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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Digital Assets: Memorial Day Weekend Could Be Highly Volatile For Crypto (Fundstrat)
Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at financial research firm Fundstrat, has advised crypto investors to keep a low profile and hedge their holdings against heightened volatility due to low trading volumes.
FinTech: National Australia Bank (NAB) Introduces ‘NAB Now Pay Later’
National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) is muscling into fintechs’ preserve with its own version of Buy-Now-Pay-Later. NAB’s pay later product is called “NAB Now Pay Later,” and gives Australians more control of their money, according to the bank.
Venture Capital: Vertical Farming Company Bowery Opens Latest Farm In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bowery’s new vertical farm stands on a brownfield site that was part of Bethlehem Steel’s operations. It will create 70 new jobs in the area, and is strategically located to be able to provide locally grown and pesticide free produce to millions of people in the Northeast of America. Bowery is the largest vertical farming company in the country.
Alternative Investments/ESG: BetaShares To Launch Solar Energy And Uranium Focused ETFs In Australia
BetaShares ETFs has announced plans to launch two new ETFs that will offer investors Down Under exposure to two of the world’s most important alternative energy sources – namely, solar energy and uranium – that are likely to play a major role in the forthcoming energy transition.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Krane Funds Launches UCITS ETF For ESG-Screened Exposure To EVs
Krane Funds launched Thursday the KraneShares Electric Vehicles & Future Mobility ESG Screened UCITS ETF (KARS). It is a passively managed UCITS that tracks the Bloomberg Electric Vehicles ESG Screened Index.
Artificial Intelligence: Crewless 750-Ton Commercial Cargo Ship Completes A 500-Mile Voyage Successfully
In what is said to be a world-first, the Suzaka commercial cargo ship, owned by Japanese shipping group NYK, sailed autonomously from Tokyo Bay and completed successfully a 40-hour, 790 km voyage with near-zero human intervention. The ship was equipped with Orca AI’s Automatic Ship Target Recognition System, a safety system for autonomous ships.
FinTech: There’s That Term Again – “Impacted” (Read: Fired); This Time It’s Checkout Startup Bolt
Bolt Financial, the one-click checkout fintech, has kicked off employee layoffs, citing macro challenges and changing market conditions in the industry and tech sector.
Digital Assets: Giant Bitcoin Mining Outfit In Texas Gets Four Tesla Megapack Batteries
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has delivered four Megapacks to the mega-scale bitcoin mining facility in Texas being built by Blockstream and Jack Dorsey’s Block (NYSE: SQ). Megapack is a powerful battery that provides energy storage and support, helping to stabilize the grid and prevent outages. Each unit can store over 3 MWh of energy—that’s enough energy to power an average of 3,600 homes for one hour.
Venture Capital/Digital: Andreessen Horowitz Wraps Up $4.5B For Crypto Fund IV
Silicon Valley-based, storied, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz announced a new $4.5 billion fund to back startups in the crypto, or web3 space. Computing is now entering the golden era of web3, the firm feels, akin to the golden era of 2009-11, when companies like Uber, Venmo, Snap, and Instagram were started. “That’s why we decided to go big,” wrote Founder and Managing Partner Chris Dixon in the fund announcement.
Alternative Investments/Digital/VC/RealEstate: VC To Be Bitcoin’s Saviour, Prefer Crypto To Real Estate (JP Morgan)
JPMorgan said in a research report Wednesday that despite the fallout from the Terra/Luna collapse, the crypto market would be saved from a “winter” by venture capital, and that bitcoin could rebound to its fair value of $38,000 after a “capitulation” in recent weeks. That implies an upside of about 28% from bitcoin’s current price of $29,618.
Artificial Intelligence: This Tiny Robotic Crab Measures Just Half A Millimeter Wide
Engineers at Northwestern University (NWU) have developed a remote-controlled, crab-shaped walking robot claimed to be the smallest such device ever made. This technology is still in its early stages, but opens up the possibility of these mite-sized robotic crabs being deployed to execute tasks in small, cramped spaces that are difficult to access by humans.
Artificial Intelligence: Underwater, Autonomous Glider Tracks CO2 Levels In Alaska’s Resurrection Bay
CO2 concentrations are a valuable quantifier of ocean acidification, the result of greenhouse gases emitted by human activities. Hitherto, CO2 concentrations in our oceans were monitored by ships, buoys and moorings tethered to the ocean floor. In a new method, an autonomous glider fitted with a large CO2 sensor was deployed overnight in the Gulf of Alaska by the Nanuq, a University of Alaska Fairbanks research vessel.
Venture Capital/ESG: Adam Neumann Co-Founded Flowcarbon Raises $70M Via VC Funding And Token Sale
Flowcarbon, co-founded by Adam Neumann, known for WeWork, is a climate technology company seeking to formalize the market for carbon offsets on the blockchain. The startup announced Tuesday its $70 million fundraise comprising token sales and a $32 million Series A round led by a16z crypto and including General Catalyst, Samsung Next, Invesco Private Capital, 166 2nd, Sam and Ashley Levinson, Kevin Turen, RSE Ventures, and Allegory Labs. Notable names that participated in the token sale included Fifth Wall, Box Group, and the Celo Foundation.
Digital Assets: The Terra (LUNA) Implosion – Sidelights
One hapless investor lost about 3 billion won ($2.4 million) in the LUNA and UST implosion earlier this month. A Korean social media personality going by the name of “Chancers” took it upon himself to knock on the door to Kwon’s condo in Seoul after Do Kwon allegedly went incommunicado subsequent to the meltdown in the LUNA crypto and UST stablecoin. Unfortunately, Chancers was unaware of the law prohibiting such an action and was arrested by the authorities.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Could Bring Us Fresh Insight Into Earthquakes
Scientists have long held the view that earthquakes are impossible to predict, being random events. But the potential for damage these natural events have, including the loss of life, have led researchers to explore whether that could be changed using technology such as AI and machine learning.
Scientists at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico, led by Dr Paul Johnson, a staff scientist at the lab’s geophysics group, conducted experiments that attempted to predict the timing of a quake, rather than its magnitude, location or time. The test was surprisingly successful.
Digital Assets: Swiss Venture Firm CV VC Launches African Blockchain Early-Stage Fund; Issues African Blockchain Report
CV VC announced Monday at Davos the launch of its African Blockchain Early-Stage Fund to bring the advantages of the blockchain and its own expertise to enable Africa to transact and interact for the well-being of its people and economies.
Venture Capital: Rapid Delivery Service Gorillas Lays Off 320 Employees, Mulls Withdrawal From A Few EU Countries
Gorillas, the delivery startup that made waves with its nearly $1 billion Series C funding round in October, has redrawn its growth plans with an eye, instead, on long term profitability. As a result, it is letting go of about 300 employees worldwide and looking at “strategic options” for its operations in Italy, Spain, Denmark and Belgium.
FinTech: Klarna, Last Valued At $46B, Cuts Workforce By 10%
On Monday, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s CEO and co-founder, told all his employees to work from home this week. The reason: to soften the blow, and “in consideration of the privacy of the people affected” by the fintech’s decision to lay off 10% of the workforce. The fintech, famous for “buy-now-pay-later,” said it was the “hardest” decision it ever made.
Alternative Investments/Real Estate: JPMorgan Converts A Realty Income Fund To ETF
The JPMorgan Realty Income Fund, an open-ended mutual fund which was in operation since January 1, 1998, has converted to the JPMorgan Realty Income ETF with effect from the close of business of May 20, 2022. The ETF seeks to provide high total investment return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income.
Artificial Intelligence: Overjet Wins FDA Clearance For Its AI-Powered Software That Detects Dental Caries
The FDA has cleared Caries Assist, the AI-powered dental caries detection and outlining software from Overjet AI. The approval follows a FDA previous clearance for Dental Assist, Overjet’s AI-enabled software for bone level measurement in X-rays with periodontal disease.
Digital Assets: Michael Saylor Unmoved By Crypto Weakness; “We Think It’s The Future Of Money”
Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), who is permanently bullish on bitcoin, reiterated his positive outlook for the leading crypto in an interview on Thursday. Note that MicroStrategy currently holds a trove of 129,218 bitcoins, approximately worth $3.73 billion at current prices.
Digital Assets: Traditional Markets Could Suffer Contagion From (Un)Stablecoins (SEC Chair Gensler)
The crypto world was dealt a body blow by the collapse of the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin earlier this month. The Terra meltdown is now being referred as crypto’s “Lehman moment.” Worse, other stablecoins and protocols seem to have been dragged into Terra’s aftermath and appear to be in danger of losing their dollar pegs, notably Deus Finance’s DEI coin, currently tottering at $0.5873.
Venture Capital: Big-Ticket Funding Rounds In Fintechs
Fast-growing, Southeast Asia-focused payments infrastructure platform Xendit closed on a US$300 million Series D funding co-led by Coatue and Insight Partners with additional investment from Accel, Tiger Global, Kleiner Perkins, EV Growth, Amasia, Intudo, and Justin Kan’s Goat Capital. BaaS platform Unit announced a $100 million Series C led by Jeff Horing of Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors Accel, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and Flourish, as well as new investors Stepstone, Moving Capital (Uber alumni syndicate), and prominent fintech angels.
FinTech: Sam Bankman-Fried Led FTX.US Makes Inroads Into Stock Trading
FTX Stocks is an equity trading platform offered through the FTX US trading application. FTX US announced Thursday a private beta phase trading on the platform for US customers selected from a waitlist. These customers would get access to hundreds of US exchange-listed securities, including common stocks and ETFs, alongside the cryptos already available in the FTX US app.