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
Alternative Investments/Digital: Allianz’ El-Erian Says Fed Waited Too Long To Recognize Inflation
Speaking to CNBC on Monday, Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian said bitcoin is likely to move higher when the Fed responds to inflation. He commented: “That’s what you get when you’ve waited too long to recognize what inflation is and to take action.”
Venture Capital: Andreessen Horowitz Launches ‘a16z START,’ A Startup Accelerator
a16z START is looking for founders in the categories of American dynamism, consumer, enterprise, fintech, games and “other.” Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), the storied Silicon Valley venture firm, has announced its own startup accelerator dubbed ‘a16z START,’ backed by a16z’s $400 million seed fund. Originally launched in fall 2021, the VC firm’s accelerator has already received…
Artificial Intelligence: LG’s IT Group To Set Up AI Platform For Outdoor Smart Farming
A new smart farm will be built on 54.3 acres of farmland in Naju, a city in the country’s south-western region. About the size of 76 football fields, the project is a joint venture between Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and South Jeolla Province. LG CNS, the IT division of the South Korean conglomerate LG (KRX: 003550), will help the venture become a smart farm growing high-quality crops using AI and digital technology.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Low Carbon Singapore Companies Now In An ETF Wrapper
A new ETF that focuses on Singapore companies with low carbon intensity is being launched by OCBC Securities and Lion Global Investors on April 28, becoming the first such ETF in Singapore.
Digital Assets: Spot Bitcoin ETF – Grayscale Warns SEC Is On Thin Ice
CEO Sonnenshein claims the SEC could potentially violate the Administrative Procedure Act by blocking a spot bitcoin ETF. The SEC may have put itself into an untenable position by approving a bitcoin ETF both under the the Investment Company Act of 1940 (40 Act) as well as the Securities Act of 1933 (33 Act). Grayscale…
Venture Capital: Sequoia India On “Breaches Of Integrity Or Ethics”
Sequoia India, writing in a blog on Sunday, addressed recent media reports surrounding fraud and unethical practices at some of the startups in its Indian portfolio. In the context of its highly successful track record nurturing Indian startups that went on to become publicly listed companies, Sequoia stressed these organizations had embraced “the discipline and predictability expected by the public markets.” But Sequoia rued those days when it heard about breaches of integrity or ethics in its portfolio.
Alternative Investments/Real Estate: Global X Launches Green Building ETF
Global X has launched a new Green Building ETF that will allow investors exposure to the theme of rising global demand for environmentally-friendly buildings. With buildings responsible for up to 38% of energy-related carbon emissions globally and 50% of all extracted materials, green buildings are key to reducing building-related emissions and improving urban resiliency in the face of climate change.
Artificial Intelligence: SME Financier Profectus Capital Deploys Scienaptic AI’s Credit Decisioning Platform
Scienaptic AI, the global AI-powered credit decision platform provider, announced today that Profectus Capital is now live on its platform. Scienaptic’s AI powered credit decisioning engine and industry-tested scorecards for Bureau data and Financial Statements will help Profectus make better decisions on financing small and medium businesses.
Digital Assets: Gemini Introduces Instant Crypto Rewards Credit Card
Crypto platform Gemini, which was founded by the Winklevoss twins, has launched the Gemini Credit Card. It’s the first instant crypto rewards credit card that provides a seamless way for consumers to acquire up to 3%+ back from 60+ cryptocurrencies supported on Gemini’s platform. Issued by WebBank, the new card features Mastercard as the exclusive card network.
FinTech: Cross River Bank To Help Build Revolut USA’s Credit Business
Cross River Bank, a technology infrastructure provider that offers embedded financial solutions, will partner with Revolut to set up the first U.S.-based consumer personal loans for Revolut customers using Cross River’s technology infrastructure.
Venture Capital: E-Commerce Software Provider Salsify Scores $200M Raise
Salsify, which provides software to participants in the e-commerce sector, closed a $200 million Series F round led by TPG, with participation from Permira‘s Growth Opportunities Fund, Neuberger Berman and Cap Table Coalition. As of date, Salsify has therefore raised a total of $450 million and its latest valuation is $2 billion.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Fidelity Launches Five Fixed Income Sustainable Funds And ETFs
Fidelity Investments has strengthens its suite of sustainable fixed income funds with the launch of five new fixed income sustainable funds and ETFs – Fidelity Sustainable Core Plus Bond Fund (FIAEX), Fidelity Sustainable Core Plus Bond ETF (FSBD), Fidelity Sustainable Low Duration Bond Fund (FAPGX), Fidelity Sustainable Low Duration Bond ETF (FSLD), and Fidelity Sustainable Intermediate Municipal Income Fund (FSIKX).
Artificial Intelligence: Bosch Acquires Five.ai For Automated Driving
Five employs 140 associates at six locations in the United Kingdom. Bosch, the global electronics and mobility provider, has acquired Five, Europe’s leading startup in the field of automated driving, as it eyes a major role in the development of self-driving cars. The organizations agreed on the transaction at the beginning of April, and the…
Venture Capital/ESG: Stripe And Big Techs Launch $925M Worth Of ‘Advance Market Commitment’ For Carbon Capture Startups
Fintech giant Stripe is joining hands with several tech companies, including Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Meta (NASDAQ: FB) to form Frontier, which will spend nearly $1 billion to assure product offtake from carbon capture startups. Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) and McKinsey are also chipping in. Frontier will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Stripe.
FinTech: Philippine Fintech Holding Company Voyager Raises $210M
Philippine fintech leader Voyager Innovations turned unicorn at a valuation of nearly $1.4 billion after it raised $210 million. The round was led by new investor SIG Venture Capital, the Asian venture capital arm of SIG. Other new investors included Singapore-based global investor EDBI and investment holding company First Pacific Company Ltd.
Artificial Intelligence: Alibaba Cloud Uses AI To Efficiently Incinerate Garbage
Massive garbage landfills are being tackled in China through incineration, and one in ten of incinerators are now using AI, such as Alibaba Cloud, to help conserve energy and to minimise the release of toxins from the burning process.
Alternative Investments/Digital: Fidelity Launches Crypto And Metaverse Themed ETFs
Fidelity Investments launched today two new thematic ETFs that provide equity exposure to emerging industry ecosystems such as the crypto and metaverse industries. The Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF (FDIG) and Fidelity Metaverse ETF (FMET) would be available on or about April 21, 2022, for individual investors and financial advisors to purchase commission-free through Fidelity’s online brokerage platforms.
Alternative Investments/ESG: BlackRock Launches Four New Sector ESG ETFs
BlackRock listed the iShares MSCI World Materials Sector ESG UCITS ETF (WMTS), the iShares MSCI World Industrials Sector ESG UCITS ETF (WINS), the iShares World Energy Sector ESG UCITS ETF (WENE) and the iShares MSCI World Communication Services Sector ESG UCITS ETF (WCMS) on the Euronext Amsterdam on April 11.
Digital Assets: Sony And Lego Back Epic’s Metaverse Vision With $1B Each
Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, announced it had raised $1 billion each from existing investor Sony Group Corporation as well as KIRKBI, the family-owned holding and investment company behind The LEGO Group. The funding, intended to advance Epic’s vision to build the metaverse and fuel its growth, valued Epic at $31.5 billion.
Venture Capital: MyForest Foods Raises $15M Venture Loan To Scale Plant-Based Bacon
MyForestFoods, previously known as Atlast, has secured venture loan financing from Connecticut’s Horizon Technology Finance Corporation and a private investment vehicle connected to Horizon, to scale up its production of mycelium-based bacon. The investors funded $7.5 million each.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Dimensional Has Four Sustainable ETFs On The Anvil
Dimensional Fund Advisors is planning to launch a suite of four new sustainable ETFs offering exposures to the US, International, Emerging and Fixed Income markets, with a focus on lower emissions. Currently listed Dimensional ETFs aggregate AUM of about US$48 billion across 20 funds.
Digital Assets: Peter Thiel Targets Wall Street Head Honchos In Blistering Tirade
Speaking at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami on Thursday, billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel questioned why bitcoin could not achieve the market capitalizations of gold ($12 trillion) and the equities market ($115 trillion).
FinTech: India’s BankBazaar Is IPO-Bound, Sezzle Expands BNPL, Le Monde Hires Stripe, And More
News from around FinTech.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Neuberger Berman Launches Carbon Transition ETF
Neuberger Berman on Thursday launched its first actively managed ETFs covering the themes of technology disruption, digitally connected consumers, and infrastructure-enabling decarbonization. The new ETFs are Neuberger Berman’s Connected Consumer ETF (NYSEARCA: NBCC); Carbon Transition & Infrastructure ETF (NYSEARCA: NBCT); and the Disrupters ETF (NYSEARCA: NBDS).