Friday its deal to buy out a controlling interest of 80% of robotics specialist Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group (TYO: 9984). Boston Dynamics makes Spot, that unnerving robotic dog (pictured above) with surprising capabilities. SoftBank will continue to hold a 20% interest in the company, which has been valued at $1.1 billion for this transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed.
FinTech: Mastercard, Visa, Discover Suspend The Use Of Their Cards on Pornhub
A Bloomberg report said Discover (NYSE: DFS) had joined Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V) in blocking the use of its cards on adult-content site Pornhub.com. A New York Times earlier this month created an uproar when it alleged Pornhub of showing videos of child abuse and rape. Pornhub has denied that it permits material on its website depicting child sexual abuse.
Digital Assets: Hackers, Suspected Of Russian Origin, Breach The U.S. Treasury
According to a Reuters report, hackers infiltrated departments in the U.S. government and read emails. The criminals were said to be working for Russia, and the attack could have much wider repercussions, Reuters’ sources said.
The bad actors targeted the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Venture Capital: The Story Of Sequoia’s Insane Returns On Airbnb
Do the math on this. Venture capital firm Sequoia paid $585,000 for 58 million shares in Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) in 2009, equivalent to about 1 cent per share. Airbnb listed yesterday, and its shares closed their first day of trading at $144.71. Sequoia’s initial investment of about half a million became worth $8.4 billion in slightly over a decade. Is it any surprise that probably the adjective used most often to describe Sequoia is ‘storied?’
Alternative Investments/Digital Assets: Swiss Firm Valour Launches Fee Free Bitcoin Exchange Traded Product (ETP)
Valour, a Swiss firm that creates innovative financial products, has launched Bitcoin Zero. This is an exchange-traded product (ETP) that charges no management fees. The ETP commenced trading last week on the Nordic MTF segment of the Nordic Growth Market stock exchange.
FinTech: London-based Fintech Checkout.com Floats Venture Arm
Launched in 2012, fintech startup Checkout.com tripled its valuation to $5.5 billion in June 2020 when it collected $150 million in a Series B funding round. That round brought up its aggregate funds raised to $380 million and the available cash on its balance sheet to over $300 million. Add profitability (Checkout has been in the black since founding) to the mix and you have a very well-funded startup indeed. It’s therefore not surprising that Checkout is now investing in other fintechs.
Artificial Intelligence: Goodyear And SafeAI Team Up On Tire Intelligence For Autonomous Vehicles
Goodyear Tire (NASDAQ: GT) has forged a strategic tie-up with SafeAI, the AI specialist for autonomous solutions for the mining industry. The two companies will integrate a mining site and AI platform and process tire intelligence collected from rim-mounted sensors in heavy-duty vehicles.
Digital Assets: Venerable Mass Mutual Hops Onto The Crypto Bandwagon; Buys $100M Bitcoin
U.S.-based mutual firm The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company plunked down $100 million to buy bitcoin for its general investment account, according to the Wall Street Journal. For good measure, it also acquired 5% in NYDIG, the bitcoin-dedicated financial services firm.
Alternative Investments/ESG: JPMorgan Launches Carbon Transition U.S. Equity ETF
The JPMorgan Carbon Transition U.S. Equity exchange-traded fund (JCTR) will track the JPMorgan Asset Management Carbon Transition U.S. Equity Index. The new fund will give investors exposure to U.S. equities represented by the Russell 1000 subject to their performance on the criteria of emissions, resource management, and risk management.
Artificial Intelligence: Casino And Resort Operator Melco To Combat Food Waste Using AI
Melco Resorts (NASDAQ: MLCO), the global casino and resort operator famous for its City of Dreams and Morpheus resorts in Macau, plans to use AI systems from Winnow Vision to reduce food waste and improve environmental sustainability.
Digital Assets: France Cracks Down On Crypto To Counter Money Laundering And Terrorism Financing
December 9 will be a forgettable date for crypto supporters in France and across the globe. On Wednesday various French ministries jointly issued an ordinance that banned anonymous crypto accounts and digital asset transactions.
Venture Capital: Swedish eSports And Gaming Company MTG Acquires Hutch Games For Potentially $375M
Modern Times Group, a Swedish company active in esports and gaming entertainment, announced the acquisition of London based mobile games developer Hutch Games for $ 375 million. Of this amount, $ 275 million is payable upfront and the rest will come from earnout payments. Top Hutch games such as Rebel Racing, F1 Manager, and Top Drives will now come under MTG’s umbrella.
FinTech: Revolut Launches ‘Pockets’ to Help Consumers Manage Spending
Revolut continues to add new features to its banking app as it steps up its efforts to be present in the entire financial life-cycle of its consumers and become a super app. Pockets, its latest innovation, allows consumers to organize bills and earmark money for their payment. The amount leftover in the main account is what’s free to use for spending.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Amundi’s New DAX ESG ETF
The new Amundi DAX 50 ESG UCITS ETF (DECD) is a DAX 50 ETF with a preference for companies that have strong sustainable profiles. It tracks the DAX 50 ESG index which bars companies in activities such as weapons, tobacco and thermal coal, or do not meet international standards.
FinTech: Are NeoBanks Finally Turning Around? Revolut Breaks Even
Revolut has staged a sharp recovery from the depths of the virus pandemic and its debilitative effect on revenues, breaking even in November. That’s encouraging, given that the neobank tripled its losses in 2019 compared to 2018. Further, during 2020, customers’ reduced spending took a swipe at Revolut’s income from card interchange fees. Nevertheless, Nik Storonsky, the digital challenger bank’s CEO, said as recently as August that the bank would break even this year. He just might deliver on that promise.
Venture Capital: Ada Ventures Closes $50M Fund For Early-Stage, ‘Overlooked’ Founders
UK-based Ada Ventures is a VC with a difference. It looks out for founders and markets missed by the mainstream of venture finance. (Read: Bold ideas and courageous founders that see something from an entirely different perspective – whoever and wherever they may be.) Ada just announced that it had closed a $50 million fund.
Digital Assets: Hackers Attack Cybersecurity Firm FireEye And Electronics Giant FoxConn
A Mexican office of Foxconn Technology Co Ltd (TPE: 2354), the electronics behemoth that makes products for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was the victim of a cybersecurity attack on November 29. According to Bleeping Computer, the ransomware attack was mounted on Foxconn’s Mexican branch by the Doppelpaymer gang.
Artificial Intelligence: China’s Huawei And Megvii Tested AI To Pinpoint Uighur Muslims
Chinese tech giant Huawei and Megvii, one of the country’s largest AI companies, have reportedly tested a facial recognition system to track Uighur Muslims, a repressed minority group. On detection, the system also alerts the authorities.
Liquid Alternatives: Franklin Templeton Launches Long/Short Emerging Markets Debt Fund
The Franklin K2 Emso Emerging Markets Ucits fund is launched as a part of FT subsidiary K2’s Luxembourg-based alternative funds’ range. The fund will seek long and short exposures, including through the use of derivatives, to debt securities of sovereign and corporate obligors and currencies in emerging markets.
Venture Capital: Dragos Scores $110M For Cybersecurity Of Industrial Control Systems And Operational Technology
Dragos secures industrial control systems and operational technology (ICS/OT), the command network and systems devices that monitor modern industrial processes against hackers having ulterior commercial and political motives. The startup announced today that investors representing some of the world’s largest corporations had funded its Series C $110 million round.
FinTech: More Heat On Chinese Fintechs From Guo Shuqing
Chinese fintechs should hunker down to face a tougher regulatory environment. Speaking at the Singapore Fintech Festival, Guo said the authorities were concerned about the power wielded by China’s large fintech companies and that “timely and targeted measures to prevent new systemic risks” were on the anvil.
Artificial Intelligence: AI-Controlled Gun Used to Kill Iranian Nuclear Scientist, Claims IRGC
On Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that artificial intelligence and a satellite were used to control a machine gun that killed Fakhrizadeh on November 27.
Digital Assets: MicroStrategy Borrowing $400M To Bump Up Bitcoin Bet
MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), the listed business intelligence company that pioneered corporate treasury investing in bitcoin, announced an issue of $400 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2025 in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers. The company will invest the net proceeds of the issue in bitcoin, it said on Monday.
Digital Assets: BISON, The Crypto App Of Boerse Stuttgart, Hits Record Volumes
In another sign of the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies, Boerse Stuttgart announced Monday that Bison, its crypto trading app had clocked, year to date, a total trading volume of € 1 billion (over $ 1.2 billion).
It said that active users of the Bison trading app had surged by 180% to 206,000 in the same period. Also, during November, the app scaled daily record trading volumes on several days during the month, even exceeding € 35 million.