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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Venture Capital: Sea Drone Maker Saronic Scores $5M Series A
Saronic, a maritime autonomy company specializing in drone boats, has successfully secured $55 million in a Series A funding round, with Caffeinated Capital leading the investment. This round also saw participation from notable backers, including 8VC, U.S. Innovative Technology Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Point72 Ventures, Silent Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Ensemble VC, and Cubit Capital. This substantial funding signifies Saronic’s commitment to addressing critical capability gaps at sea through attritable and autonomous platforms. With this infusion of capital, Saronic aims to accelerate its research and development efforts and expand its in-house manufacturing capabilities to facilitate rapid production.
Artificial Intelligence: Klarna Unveils AI Image Recognition Tool For Shopping
Klarna, the AI-powered global payments network and shopping assistant, recently introduced 13 innovative products as part of its Spotlight Fall launch. The flagship feature, the Shopping Lens, empowers users to capture images of items in their surroundings, instantly identify where to purchase them, and secure the best deal using Klarna’s search and comparison tool.
Venture Capital: Wanda Fish Reels In $7M For Cultivating BlueFin Tuna Outside The Oceans
Wanda Fish Technologies, a foodtech start-up, has successfully secured USD 7 million in seed funding to expedite the pilot production of cultivated bluefin tuna. This funding round was led by Aqua-Spark, a Netherlands-based global aquaculture investment fund, with participation from pre-seed investors like The Kitchen Hub, Peregrine Ventures, PICO Venture Partners, MOREVC, and CPT Capital, totaling the company’s funding to USD 10 million since its inception in 2021.
FinTech: UK-Based kennek Gets €11.8M Seed Capital To Boost Private Credit With SaaS Product
London-based fintech company kennek has secured an impressive €11.8 million in seed funding. The funding round was led by HV Capital and saw support from Dutch Founders Fund, AlbionVC, FFVC, Plug & Play Ventures, and Syndicate One. Founded in 2021, kennek’s primary mission is to simplify and enhance the non-bank lending sector, which has long grappled with complexity and inefficiency. Traditionally, lenders have had to rely on disjointed tools and data, resulting in significant costs and time consumption. Moreover, this approach has failed to capitalize on recent innovations like Open Banking, Open Finance, and Payments.
Venture Capital: Latin American VC Specialist Kaszek Ventures Amasses $1B For Investing In The Region
Kaszek Ventures, the leading venture capital firm in Latin America, has recently raised a substantial sum of USD $1 billion, bolstering its position in the region’s business ecosystem. Despite the challenging landscape of declining investments in startups throughout Latin America, Kaszek has bucked the trend with this funding. In 2022, the firm made just two investments, but by September of this year, it has already invested in seven companies, including a noteworthy USD $13 million investment in Colombian fintech company, Cobre.
Artificial Intelligence: AI In SETI May Help Us Find Life Beyond Earth
AI is transforming the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), potentially detecting signals from other worlds more efficiently than humans. The sky is a cacophony of radio noise, making the search for alien life daunting. Machine learning algorithms, specifically designed to recognize known forms of radio-frequency interference (RFI), are changing the game. These algorithms analyze data like a haystack, flagging anything unfamiliar for human investigation.
Digital Assets: Hayes Predicts Epic Bull Move In Crypto; Charlie Munger Shreds The Asset Class
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has outlined two crucial factors that he believes will drive a significant bull market in the cryptocurrency sphere. In a recent interview with Crypto Banter, Hayes emphasized the transformative potential of AI commercialization and the unprecedented money printing by the Federal Reserve. He contended that when these two elements are combined, they will propel cryptocurrencies to new heights.
FinTech: Real Time Capital Market Data Provider TMX Datalinx Launches ESG Hub
TMX Datalinx, the information services division of TMX Group (TSE: X), has unveiled its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data hub, a significant step towards integrating ESG considerations into the investment decision-making process for TMX’s clients.
Venture Capital: REGENT Lands $60M For Eco-Friendly Electric Seagliders
REGENT Craft, a Rhode Island-based manufacturer of all-electric seagliders, has successfully raised $60 million in Series A funding. The funding round was co-led by 8090 Industries and Founders Fund, with participation from Japan Airlines Innovation Fund, Lockheed Martin, Yamato Holdings, and Point72 Ventures, among others. This brings REGENT’s total funding to $90 million.
FinTech: Mastercard To Offer Benefits And Rewards To Subscribers Of Instacart And Peacock
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) has unveiled strategic partnerships with Instacart (NASDAQ: CART) and Peacock, aiming to offer added value and convenience to their U.S. consumer credit cardholders. With the cost of essential goods like groceries and fuel steadily rising, access to Mastercard’s extensive rewards and benefits, totaling over $60 billion, has become increasingly important.
Digital Assets: Northern Trust Developing Smart Contracts-Enabled Platform For Transacting Carbon Credits
Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) is developing a digital program to connect institutional buyers with project developers, facilitating the purchase of voluntary carbon credits. This initiative aims to support institutions in their efforts to achieve net-zero goals. The platform employs private ledger digital blockchain technology, enabling seamless interactions between buyers and carbon-credit suppliers. Smart contracts automate the transaction process, ensuring immediate settlement when predefined conditions are met.
Venture Capital: Section 32 Raises $525M For Investing In Disruptive Tech And AI
Section 32 (“S32”) has successfully closed Fund 5, an oversubscribed investment pool totaling $525 million. This fund is earmarked to support and expand companies pioneering cutting-edge technologies. In alignment with S32’s legacy, Fund 5 will focus on backing companies that are pushing the boundaries in software and artificial intelligence (AI). The aim is to facilitate new capabilities and significant performance enhancements in various sectors, including enterprise software, cybersecurity, data infrastructure, gaming, fintech, precision medicine, and computational biology.
Artificial Intelligence: OpenAI Considered Acquiring A Chip Maker (Reuters)
OpenAI is actively considering the development of its own artificial intelligence (AI) chips and has even explored potential acquisition targets in this regard, according to Reuters. While no final decision has been made, the company has been addressing the challenge of the high cost and limited availability of AI chips, which are crucial for its operations. CEO Sam Altman has expressed concerns about the scarcity and cost of graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential for AI applications. OpenAI currently relies heavily on Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) for these chips, a company that controls a significant share of the global market for AI-capable GPUs.
Digital Assets: HKEX Launches Smart Contracts-Powered, T+0 Settlements Via Stock Connect
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has introduced a groundbreaking settlement acceleration platform named HKEX Synapse, aimed at bolstering market efficiency and transparency. This innovative platform is set to launch on October 9, 2023, and is designed to revamp post-trade operations within the Stock Connect program, which serves as a bridge between Mainland Chinese markets and Hong Kong.
FinTech: Eyeing A UK Banking License, Revolut And SoftBank Bury The Hatchet On Share Structure
Revolut has reached an agreement with its largest investor, SoftBank (TYO: 9984), to simplify its ownership structure, a move that helps clear a significant obstacle in its quest to obtain a crucial banking license in the UK. This development follows months of negotiations between the two parties, internally referred to as “Project Swan.” SoftBank had initially sought substantial compensation for relinquishing its priority class of shares.
Venture Capital: At One Ventures Scores $375M For Second Climate Tech Fund
One Ventures, the climate tech venture capital firm founded by Tom Chi, a founding member of Google X, has successfully closed its second fund, raising a substantial US$375 million. Much like its inaugural fund, Fund II is dedicated to supporting early-stage startups with innovative technologies aimed at enhancing the health of the planet. These technologies are poised to address some of the most environmentally damaging industries, including construction, energy, transportation, and agriculture.
Artificial Intelligence: Next-Generation Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Collection Launched With AI Capabilities
Meta (NASDAQ: META) and Ray-Ban are set to launch the second-generation of their smart glasses in October, offering an array of advanced features. These AI-powered sunglasses, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, are designed to enhance the way people document special moments and interact with technology. They come equipped with a 12MP camera, built-in speakers, and a five-microphone system. Wearers can livestream, listen to music, send messages, and make calls via social media platforms, providing a seamless multimedia experience.
Digital Assets: Honda Ties With FCF Pay For Accepting Crypto Payments In The US
Honda (TYO: 7267), in collaboration with the blockchain payment system FCF Pay, has taken a significant leap into the world of cryptocurrencies. This partnership allows customers to purchase Honda products using digital currencies like Bitcoin and XRP instead of traditional fiat currencies. Notably, FCF Pay has embraced a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and even meme coins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, reflecting the growing acceptance of digital assets in various forms.
Artificial Intelligence: Northwestern Researchers Devise New AI That Can Design Functional Robots In Seconds
Northwestern University researchers have achieved a groundbreaking milestone by developing artificial intelligence (AI) capable of intelligently designing robots from scratch. This AI innovation defies conventional methods by swiftly creating novel robot structures on a lightweight personal computer, bypassing the need for energy-intensive supercomputers and colossal datasets.
Venture Capital: Anthropic Is Pedal To The Metal On Funding – Eyes $2B From Google, Hot Valuation
Anthropic, a significant player in the generative artificial intelligence sector, continues its quest for substantial investments, despite already securing substantial funding. The company is currently in discussions with potential investors, including tech giant Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), in pursuit of a new $2 billion funding round. This follows Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) recent commitment to invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic.
Venture Capital: AI Clearing Raises $14M For AI-Powered Construction Monitoring
AI Clearing, an AI-powered construction progress tracking and quality control platform, has secured a significant $14 million in Series A funding. Prudence led the funding round, with participation from FJ Labs, Tera Ventures, Inovo, and Innovation Nest.
FinTech: Visa’s Venture Arm To Spearhead $100M Generative AI Initiative
Visa (NYSE: V), a prominent player in the realm of payments, has unveiled an ambitious initiative with a commitment of $100 million to ventures in Generative AI. It would involve significant investments in the upcoming wave of companies dedicated to advancing generative AI technologies and their applications. The overarching goal is to shape the future of commerce and payments through groundbreaking innovations.
Digital Assets: Ethereum Futures ETFs From VanEck, ProShares, Bitwise Open To A Cool Reception
Three prominent U.S. investment management firms, ProShares, VanEck, and Bitwise Asset Management, have made a groundbreaking move by introducing the first-ever futures-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the value of ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. This development marks a historic opportunity for investors to engage with exchange-traded products based on ether for the very first time.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Revolutionizing Real Estate With New Use Cases
The real estate industry is experiencing a significant shift towards the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, which are being used for a number of new applications. In an interview, David Conroy, the director of emerging technology at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), highlighted the rapid adoption of AI tools within the industry. These tools are playing a transformative role in refining processes throughout the real estate journey, from improving presentations to optimizing sale prices through valuation models.