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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Digital Assets: Microstrategy May Hike Bitcoin Holdings Beyond $250M
Microstrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) said in an 8-K filing with the SEC on September 11 that it had revised its Treasury Reserve Policy. Under the new Policy, the company’s treasury reserve assets would comprise Cash Assets (in excess of working capital) and Bitcoin.
Venture Capital: Nvidia To Acquire Arm Holdings From SoftBank In $40B Deal
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has agreed to acquire Arm Limited from SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO: 9984) and the SoftBank Vision Fund in a $40 billion transaction.
Digital Assets: Digital Whiskey Fund Snaps Up 1,000 Barrels of Kentucky Bourbon
Wave Financial Group, which announced its plans for a tokenized whiskey fund in March, announced September 11 that it had received its first investments from clients. It thereafter picked up 1,000 barrels of Kentucky bourbon whiskey from the Wilderness Trail Distillery.
FinTech: Robo-Advisor App M1 Finance Charts Torrid Growth
M1 Finance, which calls itself the “Finance Super App,” announced September 9 that it had achieved the $2 billion landmark in assets managed on its platform. It did this within just six months after hitting the $1 billion asset mark in late February 2020.
Liquid Alternatives: “A Must-Have Component” To Weather Volatility
An article by Kathryn M. Fuller, Carol E. Derk, Ronald M. Kosonic, and Roma Lotay of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP titled “2020 Spotlight on alternative mutual funds – opportunities ahead” published in LEXOLOGY on September 10. Alternative mutual funds (informally referred to as “liquid alt funds”) may emerge “as a must-have component of a portfolio’s personal protective equipment,” says the article.
Artificial Intelligence: Pentagon Readying JCF, A Cloud-Based AI Infrastructure
The Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) has commenced the development of cloud platforms that could be used by the military’s AI developers to innovate new uses, including in defense. The JAIC has already migrated its main AI initiatives in preventive maintenance and humanitarian relief to a prototype cloud being developed together with consulting firm Deloitte.
Artificial Intelligence: Defense Secretary Esper Warns AI Could Transform The Battlefield
Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper was speaking at the virtual Joint Artificial Intelligence Center symposium. In his speech, he stressed the need for the U.S. to maintain its lead in Artificial Intelligence, as well as to harness the technology within an ethical framework.
FinTech: NAB Launches An Interest-Free Credit Card To Counter BNPL Fad
National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) has launched, StraightUp, the country’s first interest-free credit card as “Buy Now Pay Later,” or BNPL, schemes become increasingly popular with shoppers.
Digital Assets: REINNO Offers Investors $237M In Tokenized Commercial Real Estate
REINNO intends to disrupt commercial real estate investing by breaking down the financial barriers which limit entry to the small guy. REINNO’s platform offers tokenization of real estate, loans against tokenized real estate, and a marketplace for property owners to list the token offerings. It announced Thursday the launch of its marketplace for tokenized commercial real estate with five offerings worth over $ 237 million.
Venture Capital: Forums For Diversity and Inclusion, On Both Sides Of The Pond
“Access All” is a new, virtual, pitching event for founders from under-represented groups such as blacks, Asians, and other minorities. It is an initiative from a group of U.K.-based VCs to counter the inequities in the venture funding system as visible from a bias in favor of privileged and “more equal” founders, and against certain ethnicities.
Alternative Investments/ESG: BlackRock Unveils Multi-Asset, ESG ETFs
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) has unwrapped three new innovative UCITS funds that are claimed to be Europe’s first offering of tradable multi-asset ESG portfolios built with ETFs. Each of these funds are made up of iShares ETFs to provide access to a wide selection of stocks and bonds.
Alternative Investments/ESG: DWS Launches ESG-Themed Bond And Equity ETFs
DWS, one of the world’s leading asset managers, has launched a USD corporate bond ETF and a euro-hedged global equity ETF under its Xtrackers ESG banner.
Venture Capital: Iron Ox Wraps Up A $20M Series B For Robotic Cultivation
Iron Ox pioneered autonomous and robotic farming when it launched its first farm in 2018. Using a combination of machine learning, robotics, and plant sciences, the company addresses issues such as food security and the cultivation of fresh, more consistent production. It announced Wednesday the closing of its Series B funding round worth $ 20 million.
Digital Assets: Mastercard Creates Platform For Simulating a CBDC Ecosystem
As central banks navigate the feasibility of their CBDC projects through uncharted territory, Mastercard has unveiled a proprietary virtual testing environment for them to evaluate CBDC use cases.
FinTech: Cash Is Still King In India’s Vast Rural Hinterland, Says RapiPay
Cash is still king among India’s millions of banking unserved, residing predominantly in the country’s vast rural areas. Fintech RapiPay, therefore, plans to deploy 500K of its micro-ATMs over the next two years at small businesses. These devices, which look like a calculator, enable consumers to conduct basic banking services including cash withdrawals.
Artificial Intelligence: Rustle Up A Nice Dinner Using AI And Plant Jammer
Hold it. Plant Jammer is not your usual, run-of-the-mill recipe app that churns out a recipe not much different from a physical cookbook. It’s a vegetarian cooking app that encourages people to cook at home using plant-based ingredients available in their fridge, avoid food waste, and eat healthily. This “AI Chef” will serve as “the GPS for your kitchen.”
Venture Capital: VCs Close $715M In Funds For B2Bs In Europe/Japan/US
It’s a measure of the interest in business-to-business (B2B) that two VC firms raised an aggregate of $715 million in funds dedicated to such startups in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. Dawn Capital, a large European venture capital fund dedicated to B2B software, today announced the closing of its fund Dawn IV at the hard cap of €333 million ($ 400 million). Meanwhile, DNX Ventures mopped up $ 315 million for its third flagship fund for early-stage B2B startups in Japan and the United States.
FinTech: BNPL Biggie Klarna Could Value At $10B In Last Fundraise Before IPO
According to a Reuters Exclusive, Klarna, the Swedish fintech and unicorn, is talking with investors to raise as much as $ 500 million at a valuation of $ 10 billion. During its previous fundraise in August 2019, Klarna raised $ 460 million at a post-money valuation of $ 5.5 billion. Reuters’ sources said the money would be raised from both existing and new investors. An announcement is likely within days, they said.
Digital Assets: Diginex, Parent Of Equos Crypto Exchange, Raises $20M
Diginex Limited, the owner of digital assets exchange Equos, announced Tuesday its raise of more than $ 20 million through the private placement of a convertible note. Launched on July 30, Equos is an institutional-grade exchange that caters to both individuals and institutions.
Alternative Investments/ESG: AUM At The UBS S&P 500 ESG UCITS ETF Touches $1B
The S&P 500 ESG UCITS ETF from UBS Asset Management was the first passive ETF to impart the Environment-Social-Governance (ESG) screen to the S&P 500 equity index. In a statement, UBS Asset Management said the ETF had passed the milestone of $ 1 billion in assets under management.
Artificial Intelligence: HSBC Using AI To Keep ATMs From Running Out Of Cash
HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) has developed in-house AI-powered technology to fine-tune cash-filling operations at its ATMs, currently outsourced to third-party vendors. The system was successfully tested on the bank’s network of 1,200 ATMs in Hong Kong. The bank saved as much as $1 million because the number of ATM refills declined by 15% following the use of the “iCash” AI technology.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Here’s Japan’s First ESG-Focused REIT ETF From Nikko
The Listed Index Fund Nikkei ESG REIT (2566 JP) launched by Nikko Asset Management has begun to trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with effect from September 7. It is the first Japanese ETF that provides investors the opportunity to invest in the country’s real estate investment trust market with a sustainable approach.
Digital Assets: Ransomware Attack Freezes Argentina’s Borders
Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, Argentina’s official immigration agency, suffered a Netwalker ransomware attack in late August. According to Bleeping Computer, which quoted from a criminal complaint published by Unidad Fiscal Especializada en Ciberdelincuencia, Argentina’s cybersecurity agency, the government was alerted of the attack when border checkpoints started calling up with technical problems early in the morning on August 27.
Venture Capital: Indian Online Learning Startup BYJU’S Raises $500M Amid Red-Hot VC Interest in Edtech
BYJU’S, the Indian educational technology company operated by Think and Learn Private Limited, raised $ 500 million in fresh funding led by private equity giant Silver Lake. About a week ago, BYJU’S raised $ 122 million from DST Global. The current funding is the fifth tranche in its Series F round.