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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JMI Equity has closed JMI Equity Fund XI and JMI XI Executive Fund with total commitments of $2.4 billion. The oversubscribed fund received strong support from new and existing investors, bringing JMI’s total capital commitments to more than $8bn since its founding in 1992.
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Alternative Investments/ESG: A New Franklin Templeton ETF Targets Stocks In Decarbonizing EM Countries
Franklin Templeton has launched the Franklin MSCI Emerging Markets Paris Aligned Climate UCITS ETF, which will track the MSCI Emerging Markets Climate Paris Aligned Index. This index spans large- and mid-cap stocks in 24 emerging regions that are taking active steps to decarbonize their economies.
FinTech: Depositors Relieved After HSBC Acquires SVB UK For £1
HSBC has acquired Silicon Valley Bank UK for £1 in a rescue deal that was confirmed by the UK Treasury. HSBC will take on the accounts of SVB UK’s 3,500 customers with deposits worth more than £6.7bn, and the customers will be able to access their deposits and banking services as normal.
FinTech: Worldline Launches White-Label Shopping Mall In The Metaverse
Global payment services provider, Worldline, has launched a shopping mall in Decentraland to help companies across all industries get an easy entry into the Web 3.0 world, and create an initial presence in the Metaverse. The white-label solution provides retailers, service providers, and banks with an opportunity to prepare for the Metaverse now and gain initial experience ahead of the estimated global market volume of Metaverse commerce of between $2 and $2.6tn by 2030.
Venture Capital: Troubles At Silicon Valley Bank Trigger Warnings From Top Drawer VC Firms
Silicon Valley Bank (NASDAQ: SIVB), a major lender to start-ups, has faced a crisis after announcing a $2.25bn share sale following a significant loss on its portfolio. The company’s shares fell by 60% and its bonds posted record declines. The shock development sent tremors through the venture capital world, with many top VC firms advising their portfolio startups to bail out from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
Alternative Investments/ESG: Goldman Sachs Launches Muni Bonds ETF With ESG Focus
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has launched the Goldman Sachs Community Municipal Bond ETF, which aims to maximize tax efficiency by providing exposure to investment-grade, tax-exempt municipal securities.
Artificial Intelligence: ChatGPT, OpenAI’s World-Beating AI Chatbot, Now Available On The Apple Watch
Apple Watch users can now access ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot that became a runaway hit since its launch in November, through a dedicated app named watchGPT. The app is available on the App Store for $3.99.
FinTech: Uber May Hive Off Uber Freight, Its Truck Broking Business
Uber (NYSE: UBER) is considering spinning off its Uber Freight logistics unit in a sale or as a separate publicly traded company in order to focus on its core ride-hailing and food delivery businesses. The company is discussing options with advisers, but no decision has been taken and plans could change, according to a Bloomberg report, which cited confidential sources.
Venture Capital: Humane, Founded by An Ex-Apple Husband-Wife Duo, Raises $100M For AI-Centric Consumer Device
Humane, a software platform and consumer device builder focused on artificial intelligence (AI), has raised $100m in a Series C funding round. The round was led by Kindred Ventures and featured participation from Microsoft, SK Networks, LG Technology Ventures, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Top Tier Capital, Hudson Bay Capital, and Socium Ventures, as well as existing investors Tiger Global, Qualcomm Ventures, Valia Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Lachy Groom, and Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI.
Digital Assets: Silvergate Announces Voluntary Liquidation
Silvergate Capital Corporation (NYSE: SI) has announced its intention to wind down operations and voluntarily liquidate Silvergate Bank due to recent industry and regulatory developments. The bank’s wind down and liquidation plan includes repaying all deposits.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Alger Debuts ESG-Focused Growth Equity ETF
Fred Alger Management, LLC has launched the Alger Weatherbie Enduring Growth ETF (NYSEARCA: AWEG), a vehicle suited for investors looking for quality growth stocks that also score well on ESG parameters. The new ETF is a non-transparent, actively managed ETF that will run with a portfolio of 30 or fewer growth stocks.
Digital Assets: Powell Offers Mixed Views On Crypto In Senate Testimony
Speaking before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged the potential of blockchain technology for practical applications in the real world and said that the central bank doesn’t want to stifle crypto innovation, but warned of the industry’s fraud and risks.
FinTech: Alternative Credit Firm Evolution Credit Raises Over $1B
Boston-based alternative credit firm, Evolution Credit Partners Management, has announced the final close of its opportunistic credit strategy, Evolution Credit Opportunity Fund II, L.P. (ECO II). With approximately $1.05 billion of investable capital, the Fund will invest opportunistically across Evolution’s entire credit platform, including leveraged finance and trade finance strategies.
Artificial Intelligence: Salesforce Launches EinsteinGPT, Or CRM Powered By Generative AI
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has launched Einstein GPT, the first generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology for customer relationship management (CRM). The technology will produce AI-created content across all sales, marketing, IT and service interactions, creating personalized emails and responses and generating targeted content for marketers.
Venture Capital: Salesforce Ventures’ Launches $250M Generative AI Fund, Invests In Cohere AI
Salesforce Ventures has announced a $250 million generative AI fund, with Toronto-based start-up Cohere among the first four companies to receive investment. Cohere, which provides access to large language models and natural language processing tools through one API, has previously raised $170m, including a $125m Series B round in 2021. It is understood to be seeking further investment in a current funding round. Cohere will partner with Salesforce to bring its technology to Salesforce’s enterprise customers.
Fintech: Stripe Raising Funds To Buy Employees’ Shares And Cover Their Tax Bill
Stripe, a payments company, plans to use the funds it raises in its latest round of fundraising to cover a $3.5 billion tax bill. The company is aiming to raise $2.3 billion to cover tax withholdings in Q1 and an additional $500 million and $700 million in taxes later this year and next year respectively, according to a Bloomberg report.
Venture Capital: UK Fintech Abound Lands $601M
Abound, a UK-based consumer lending service, has raised £500m ($601m) in equity and debt funding to expand its open banking business. The start-up, which uses open banking data and machine learning algorithms to offer lower interest loans and develop “better credit scores”, will use the funds to finance loans, bring in more customers and invest in its technology.
Alternative Investments/ESG: A New ETF From First Trust Seeks Out Companies In Democratic EM Countries
First Trust Advisors has launched a new fund, the First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (NYSEARCA: EMDM), which focuses on companies in emerging market countries with high regard for political rights and civil liberties.
Artificial Intelligence: A New AI Tool Could Speed Up The Hunt For Life On Mars
Scientists have developed a new method for optimizing the search for alien life on Mars by training artificial intelligence (AI) to identify sites that are most likely to contain “biosignatures,” or signs of life. The AI framework was trained to find biosignatures in an extreme Chilean environment that is exposed to high levels of radiation and extremely cold temperatures, conditions that are similar to those on Mars.
Venture Capital: Australian Agtech SwarmFarm Robotics Raises A$12M
Australian company SwarmFarm Robotics has secured $12m AUD ($8.3m USD) in a series A funding round, which it will use to launch its technology in North America and expand its SwarmBot platform with new applications. The investment was led by Conexus Venture Capital’s agtech fund Emmertech, based in Canada, with participation from Tribe Global Ventures and Access Capital. Existing investors including Tenacious Ventures, GrainInnovate, and the Grains Research and Development Corporation also joined the round.
Digital Assets: Crypto Exchange Bybit Ties With Mastercard To Launch Crypto Debit Cards
Bybit, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, has launched a debit card, Bybit Card, powered by Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and issued by Moorwand, enabling users to convert their crypto balances into fiat currency to purchase goods and services or withdraw cash from ATMs directly.
FinTech: WhatsApp Gets Brazil’s Nod For Payments To Small Businesses
Guilherme Horn, PhD, Head of WhatsApp, Latin America, announced that Brazil’s Central Bank has authorized the launch of the payment service for small and medium-sized enterprises through WhatsApp.
Artificial Intelligence: Bad Actors Are Using Voice Impersonation To Dupe Victims
Increasingly sophisticated AI allows scammers to replicate someone’s voice with an audio sample that could be as short as just a few sentences. Voice impersonation scams are on the rise in the US. The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has made it easier for bad actors to mimic voices, tricking people into believing that their loved ones are in distress.
FinTech: Klarna Reports Record $1B Loss In 2022
Klarna, the Swedish fintech company that was once Europe’s most valuable private tech firm, has reported its largest annual loss to date in 2022, but is optimistic about its prospects for returning to profitability. The company’s annual losses increased by 47% to SEK10.4bn ($1bn) in the 12 months to December 31, 2022, up from SEK7.1bn ($680m) in the previous year.
Digital Assets: Key Crypto Players Sever Links With Silvergate Capital
On March 2nd, four firms related to cryptocurrency announced that they will no longer be doing business with Silvergate Capital (NYSE: SI). This decision was made after Silvergate revealed in an SEC filing that it was delaying its annual report due to ongoing investigations. (PYMNTS)