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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Artificial Intelligence: Finnish Dairy Valio Uses AI To Design Futuristic Low-Sugar Chocolate
Finnish dairy Valio enlisted technology company Aiwo Digital to analyse a global assortment of 1.5 million tweets to get insights from chocolate lovers around the world. They used this information to create The Bar, a new low-sugar milk chocolate claimed to be having “AI-design” features.
Digital Assets: Google Cloud And Coinbase Partner On Web3
“Over the next few years, we believe every company and developer will be building on Web3 — to the point where Web3 will become synonymous with the internet itself,” says Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) in a blog post announcing its Web3 partnership with Google Cloud. The cloud and digital asset giants have come together to address the potential of Web3.
FinTech: BNP Paribas Acquires Kantox, A Currency Risk Management Fintech
BNP Paribas (EPA: BNP) announced Tuesday its agreement to acquire Kantox, a leading fintech for automation of currency risk management. Kantox software offers a e-stop-shop, API driven, plug-and-play solution which has emerged as an innovative technology within the B2B cross-border payments sector. Corporates can set up advanced level, automated hedging strategies.
Venture Capital: Step, The Teen And Young Adult-Focused Digital Bank, Raises $300M Debt Round
BNP Paribas (EPA: BNP) announced Tuesday its agreement to acquire Kantox, a leading fintech for automation of currency risk management. Kantox software offers a e-stop-shop, API driven, plug-and-play solution which has emerged as an innovative technology within the B2B cross-border payments sector. Corporates can set up advanced level, automated hedging strategies.
Digital Assets: BNY Mellon’s Digital Asset Custody Platform Is Live In The U.S.
BNY Mellon, the investment arm and a brand name of the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK), announced that select clients would now be able to hold and transfer bitcoin and ether on its newly-launched Digital Asset Custody platform.
Artificial Intelligence: Ai-Da, A Robot, Speaks At The House Of Lords
Ai-Da, a robot created by Aiden Meller, and described as “the world’s first ultra-realistic robot artist”, appeared at a hearing before the Lords communications and digital committee on Tuesday. The Committee was examining the future of the UK’s creative industries and how AI could impact the sector.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Amundi Launches Paris-Aligned ETF Focused On Large And Mid-Cap Stocks Globally
Amundi has launched the Amundi MSCI ACWI SRI PAB UCITS ETF on the Deutsche Börse Xetra in US dollars (WELB GY) and euros (WELA GY). The new fund is linked to the MSCI ACWI SRI Filtered PAB Index which is constructed from the parent MSCI ACWI universe of large and mid-cap stocks from 23 developed market and 24 emerging market countries globally. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.20% and is classified as an Article 9 product under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
Alternative Investments/ESG: Thrivent Launches ESG ETF Focused On Small And Mid Caps
Thrivent Asset Management has launched the Thrivent Small-Mid Cap ESG ETF (NYSEARCA: TSME) an ESG-focused exchange traded fund that will invest in small- and mid-cap stocks. The actively managed fund will maintain a portfolio of small- and mid-cap stocks across the growth and value spectrums that meet certain criteria for environmental, social, and governance practices. It is the firm’s first ETF launch.
Alternative Investments/ESG: AXS Investments Launches A “Next Economy” Focused ETF
AXS Investments and Green Alpha Investments have partnered to launch the AXS Green Alpha ETF (NXTE) which will invest in the latter’s trademarked Next Economy™ philosophy and investment strategies, identifying companies poised to be leaders in the rapidly unfolding and expanding sustainable global economy, while possessing growth potential at attractive valuations.
Alternative Investments/Hedge Funds: Ex-Bridgewater Executive Launches Unlimited – A Hedge Fund Tracking ETF
Unlimited, a new investment firm purpose-built to give all investors exposure to the alpha-generating potential of alternative investment strategies without the high fees and adverse tax implication, has been launched by Bob Elliott, former member of the Investment Committee at Bridgewater Associates. The firm has debuted the Unlimited HFND Multi-Strategy Return Tracker ETF (NYSE: HFND), an actively managed fund which uses a sophisticated machine learning engine to track the gross-of-fees returns across several hedge fund indices.
Venture Capital: Brookfield To Invest $500M In New Plants Based On Carbon Recycler LanzaTech’s Technology
LanzaTech, a carbon recycling startup that transforms waste carbon into materials such as sustainable fuels, fabrics, packaging, and other products that people use in their daily lives, has entered a $500 million funding partnership with Brookfield Renewable and its institutional partners.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Two New ESG-Focused ETFs From OneAscent
OneAscent promotes investments that make a positive impact and bless humanity through values-based investing. The asset manager has launched the OneAscent International Equity ETF (OAIM US) and OneAscent Emerging Markets ETF (OAEM US), both listed on NYSE Arca, and coming to market with $50 million and $20m in initial assets, respectively. The funds target companies making a positive impact on society.
Artificial Intelligence: Israeli Startup Arugga Is Looking To Disrupt Bumblebees
Arugga, an Israel-based startup, has begun commercial marketing of Polly, an AI robot that can mimic the buzzing of a bumblebee. The vibrations from the robot shake the pollen from the flowers of a plant, for example tomato, and fertilize them so they can produce fruit. According to the company, Polly can replace the pollinating function of bumblebees that is so vital for crops such as tomatoes, blueberries, potatoes and others. These are typically crops which contain both male and female parts.
Artificial Intelligence: AI And Satellite Data Help Spot Areas Where People May Be Trapped After A Hurricane
Researchers at the University of Connecticut have developed a new method that uses satellite images from before the storm and real-time images from four satellite sensors, together with artificial intelligence, to create a disaster monitoring system. The system is detailed enough to spot damage up to a resolution of 30 meters, as well as update the status continuously.
Venture Capital: Nested Therapeutics Raises $90M Series ‘A’ Led By Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Nested Therapeutics, which is building a next-generation precision medicine platform for hard-to-treat cancers, announced its emergence from stealth with a $90 million Series A round led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management with participation from Foresite Capital, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Section 32, and Avidity Partners. Nested was founded by Versant Ventures.
FinTech: Visa And Global Crypto Exchange FTX Tie Up For FTX-Branded Debit Cards
Sam Bankman-Fried owned FTX has struck a long term global partnership with Visa (NYSE: V) that will kick off with the issue of FTX-branded Visa debit cards to FTX customers internationally—with a focus on countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia in the initial phases of the rollout.
Digital Assets: Hacker Steals $570M Of The Binance BNB Token By Exploiting Cross-Chain Bridge Linking
A hacker has forced crypto exchange Binance to temporarily suspend its BNB Chain blockchain after they looted $570 million worth of its BNB token by targeting a cross-chain bridge linking with it. A vulnerability allowed them to move the BNB tokens off the network. Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.
Artificial Intelligence: Microsoft Open Sources Its FarmVibes AI Toolkit To Advance Data-Driven Agriculture
Effective October 6, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will open source the AI tools in its Project FarmVibes suite of farming technologies. The software giant is hoping that researchers and data scientists can build upon them to turn agricultural data into action that can help boost yields and cut costs. Pictured above is Andrew Nelson, a farmer in eastern Washington who uses drone and satellite imagery, and other AI tools from FarmVibe, to gather actionable data on his farm.
Alternative Investments: Want To Bet Against Jim Cramer? An ETF For That On The Way
Tuttle Capital Management will soon launch the Long Cramer ETF (LJIM) and the Inverse Cramer ETF (SJIM), according to a Wednesday filing with the SEC. These ETFs will allow investors to take a long or short position respectively with reference to the stock picks proposed by popular television star Jim Cramer. Cramer is the host of the famous Mad Money weeknight show on CNBC, which reportedly had a viewership base of 150K round the year.
Venture Capital: CyberSecurity Companies Arctic Wolf And NetSPI Rake In The Big Bucks
Two big fund rounds, both in excess of $400 million, showed investors’ willingness to back cybersecurity startups despite the dismal conditions in financial markets. While KKR invested $410 million in NetSPI, Arctic Wolf got a $401 million infusion through convertible notes.
FinTech/AI: Walmart Acquires Alert Innovation, A Retail-Focused Robotics Automation Company
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced its acquisition of Alert Innovation, a robotics automation company that develops material-handling technology for automating order fulfillment in retail supply chains. Walmart’s particular focus is on market fulfillment centers, or MFCs – it wants to reach customers quicker by deploying MFCs with greater speed, providing both an unmatched shopping experience and a competitive advantage in omni-channel fulfillment. Walmart has been working with Alert to customize technology for its MFCs since 2016, and in 2019, began piloting its first MFC in Salem, New Hampshire, using bot technology from Alert specifically built for the retail giant.
Digital Assets: SWIFT Experiments Show CBDCs, Digital Assets Can Move Cross-Border On Existing Financial Infrastructure
SWIFT conducted two separate experiments to assess interoperability in cross-border transactions between traditional payment systems, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and tokenised assets. SWIFT found that fiat money, CBDCs and digital assets could seamlessly be moved across the existing global financial infrastructure.
Artificial Intelligence: Google Announces Imagen, Its Text-To-Video Tool
Google has announced Imagen Video, an AI video generator that can create 1280×768 HD video at 24 fps from written text. Though it’s still in research mode, it seems to be a quick riposte to Meta’s recently unveiled text-to-video AI tool, Make-A-Video. It also comes within six months of OpenAi’s DALLE-2 text-to-image generator.
Alternative Investments/Digital: Fidelity Launches Ethereum Index Fund For Accredited Investors
The fund (not an ETF) has already amassed $5 million in assets. Fidelity Investments, the multi-trillion dollar asset manager, is launching the Fidelity Ethereum Index Fund, according to an Oct. 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It will provide investors with exposure to ETH, or the Ether cryptocurrency. The new fund is housed…