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.
Top Story
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.
Get Daily Updates
Subscribe to DailyAlts Today to get Alternative Investment news, insight, and commentary delivered straight to your inbox every day.
More Stories on News
FinTech: Kabbage Ties Up With SBA-Authorized Bank To Fast-Track Delivery of PPP Loans
Kabbage, the aggressive fintech that focuses on small business lending, announced it will collaborate with a technology-enabled bank and authorized lender of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to pay out Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Kabbage did not name the lender but said an announcement from the bank would follow.
Alternative Investments: The Virus is Killing Uranium Production; An ETF That May Benefit
The price of uranium, during the past two weeks, has bounced higher off its lows by nearly 20%. Mining disruptions may be the cause, and if lockdowns extend for longer, the uranium spot price may go much higher. Value seekers looking to invest in a long-battered sector amidst the damage to the market by the virus may consider a uranium ETF.
Fintech: SoFi Buys Galileo for $1.2 Billion
. Online personal finance start-up SoFi has agreed to buy payments software company Galileo for $1.2 billion. The deal is a combination of cash and stock, according to the press release announcing the deal today. SoFi and Galileo Galileo’s digital payments platform enables critical checking and savings account-like functionality via its powerful open APIs, providing…
Alternative Investments: Latest Activist Investor Filings
Activist investor Julian Singer has used the investing partnership, JDS1, LLC, to accumulate 6.43% of HC2 Holdings, Inc (HCHC).
The target provides construction, marine services, energy, telecommunications, insurance, life sciences, broadcasting, and other services.
Private Equity: Privitar Completes Series C Funding
Privitar announced the completion of an $80 million Series C funding round. The data privacy platform provider raised capital from private equity firm Warburg Pincus. It also saw participation from several other VC and PE firms. Investors include Accel, Partech, IQ Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and ABN AMRO Ventures.
Private Equity: Marc Rowan Warns About State of Economy
Apollo Global Management Co-Founder Marc Rowan sent a letter to the firm’s investors this weekend that suggests that if the Fed does not take drastic measures, the economy will be in danger of collapsing.
Artificial Intelligence: Google Apologises for Racist Bias in Result From Algo
Google Vision Cloud, a “computer vision” service that utilizes AI to label images, was found to produce different results depending on the subject’s skin color. Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) apologized after AlgorithmWatch published the racist results of the experiment on Twitter. (AlgorithmWatch)
Real Estate: Tom Barrack Hires Lobbyists for Commercial Mortgage Aid
Tom Barrack, the head of Colony Capital (NYSE: CLNY), has hired several lobbyists to help assist the commercial mortgage industry. Barrack has been warning for weeks about the challenges the industry faces due to late or unpaid rents tied to the lack of economic activity.
REITS: Activist Bow Street Still Takes Aim at Board of Mack – Cali
Last year activist investor Bow Street won 4 seats on the Board of Mack- Cali (NYSE: CLI). This REIT invests in office and multifamily projects in the Northeastern United States.
Last week, Mack-Cali decided not to re-nominate those board members for a new term.
In their statement announcing the decision, Mack-Cali officials said the four had worked to blatantly promote Bow Street’s self-interest. The firm accused the activist firm of wanting to force a fire sale of the company as a whole or the assets one by one. Mack-Cali said selling would not be in the best interest of shareholders.
Liquid Alternatives: Buying Stock ETFs – The Bank of Japan’s Been There, Done That
The Fed could take a leaf out of the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) ETF playbook to address the current economic crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic. The Fed has already taken a never-before step by announcing it stood ready to buy bond ETFs. If its current fire-fighting moves come up short, it might even have to buy stock ETFs – something the BOJ is a past master at.
Venture Capital: venBio’s Third Life Sciences Fund Oversubscribed; Raises $394M
venBio Partners LLC is a life sciences firm that partners with industry leaders to build highly innovative medicines and technologies. It focuses on novel therapeutics for unmet medical needs.
venBio announced the closure of its venBio Global Strategic Fund III, a third life sciences venture capital fund. The fund exceeded its target and raised approximately $394 million in capital commitments.
FinTech: Despite the Virus, Open Banking FinTech Yapily Raises $13M
Yapily, a fintech startup that offers an open banking API, raised $13 million in a Series A round despite swirling panic around the coronavirus. The round was led by Lakestar, which also funded Revolut, Skype, Spotify, Airbnb and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB).
Artificial Intelligence: Can AI Predict a Child’s Future? No, it Can’t.
A study attempted to predict the future of children. Social scientists from Princeton ran an experiment with 160 teams to find out if a method existed to forecast how a child would do in later life.
What would be the child’s grade point average score? Could the family be evicted from their home? Each team had access to 15 years of data and was free to use any predictive tool they thought fit. Result: No team turned out even remotely successful.
Fintech: deVere Group Cites Big Weekly Jump in Fintech Usage
deVere Group released a report last week that found that the use of fintech apps in Europe grew by 72% in just a week.
The Swiss-based consulting firm said large parts of Europe closed down under quarantine orders. Therefore, consumers turned to mobile and online apps to conduct their personal banking needs and to conduct business. The coronavirus pandemic is likely to cause a global acceleration of fintech usage and product development going forward.
Hedge Funds: Four Portfolio Managers Leave Citadel
Volatility has shaken the markets. The Dow had its worst quarter in history. The U.S. economy could see GDP fall by 30% this quarter. And four portfolio managers at Citadel won’t be around to see what happens next.
Bloomberg reported that the hedge fund fired four portfolio managers last week. Chris Conner, Tio Charbaghi, Steve Bergman, and Chip Fortson are out, according to the report. The four all worked in Citadel’s Global Equities group. The timing coincided with the hiring of Justin Lubell, a Point72 alum, to take over that group.
Private Equity: Silver Lake Partners Pushes Massive $16 Billion Fund
Silver Lake Partners is going big with its latest fund.
The technology-focused private equity fund wants to raise a new fund worth $16 billion.
Raising funds as market prices have been collapsing is a solid strategy. It will give the PE an enormous amount of capital to buy companies at distressed prices. With losses mounting in current portfolios, however, one must wonder if institutional investors will step up and make new investments.
Venture Capital: Call for UK Government to Support Startups During the Coronavirus Crisis
The Save Our Startups (SOS) campaign launched in the UK on Sunday. It aims to mobilize financial support for the 30,000 startups and high-growth businesses in the country, many of whom may not be covered by the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). (Sifted)
The CBILS will provide financial support to small and medium-sized business firms (SMBs) during the pandemic. However, a large number of startups may not qualify as they have not yet reached the stage of profitability.
A large number of prominent tech personalities vouched for the campaign.
FinTech: Chime Readies to Instantly Pay $1,200 Stimulus Cheques
The digital challenger bank, the largest of its kind in the U.S., stands ready to pay out the stimulus cheques of $1,200 each. In a test run, it randomly chose 1,000 of its clients who met certain criteria with immediate access to $1,200 of spending power through SpotMe while they waited for their government stimulus payment. SpotMe is the firm’s free alternative to bank overdrafts.
Digital Assets: Both Crypto Fundraising and M&A Were Down in 2019 – PwC Report
The 2nd edition of PwC’s Global Crypto M&A and Fundraising Report is out. The report highlights the key trends that prevailed for crypto fundraising and M&A during 2019. The crypto ‘winter’ in deal-making and funding continued in 2019.
Artificial Intelligence: Survivors of Concentration Camps and Genocide Record Their Stories for Posterity
Heather Maio, who has for years worked with exhibits related to the Holocaust, initiated a project to record interviews with survivors of the horrific genocide. These interviews would be interactive, with the viewer (the “interviewer”) getting the impression that the Holocaust survivor is sitting across and answering questions as they are lobbed.
DailyAlts Playbook Talks Ackman’s Optimism, The Big “Short-ier”, Carbon Skeptics, and Now That’s Music 29
A number of funds saw massive gains during the breakdown in the market between February 20 and March 20. The latest manager to generate headlines is Kevin Smith at Crescat Capital. His two primary funds earned 40.5% and 34.5% during that period. Smith’s co-portfolio manager compared this selloff and their gains to the book The Big Short. While there are always winners, there are also losers. It appears that Bridgewater and Third Point, both run by dynamic managers, had a tough quarter. Bridgewater’s main fund reportedly lost 20% during the quarter. Dan Loeb’s Third Point had an 11% loss last month. Finally, Glenview shed 30% on paper during Q1.
Insider Buying Recap: April 6, 2020
As markets sold-off on Friday, we saw two large purchases by activist investors. We saw a lot of buying at MGM and Zagg. In one case the activist had a board seat and is considered an insider. he was joined in aggressive buying by other executives including the CEO and CFO.
Alternative Investments: Kilter Finance Secures $500 Million in Funding From KKR
KKR (NYSE: KKR) is investing $500 million of equity funding in Kilter Finance. Kilter Finance intends to use the proceeds to make investments into an attractive pipeline of investment opportunities, predominantly in the life, annuity, and health insurance sectors.
Private Equity: TSG Consumer Partners Takes Majority Stake in Pathway Vet Alliance
TSG Consumer Partners announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Pathway Vet Alliance. The consumer-focused PE shop purchased the assets from Morgan Stanley Capital Partners funds. The current management at Pathway will remain in place as part of the deal.