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
Venture Capital: Space Debris Remover ClearSpace Lands €26.7m Series A
Switzerland-based startup ClearSpace is working on technology for space debris removal and has recently raised €26.7m in a Series A round to accelerate the launch of the world’s first-ever space mission to remove a moving, non-cooperative object from orbit.
FinTech: Playter Announces Paid, A BNPL Scheme For SMBs In The UK
Playter, a provider of B2B Buy-Now-Pay-Later for small and medium-sized businesses in the UK, has introduced a new credit offering called “Paid.” The company’s mission is to help SMEs release cash flow for growth and investment by offering flexible financing options.
Artificial Intelligence: Nadella Says Humanity Will Benefit From AI, Whose Golden Age Is Here
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), stated at the WEF that the world is entering a golden age of artificial intelligence (AI) driven by recent breakthroughs in GPT models. Products like ChatGPT, a cutting-edge chatbot that can answer complex questions and even write poetry, are capturing the world’s attention and generating excitement.
Artificial Intelligence: Detroit Brewery Uses ChatGPT To Create A Recipe For Its “Artificial Intelligence IPA” Beer
Atwater Brewery in Detroit has created a new beer called Artificial Intelligence IPA, which was formulated using a recipe generated by the chatbot, ChatGPT.
FinTech: Middle-East Focused BNPL Fintech Tabby Lands $58M Funding
BNPL fintech Tabby is active in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Kuwait. Tabby, a leading BNPL shopping and financial services app in the MENA region, has raised $58 million in a Series C round led by Sequoia Capital India and including STV, PayPal Ventures, Mubadala Investment Capital, Arbor Ventures, and Endeavor Catalyst. The funding values…
Venture Capital: Sequoia Capital Launches $195M Seed Venture Fund
Sequoia Capital, the storied venture capital firm, has announced a new $195 million seed fund and plans to run three batches of its accelerator program, Arc, in 2023, up from two in the previous year. Despite fewer companies starting up, Sequoia believes that now is a good time to invest in seed stage companies, as they are more insulated from the effects of the public market, which is passing through a period of tumult.
Venture Capital: CalPERS Will Fund $1B To Promote Diversity In Alternative Fund Managers’ Investments
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), a pension fund with assets worth $457 billion, has announced that it is committing $1 billion to support diverse and underrepresented private market investors through asset managers TPG and GCM Grosvenor.
Venture Capital: Impel, A Digital Platform For Car Buyers, Nabs $104M
Impel, a New York-based digital engagement startup, has secured $104 million in a growth investment led by Silversmith Capital Partners and additional investment from Wavecrest Growth Partners.
Artificial Intelligence: Dealmaking – Volvo Invests In Waabi; Bayer Acquires Blackford
Volvo eyes Waabi’s autonomous trucking technology. Bayer acquires AI Imaging solutions firm Blackford Analysis. Here are two deals recently entered in the AI space.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Invesco Launches Global High Yield ESG ETF
Invesco has introduced a new ETF, the Invesco Global High Yield Corporate Bond ESG UCITS ETF, that aims to tap into the growing demand for both high yield and ESG-focused ETFs. The ETF which expands Invesco’s fixed income range, is listed on the London Stock Exchange. (ETF Stream)
Venture Capital: Monogram Health Lands $375M Funding Round For Specialized At-Home Renal Care
Monogram Health, a company that provides in-home care and benefit management services for patients living with chronic conditions, has closed a $375 million funding round.
Digital Assets: Binance Launches “Binance Mirror,” A Cold Custody Solution For Institutions
Binance has launched an off-exchange settlement solution called “Binance Mirror” which allows institutional investors to lock collateral by connecting their qualified cold wallet with Binance Custody. The assets can then be mirrored on their Binance exchange account.
FinTech: Uber Eats And Visa Make A Join Effort To Promote Environmentally Friendly Restaurant Packaging
Uber and Visa have announced a new program to support small-and medium-sized businesses in their transition to green and sustainable packaging solutions. The program is also part of a broader effort to support small businesses that use Uber Eats to grow their businesses.
Artificial Intelligence: The Aware AI-powered App Protects Threatened New Zealand Species
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), along with other organizations, has funded the development of the SeaSpotter app, which uses AI to identify and report endangered marine species in New Zealand. These include whales, dolphins and seals.
FinTech: Three-Way Collaboration Between Allianz Trade, Santander And Two For B2B BNPL Solution
A new global B2B Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solution is being developed by a three-way collaboration between Allianz Trade, a global leader in trade credit insurance, Two, the business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce payments platform, and Santander CIB (BME: SAN), one of the top trade finance banks in the banking sector.
Venture Capital: Oxbotica, Maker Of Software For Universal Autonomy, Lands $140M
The round brings Oxbotica’s cumulative funding till date to approximately US$225 million.
FinTech: Canadian Fintech Nuvei To Buy Payments Provider Paya For $1.3B
Canadian business payments technology provider Nuvei Corporation (NASDAQ: NVEI) has agreed to acquire Paya Holdings (NASDAQ: PAYA), a provider of integrated payment and commerce solutions in the U.S., for about $1.3 billion in an all-cash transaction.
Artificial Intelligence: The Ella Baby Stroller Is AI-Enabled To Deliver A “Nanny-Like” Experience
At the Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas, Vancouver based Glüxkind Technologies launched a battery-powered pram for babies that is able to push and rock itself using artificial intelligence. The so-called convertible Ella pram, which comes with a reversible seat, is said to deliver an almost “nanny-like” experience.
Digital Assets: “Economic Headwinds” And “Collapse Of FTX” Force Crypto.com To Slash Workforce By 20%
Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder & CEO of crypto exchange Crypto.com said in an update Friday that the company was cutting its global workforce by about 20%. Marszalek laid the blame for the layoffs at the door of several factors including economic headwinds, unforeseen industry events, negative economy developments, and FTX.
Alternative Investments/ESG: USCF Launches ETF Focused On Battery Metals
USCF announced the launch of the USCF Sustainable Battery Metals Strategy Fund (NYSEARCA: ZSB), an actively managed ETF that seeks to earn its returns from exposure to battery metals, for example metals such as cobalt, copper, iron ore, lithium, nickel, and other metals currently used in battery and electrification infrastructure.
FinTech: Stripe’s Internal Valuation Is Cut By 11%
The Information reported that Stripe has chopped its internal valuation by about 11% to $63 billion. This is known as a 409a valuation and is not decided by investors looking to fund the company. A lower internal price may be beneficial to employees by lowering their cost of equity held in the company. This latest price is now $24.71.
Alternative Investments/Digital: Samsung Asset Management To Launch Bitcoin Futures ETF In Hong Kong
On January 13, Samsung Asset Management will launch the Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF on the Hong Kong stock market. The move is timing nicely with what appears to be a resurgence of investor interest in digital assets alongside a rally in global equities following slowing inflation.
Digital Assets: Abu Dhabi’s Venom Foundation Ties With Iceberg Capital For $1B Blockchain And Web3 Venture Fund
Abu Dhabi’s Venom Foundation has announced the launch of Venom Ventures Fund, a $1 billion venture fund targeting startups in blockchain and web3 dApps and protocols. However, it will favor ventures that are focused on long-term trends including payments, asset management and banking services, as well as GameFi.
Artificial Intelligence: Tech Giant Microsoft’s VALL-E AI Tool Can Reproduce Your Voice
Trained on 60,000 hours of English speech data, VALL-E, which is Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) new AI tool, can replicate any voice based on its analysis of a three-second audio sample. In an advancement of this technology, VALL-E can also simulate the tone and emotions of the speaker.