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: Mercari Introduces Merchat AI, A New Shopping Assistant Driven By ChatGPT
The Merchat AI conversational shopping assistant is now available in beta nationwide to shoppers of “previously loved” items. Mercari, the popular online marketplace in the U.S., has announced the beta launch of Merchat AI, a conversational shopping assistant powered by ChatGPT. This new artificial intelligence tool allows customers to engage in real-time conversations with Merchat…
Alternative Investments/ESG: Japan’s GPIF Invests $3.7B In Huge Plug For Corporate Gender Diversity
Japan’s $1.4 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has allocated $3.7 billion to track the Morningstar Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt Index, according to reports. The index aims to promote gender diversity in companies by emphasizing those that have strong policies rooted in their corporate culture and provide equal opportunities to all employees.
Venture Capital: German Startup Hortiya Seeks To Bring Generative AI To Food Production
Hortiya, a European startup founded in 2020, is using generative AI to build a model that can speak “the language of plants” to make food production more sustainable. Hortiya is applying the technology behind large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 to the food production industry with the aim of reducing the amount of energy used in food production.
Digital Assets: Unchained Nabs $60M For Its Collaborative Custody Services For Bitcoin
Unchained, a financial services provider for Bitcoin holders, has raised $60 million in Series B funding led by Valor Equity Partners. Existing investors including NYDIG, Trammell Venture Partners, Ecliptic Capital, and Highland Capital Partners also participated in the round.
Venture Capital: L’Oréal Backs Consumer-Focused VC Fund IV Of DSG Consumer Partners
French cosmetics giant L’Oréal (EPA: OR) has invested in DSG Consumer Partners IV, a Singapore-based venture capital firm focused on consumer goods startups in Southeast Asia and India. This investment marks L’Oréal’s second investment in a fund targeting consumer trends in the region after a 2019 investment in Fireside Fund II, which supports innovative Indian consumer brand startups.
FinTech: Wise Clocks 45% YoY Growth In Q4 Revenue; Total Income Jumps 83% YoY To £279.5M
Wise (LON: WISE), previously known as Transferwise, has reported a jump of 45% (year-on-year) in revenue to £223.5 million in its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023. The company earned a net interest income of £56m. The London-listed company ended the quarter with a total income of £279.5m, up 83% from the previous year and 4% from the previous quarter.
Artificial Intelligence: Sundar Pichai, The CEO Of Google, Cautions Society To Prepare For The Consequences Of Accelerated A.I.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai has warned society is not prepared for the rapid advancements of artificial intelligence (AI), which will impact “every product of every company.”
Digital Assets: Ray Dalio Says Bitcoin Is A Poor Alternative To Gold, May Be Outlawed
Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates and a legendary investor with a net worth of $19.1 billion, has maintained his stance that Bitcoin is not a reliable store-of-value asset or a medium of exchange.
FinTech: Affirm Adds Adaptive Checkout To Canadian Stripe Users’ Payment Options
Payment network Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) has extended its partnership with Stripe to Canada, enabling merchants and platforms in the country to offer its Adaptive Checkout pay-over-time option to their customers.
Venture Capital: Insect Farmer Ÿnsect Lands €160M Funding, Lays Off 20% Workers
Ynsect, a French insect farming startup, has raised €160m in equity financing but is also cutting 70 jobs, around 20% of the company, to fast track its achievement of profitability.
Artificial Intelligence: Kidnappers Allegedly Used AI To Clone Girl’s Voice, Demand $1M
A woman from Arizona claims that her daughter’s voice was cloned using artificial intelligence in a kidnapping scam that involved a ransom demand of $1 million.
Fintech: Coupa And Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking Collaborate To Create A Streamlined Process For B2B Payments
Coupa, a global leader in Business Spend Management, and Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking (TxB) have announced a collaboration to simplify payment processes between businesses and their global supply chains. The collaboration aims to offer customers fast integration, quick and convenient payments, and enhanced cross-border payments.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Harbor Capital’s New ETF Invests In Smaller Companies With Happy Workers
Harbor Capital Advisors has launched a new ETF named Harbor Corporate Culture Small Cap ETF (HAPS) to provide investors exposure to small-cap companies with strong human capital factor scores. The HAPS ETF measures corporate culture and its connection to future equity performance through proprietary research and employee survey data, and other publicly available grassroots sources such as employee reviews. The underlying thesis is that there is a correlation between contented employees and favorable stock performance of smaller firms.
Emrgy, Which Harnesses Power From Irrigation Canals, Scores $18M Round
Emrgy, a woman-led renewable energy technology and project developer, has raised $18.4m in a Series A funding round to deploy distributed hydropower projects, expand its development, operations and engineering teams, and open a new turbine assembly facility in Colorado.
Artificial Intelligence: Amazon Wades Into Generative AI
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is bringing generative AI technology innovations in the wake of the frenzy surrounding AI applications such as ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion.
Digital Assets: LCH SA To Offer Clearing Services For Bitcoin F&O Contracts Traded On GFO-X
LCH SA has revealed that it will be providing clearing services for Bitcoin index futures and options contracts traded on GFO-X, a UK digital asset derivatives trading venue.
FinTech: Twitter Embarks On Plan To Morph Into A Financial SuperApp, Ties With eToro
Twitter has partnered with eToro, an online brokerage, to offer users the ability to buy and sell stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other assets through the platform. This move is part of Elon Musk’s vision of turning Twitter into a “super app” that offers users financial services on top of social media.
Liquid Alternatives: Allspring Global Investments Recommends Liquid Alternatives As Foil To The 60/40 Portfolio
Allspring Global Investments is expanding in Asia to meet rising demand for multi-asset strategies from wealthy investors and institutions looking to minimize risk after both equities and bonds fell last year. The US asset manager suggests allocating more to liquid alternatives, which provide quick liquidity and behave differently from traditional asset classes.
Artificial Intelligence: Chinese Regulatory Crackdown On Generative AI
The Cyberspace Administration of China has released draft regulations requiring AI developers to register generative AI products and submit them to security assessment before release. The regulations cover every aspect of generative AI, including training, interactions and user behavior.
Venture Capital: CapitalG, Alphabet’s Venture Capital Arm, Leads $100 Million Investment In AlphaSense
Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) venture capital arm, CapitalG, has led a $100 million investment in AlphaSense, a corporate data firm that provides information on businesses to inform corporate and investment strategies, valuing the company at $1.8 billion.
Digital Assets: Metalpha Setting Up $100M Crypto Fund In Hong Kong For Chinese Institutions
Hong Kong-based asset manager, Metalpha Technology Holding, has launched a $100m fund to invest in Grayscale Investment’s Bitcoin and other crypto products. The firm, which is a licensed digital asset wealth manager, aims to provide regulated access to Asia-based investors with traditional finance backgrounds looking to access the so-called web3 space.
Alternative Investments/Real Estate: According To DoubleLine, The Time For Investing In Commercial Real Estate Is Now
DoubleLine Capital LP, a $92 billion asset manager, sees opportunities in the commercial real estate market despite concerns over the industry’s outlook. According to Morris Chen, who manages the recently launched DoubleLine Commercial Real Estate exchange-traded fund (NYSEARCA: DCMB), the current negative sentiment has created an attractive entry point for higher-quality credit.
Artificial Intelligence: Sony’s Chip Unit Invests In Raspberry Pi, Eyeing AI Applications
Sony Semiconductor Solutions, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation (TYO: 6758), has invested an undisclosed amount in Raspberry Pi Ltd, the company behind the Raspberry Pi line of tiny, single-board computers. The deal will allow users and developers to develop visual sensing applications using AI cameras equipped with Sony’s IMX500 imaging sensors.
Artificial Intelligence: Biden Administration Mulls Regulation Of AI Such As ChatGPT
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a unit of the US Department of Commerce, has launched a request for comment (RFC) aimed at collecting input on how to advance its efforts to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) systems work as claimed and without causing harm.