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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FinTech: Stripe Evaluating Alternatives To Enable Employees To Cash In Soon-To-Expire Options
Payment startup Stripe plans to go public next year, according to a Thursday report by The Information. Despite being valued at $95 billion in 2021 and being one of the most highly-anticipated IPOs of 2023, Stripe co-founder John Collison had previously stated that there were no immediate plans for a public offering. This may now change as the company faces the issue of 10-year stock units awarded to veteran employees that are set to expire at the end of this year.
Artificial Intelligence: AI-Powered ZFDesign Enables Gene Therapy By Manipulation Of Zinc Fingers
An AI program has been developed by researchers at NYU and the University of Toronto that allows for the simple production of customizable zinc finger proteins to treat diseases by turning genes on and off.
The tool promises to speed up the development of gene therapies on a large scale, and can be used to treat illnesses such as cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and sickle cell anemia by editing errors in the order of DNA letters.
Artificial Intelligence: BuzzFeed To Collaborate With OpenAI To Create Content
BuzzFeed (NASDAQ: BZFD) announced it will collaborate with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, to utilize artificial intelligence in creating content for its audience. This marks a significant step in how media companies integrate new technology into their operations.
FinTech: Kayak And Affirm Tie-Up To Offer ‘Pay Later’ To Air Travellers
Affirm, a payment network that helps consumers and merchants, announced a partnership with KAYAK, a leading travel search engine, making Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) the company’s exclusive ‘buy-now-pay-later’ (BNPL) provider in the US.
Digital Assets: Bitcoin Infrastructure Company Blockstream Raises $125M
Blockstream, a leading Bitcoin infrastructure firm, has raised $125 million in convertible note and secured loan financing to expand its institutional bitcoin mining services. Kingsway Capital led the convertible note, with other investors including Fulgur Ventures.
Artificial Intelligence: A Study Shows WiFi Signals Can “See” People Inside Rooms
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have developed a way to use WiFi signals to monitor human movement in indoor environments. By analyzing the ratio of the transmitted signal wave and the received wave, a neural network can recognize the specific pose of each person in a room.
Artificial Intelligence: Atomic AI Closes $35M Series ‘A’ For RNA Drug Discovery
Atomic AI, a biotechnology company, has developed a proprietary, AI-driven ‘Platform for AI-driven RNA Structure Exploration’ (PARSE). PARSE is a 3D RNA structure discovery engine that can vastly improve RNA structure prediction and develop a new generation of RNA-targeting medicines to tackle diseases that were previously untreatable. The company came out of stealth with a $35 million Series A round led by Playground Global, with participation from 8VC, Factory HQ, Greylock, NotBoring, AME Cloud Ventures, and renowned angel investors including GitHub ex-CEO Nat Friedman, Doug Mohr, Curai CEO Neal Khosla, and UC Berkeley professor and Arc Institute Co-founder Patrick Hsu.
Liquid Alternatives: Panagram Launches Its Maiden ETF Focused On Collateralized Loan Obligations
Panagram Structured Asset Management, a subsidiary of Eldridge, has launched its first ETF, the Panagram BBB-B CLO ETF (NYSEARCA: CLOZ).
Venture Capital: After Accounting Lapses At GoMechanic, Sequoia India May Implement Special Audits
Sequoia Capital’s regional arm in South and Southeast Asia is considering special audits for several investments in the region following allegations of financial irregularities at companies such as Zilingo Pte and GoMechanic. This was reported by Bloomberg, which quoted unnamed, confidential sources.
FinTech: Wahed, A Fintech Backed By Aramco, Opens London Branch For Shariah
New York-based fintech startup Wahed, which is backed by oil giant Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL: 2222) and French soccer player Paul Pogba, has opened a physical branch in London, UK to target the country’s 3.9 million Muslims with sharia-compliant investment management and advice services.
FinTech: Marqeta And Deloitte Tie Up To Modernize Global Payments
Deloitte and Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ), a global modern card issuing platform, have formed a strategic alliance to provide innovative payment solutions and accelerate the payment modernization efforts of banks, fintechs, and payments providers.
FinTech: Amazon And Stripe Agree To Expand Existing Relationship
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Stripe have announced an expanded global partnership that will see the two companies deepen their long-standing relationship.
Artificial Intelligence: Microsoft Extends Partnership, Invests $10B In ChatGPT
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and OpenAI have announced the third phase of their long-term partnership, involving a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment to accelerate AI breakthroughs and ensure they are widely shared with the world.
Artificial Intelligence: A Spindly Farming Robot Scouts Farming Fields For Pests, Weeds, And Disease
The SentiV scouting robot, a prototype spoke-wheeled plant nurse, is being developed to inspect acres of row crops for disease, pests, and other issues.
Venture Capital: Decarbonized Cement Startup Sublime Systems Nabs $40M
Sublime Systems, a developer of technology for decarbonized cement production, announced the closure of a $40 million Series A funding round led by Lowercarbon Capital and featuring participation from existing investors like The Engine and Energy Impact Partners. Siam Cement Group, the largest cement producer in Southeast Asia, is also joining as a strategic investor.
Digital Assets: As Withdrawals Surge, Crypto Focused Banks Borrow Billions From Home-Loan Banks
Two of the largest banks catering to cryptocurrency companies, Signature Bank (NASDAQ: SBNY) and Silvergate Capital Corp, (NYSE: SI) have taken loans of billions of dollars from Federal Home Loan Banks to stem a flood of customer withdrawals.
FinTech: Walmart Introduces “Walmart Business” For Small And Medium Businesses
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has announced the launch of Walmart Business, an eCommerce site and customer experience designed specifically for small and medium businesses (SMBs) and nonprofits. The company has been working with SMBs and nonprofits to develop solutions that will help them run smoother, stay in control and in stock, and create efficiencies to operate and grow.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Putnam Has Five New Active ESG-Focused ETFs Listed On The NYSE
Putnam Investments has launched five new transparent, actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange. These new ETFs nearly double the firm’s range of actively managed ETF products.
Artificial Intelligence: An Investigation By Times Reveals The Dark Side Of Training Chatbots On Offensive Content
A recent investigation by Time has brought to light some questionable practices used by AI chatbot startup OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, to improve its technology. The report focuses on OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, which has recently gained attention for its ability to produce highly natural conversational text.
Artificial Intelligence: At Davos, FBI Director Christopher Wray Takes Aim At Chinese AI Ambitions
FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed concern about China’s artificial intelligence program during a panel session at the World Economic Forum, stating that it is “not constrained by the rule of law” and built on stolen intellectual property and data.
Digital Assets: NAB Launches AUDN, A Stablecoin Backed By The Australian Dollar
The National Australia Bank (NAB) (ASX: NAB) plans to launch a stablecoin, called AUDN, that will be pegged to the Australian dollar and will be on the Ethereum network.
Digital Assets: N26 Crypto, A New Product From Mobile Bank N26, Launches In Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal, and Ireland
Mobile bank N26 has expanded the availability of its cryptocurrency trading service, N26 Crypto, to customers in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal and Ireland.
Digital Assets: Genesis, A Subsidiary Of DCG, Files For Insolvency
Genesis Global Trading, a subsidiary of Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group (DCG), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York court.
Digital Assets: WEF Launches Virtual Global Collaboration Village In The Metaverse
The World Economic Forum (WEF), together with Accenture (NYSE: CAN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), unveiled a prototype of the Global Collaboration Village metaverse at its Annual Meeting 2023. This metaverse is a platform for organizations to come together and address the world’s most pressing challenges.