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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Liquid Alternatives: Cerulli Research Expects Higher Demand For Liquid Alternatives In Europe
The need for diversification and the promise of uncorrelated returns will boost demand in Europe for liquid alternatives over the medium term, says new research presented in the latest issue of The Cerulli Edge – Global Edition.
Venture Capital: TechVenture Fund Highland Europe Raises €700M For Fund IV
Highland Europe, the venture investment firm that was spun off from the U.S.-based Highland Capital Partners in 2012, has raised €700 million ($851 million) for its fourth and largest fund in record time.
FinTech: Singapore Grants Digital “Full-Bank” (DFB) Licenses To Grab+Singtel And Sea
In a first for Singapore, it awarded licenses to operate digital full banks in the island nation to Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) and a consortium of Grab and Singtel (SGX: Z74). The two full-license winners, tech-heavy giants all of them, can now offer the whole range of banking services including customers’ banking accounts, deposits, debit and credit cards, and other services to both retail and corporate customers.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Keeps Google’s Loon Balloons On Course In The Stratosphere
Helium-filled balloons launched into the stratosphere by Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) subsidiary, Loon, relay internet signals from an earth station to thousands of subscribers’ devices on the ground. Positioned at a height of about 20 km, these balloons are being kept on course by AI created by Loon and Google AI.
Digital Assets: HAIC I, The New Crypto Fund From A German Private Bank Targets Institutions
German private bank Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers AG will soon provide investors the opportunity to obtain long-term exposure to leading, large-cap cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ether, and stellar. The bank’s digital asset-focused investment arm, Hauck & Aufhäuser Innovative Capital (HAIC), obtained a BaFin license as a registered asset manager on September 30. The bank has a tie-up for crypto custody services with Kapilendo AG, also licensed by BaFin. HAIC and Kapilendo are floating the HAIC Digital Asset Fund I in January 2021 with a focus on institutional investors.
FinTech: Stripe’s New ‘Treasury’ Product Offers Bank Accounts To Its Platform Partners
Stripe launches Stripe Treasury in major expansion of financial services offering for platform partners
Alternative Investments/ESG: Fidelity Launches ETF Focused On Sustainable Emerging Market Companies
Joyce Chang, chair of global research at JPMorgan, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Thursday that stocks in emerging markets “were very under-owned” considering the overall rally in the equity markets. She added that there was scope for “catch-up in 2021 for emerging markets,” and that they could rise as much as 20% in 2021.
Venture Capital: Space Perspective Scores $7M For Its Sub-Orbital Balloon Junkets
Space Perspective is a startup planning to offer high-altitude (read: “edge of space”) trips in Spaceship Neptune, a pressurized capsule suspended from a balloon. It announced Wednesday its raise of $7 million as a seed round led by Prime Movers Lab and Base Ventures.
Artificial Intelligence: A Capgemini Contest Winner Develops AI Tool To Track Sperm Whales
A team called “AI Sensing” won the Capgemini Group’s (EN: CAP) annual Global Data Science Challenge 2020 for developing a solution that analyzes thousands of photos of sperm whales and identifies matches of the individual whales.
The findings help scientists track the whales’ migration routes, protect their natural habitats, and analyze their social structures.
Artificial Intelligence: AI To Help Defend Murder Accused at the Old Bailey
It’s the first known case of artificial intelligence being used in a trial at the venerable Old Bailey, the U.K.’s top criminal court. Defense lawyers for James Watson, who is charged with murdering Rikki Neave, a six-year-old schoolboy in November 1994, are using artificial intelligence to analyze the over 10,000 documents connected with the trial.
Digital Assets: Ultimate Validation? S&P Dow Jones To Launch Crypto Indexes In 2021
S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) and Lukka, the New York City-based crypto-asset software and data company, are partnering to launch S&P DJI-branded and customized indexing and benchmarking solutions for global cryptocurrency assets. Lukka will provide its proprietary crypto asset pricing data.
Venture Capital: Mega-Rounds In Events, E-Commerce, And Self-Driving
Startups across diverse businesses nabbed solid funding immediately after the Thanksgiving weekend. With the Presidential election a distant speck in the rearview mirror, the venture capital industry appears to have got down to business in right earnest, rising COVID numbers notwithstanding. Mega-rounds of $100M+ are par for the course, it seems.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Invest In Decarbonization Solutions Via The New iClima Earth ETF
iClima Earth is a London-based research firm that identifies which companies offer solutions that reduce greenhouse gases by avoiding emissions or by sequestering carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. iClima has partnered with white-label ETF issuer HANetf to launch an ETF that would invest in such “enablers” of decarbonization.
Fintech: Monzo Scores £60M Funding In Another Down Round
The latest funding round valued Monzo, the U.K. neobank, at £1.2 billion, marginally lower than the £1.25 billion valuation in the June funding, according to TechCrunch. Investors in the current round included new entrants Deliveroo and Stripe investor Novator, Kaiser, and TED Global. Existing investor Goodwater also participated.
Alternative Investments/ESG: TD Asset Management Launches Three New Equity ETFS With ESG Focus
TD Asset Management announced Tuesday the launch of three new ESG Equity ETFs to cater to investors looking for exposure to equity market indexes and companies with an ESG edge. The ETFs have a regional focus and track Canadian, U.S. and International equity indices respectively.
Digital Assets: “The Real Story Is Adoption,” Says Novogratz On Bitcoin
Speaking Tuesday on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, said large investors appeared to be switching their gold holdings to bitcoin, judging from the outflows seen recently in the yellow metal. Meanwhile, the leading cryptocurrency touched an all time high on Tuesday.
Venture Capital: Voi, Swedish Maker Of E-Scooters, Closes On $160M Funding
Voi Technology’s haul of $160 million is a mix of debt and equity in a Series C round led by The Raine Group, with participation by existing investors such as VNV Global, Balderton, and Creandum. Top entrepreneurs and executives from Amazon, Delivery Hero, iZettle, Klarna, Kry/Livi, Nordic Ninja, and Zillow also participated in this latest funding round.
FinTech: Top Chinese Regulatory Watchdog Airs Fintech Concerns
In an article in a newly released book from the central government explaining the country’s economic priorities and development plan for 2035, Guo warned of a disturbance in global financial markets if the United States stepped up its strategic containment and rivalry with China. Given this circumstance, China is taking steps to address financial vulnerabilities that could stem from fintech giants such as the Ant Group.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Startups Scale And Olive Score Solid Funding Rounds
Scale AI, a startup that labels data for customers building machine learning algorithms, tipped the scales with a $3.5 billion post-money valuation when it raised $155 million in a Series D round led by Tiger Global. Olive AI Inc, which provides an AI workforce platform to the healthcare industry, closed a $225.5 million funding round, also led by Tiger Global, bringing its valuation to $1.5 billion.
Alternative Investments/Digital Assets: Bitcoin Scales New All Time High; Draws New 5- and 6-Figure Targets
Bitcoin momentously broke its 2017 high on Monday, recording a new one at $19,864.15. This had all the crypto evangelists out in full force, insisting the bull market in the leading crypto was now well and truly in place.
As expected, more lofty targets were trotted out – one at $50,000, the other at $500,000.
Venture Capital: A Fund From Curio Wellness For Diverse Entrepreneurs Seeking Franchises
Curio Wellness, a cGMP certified medical cannabis and wellness company, announced today the formation of a $30 million investment fund to provide start-up capital for upto 50 minority entrepreneurs.
Artificial Intelligence: Raytheon And C3.ai Team Up For Military AI Solutions
Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a unit of Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX), will collaborate with C3.ai, a provider of enterprise AI software, to develop AI solutions for aerospace and defense missions by the US Air Force and intelligence agencies.
FinTech: Dubai’s Fintech Hive and Israel’s Fintech Aviv Reach Landmark Agreement
The United Arab Emirates and Israel signed the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations, and Full Normalisation in September. The momentous agreement signaled a new era of peace and cooperation between the UAE and Israel. On Monday, there was news of another landmark agreement, this time between DIFC FinTech Hive, the largest financial technology hub in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region, part of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Israel’s FinTech-Aviv.
Digital Assets: Shares In Listed Crypto Mining Companies Enjoy Rub-Off Effect From Bitcoin’s ATH
Bitcoin mining companies Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT), Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA) and Canaan Inc ADR (NASDAQ: CAN) all posted massive gains during the month of November following bitcoin’s rise to a new all-time high (ATH) on Monday.