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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Alternative Investments: AXS Investments Named As Finalist In Several Categories Of The ‘With Intelligence ETF and Mutual Fund Awards’
AXS Investments , an asset manager specializing in alternative investments, has been named as a finalist in several categories in the 2022 With Intelligence ETF and Mutual Fund Awards. The firm has made it possible for investors to get access to alternative investment opportunities that were earlier the sole preserve of institutional and high net worth investors.
Digital Assets: Crypto Adoption Reaching New Heights In Dubai
Crypto firms are flocking to Dubai after the emirate passed the Virtual Assets Law on 28 February 2022. This innovative law, plus Dubai’s efforts to come clean after it was added to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), are proving to be a magnet for crypto firms looking to establish a foothold, or HQ, in a crypto-friendly jurisdiction. A few big names: Binance, FTX, Crypto.com, and Bybit.
Venture Capital: AI And Robotics Powered, “Weeding As A Service” Provider FarmWise Nabs $45M
FarmWise, a startup founded in 2016 by Sebastien Boyer and Thomas Palomares using technology they worked on while working in MIT and Stanford Computer, makes a machine that kills weeds without using chemicals. The company raised a $45m Series B funding round, led by AgTech venture firms Fall Line Capital and Middleland Capital, with participation from GV and Taylor Farms. Existing investors Calibrate Ventures, Playground Global, SVG Ventures and the venture arm of Wilbur Ellis also participated.
Artificial Intelligence: Labby’s Milk Testing Solution Uses Mobile Spectrocscopy And AI To Protect Cows’ Health
Labby is a startup that provides AI-enabled optical sensing for raw milk testing on the farm. Using the Labby Handheld milk analyzer and a software, MilKey by Labby, the company gives milk composition and quality information, including milk fat, protein and somatic cell count (SCC), using advanced mobile spectroscopy and AI. This enables early mastitis detection and prevention, drastically reducing dairy farmers’ losses.
FinTech: Visa and African Mobile Payment Processor M-Pesa Launch Virtual Payment Card
African mobile-phone based payment service M-Pesa and Visa (NYSE: V) announced on Thursday their launch of a virtual card that can be used to pay for shopping at 100 million foreign merchants including Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). The virtual card can also be used to pay for subscriptions such as Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Spotify (NYSE: SPOT).
Digital Assets: Former OpenSea Employee Arrested For Insider Trading Of NFTs
Nathaniel Chastain has been indicted by the DOJ in the “first-ever digital asset insider trading scheme.”
Chastain, a former product manager at OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, has been arrested by the DOJ for insider trading of NFTs. He selected, and had privileged information on what NFTs would be featured on OpenSea’s home page; he used it to purchase those NFTs in advance using anonymous digital currency wallets and accounts on OpenSea. After the NFTs featured on OpenSea, Chastain resold those NFTs at profits of 2x to 5x of his initial investment.
Digital Assets: CFTC Hauls Winklevoss-Owned Crypto Exchange Gemini To Court Alleging “Misleading” Statements in 2017
In a press release issued Thursday, June 2, 2022, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) revealed it had taken Gemini to court for “making false or misleading statements of material facts or omitting to state material facts to the CFTC in connection with the self-certification of a bitcoin futures product.”
Venture Capital: Upskilling Platform Guild Lands $175M Series F At A Valuation Of $4.4B
Upskilling platform Guild Education observes that 63% of workers quit their jobs and seek new employment citing a lack of opportunity for advancement; further, about 76% feel they are unequipped with the skills needed for success in the future of work. Successful employers recognize these difficulties and connect with Guild to bridge the gaps. Guild announced a $175 million Series F fundraising round that will expand its role as a Career Opportunity Platform and help America’s workforce gravitate towards dynamic, in-demand sectors.
Alternative Investments: Institutional Investors With Higher Allocations To Alternatives Did Better In Q1
Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Services and BNY Mellon’s Master Trust Universe have released data on the performance of institutional investors during the first quarter of 2022. An important takeaway from both reports is that plans and funds having a higher allocation to alternative assets outperformed those sticking with traditional allocations.
Artificial Intelligence: New AI Tracks Coral Health By Listening To The “Song Of The Reef”
Researchers at the University of Exeter have trained an AI algorithm on multiple recordings of the soundscapes from coral reefs, teaching it to distinguish between sounds from healthy and degraded reefs. The AI could later listen to new reef recordings and accurately deliver an assessment of their health. The findings could be invaluable for monitoring reef restoration projects.
FinTech: Marqeta To Power Klarna’s Physical Visa Card For BNPL
Global card issuing platform Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ) and BNPL fintech Klarna are working together on the issue of a physical Visa (NYSE: V) card – the Klarna Card – that Klarna customers can use to avail the facility to pay over time in four equal, interest-free payments for any in-store or online purchase
Digital Assets: Gemini, The Crypto Exchange Founded By The Winklevoss Twins, Lays Off 10% Of Staff
Gemini blamed the crypto winter as well as the macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil for the decision. In a note to employees this morning, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, CEO and President, Gemini, communicated their “difficult but necessary decision to part ways with approximately 10% of our workforce.” Gemini will close all of its physical offices today…
Digital Assets: Accuweather Enables Access To Weather Data On The Blockchain In Partnership With API3
Web API providers can now offer Accuweather’s weather data for on-chain applications. Accuweather launched its AccuWeather API in collaboration with API3, a leading first-party blockchain oracle solution, empowering the latter to deliver the highly accurate weather forecast and warning data to decentralized applications (dApps).
Digital Assets: Are Investors Bottom-Fishing The Toronto-Listed Purpose Bitcoin ETF?
Evidence is emerging that investors are bottom-fishing bitcoin using the TSE-listed Purpose Bitcoin ETF (TSE: BTCC.U). The ETF has witnessed mounting investor interest because it has reported inflows continuously over the past five days, taking its holdings to a record high of 43,701.7 BTC as of Tuesday.
Venture Capital: Bonfire Lands Over $230M For Funding Seed-Stage B2B Software Startups
Bonfire Ventures announced this week the close of its third core seed fund at $168 million, and its second opportunity fund, at $63 million. Bonfire specializes in funding B2B software companies at seed stage, with over 99% of its investments going to that sector; notably, the failure rate in the space is high, and getting from Seed to Series A happens for less than 33% of all companies. Yet, over 85% of Bonfire companies have received follow-on capital, raising over $1.15 billion cumulatively.
FinTech: Stripe To Offer Its Users Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout For BNPL
The two companies announced their strategic partnership on Tuesday. Stripe and Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) have agreed that Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout™ would be made available to businesses using Stripe’s payments platform. These entities can now add the Adaptive Checkout technology to their own checkouts easily and quickly. (BusinessWire) The Affirm Adaptive Checkout for BNPL Affirm’s Adaptive…
Venture Capital: Fast-Growing Fintech And Mega Insurance Broker Acrisure Raises $725 Million
Acrisure, the fast-growing fintech and operator of a global top-10 insurance broker, has raised $725 million via Series B-2 Preferred Equity round led by a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). Also participating were Guggenheim Investments on behalf of certain clients and Oak Hill Advisors.
Digital Assets: Binance Debuts Its Own Web3 VC Fund, Raises $500M
The fund was raised by Binance Labs, a venture and incubation arm of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. Binance Labs announced today in a blog post a $500 million raise for its debut venture finance fund. The amount was subscribed by leading global institutional investors such as DST Global Partners and Breyer Capital. Other…
Artificial Intelligence: Evolv Uses AI To Detect Weapons In Schools
Evolv Technologies CEO Peter George talks on the role of AI in detecting armed threats through metal detectors in schools. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Evolv Technologies CEO Peter George spoke on AI and security in schools in the context of last week’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. He said: “As you know, today, the…
Digital Assets: South Korea Steps Up Creation Of Crypto Regulator After the Luna Debacle
South Korea is putting pedal to the metal for setting up a regulatory body to watch over the crypto sector following the “terra (LUNA) incident,” in which investors lost billions of dollars due to the collapse of the terra stablecoin.
Venture Capital: Ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger Buys Stake In Canva, Agrees To Be Advisor
Australian graphic design startup Canva is welcoming aboard Bob Iger, former CEO at Disney (NYSE: DIS), as an investor and advisor. The size of Iger’s investment has not been disclosed. “We’re incredibly excited to welcome Bob Iger as an investor and advisor,” said Canva spokesman Lachlan Andrews in a statement. “Bob brings a wealth of experience after 15 years at the helm of one of the most loved and most creative brands in the world and we’re looking forward to working with him.”
Alternative Investments/Digital: Australian Investors Can Now Invest In A Spot Ethereum ETF
An announcement by Cboe Australia, a regulated stock exchange, said Australian investors could gain access to the Purpose Ether ETF through the Cosmos Purpose Ethereum Access ETF (CPET) launching today on the exchange. Since its launch on the Toronto Stock Exchange in April 2021, the Purpose fund has accumulated more than AUD$570 million in assets under management, and is said to be the world’s first Ethereum ETF.
FinTech: B2B Fintech Mondu Scores $43M Series A Led By Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures
Mondu, a Berlin-based fintech startup eyeing a BNPL product for businesses, has raised $43 million in a Series A round led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures. Other participants in the funding included existing investors Cherry Ventures and FinTech Collective alongside angels from leadership at Klarna, Zalando and SumUp.
Artificial Intelligence: China Launches Zhu Hai Yun, A “Revolutionary” Ocean-Going Drone Ship For Maritime Research
China has announced a fully autonomous ship that can carry a large number of drones, submersibles and other equipment for the conduct of marine research. The ship, named Zhu Hai Yun, can be controlled remotely and is able to navigate the open seas. On a somewhat somber note, the ship can also “quickly intercept, besiege and expel invasive targets.” (SCMP)