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/Digital: First Trust Advisors Files For The Indxx Metaverse ETF
The metaverse is catching on fast with stories of plots of virtual land selling for millions of dollars and digital artworks getting snapped up for tens of millions of dollars. The metaverse is, as simply defined by Facebook: “A set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you.”
Venture Capital: Israeli Fintech Tipalti (“I Handled It”) Nabs $270M At $8.3B Valuation
Tipalti, an Israeli startup that automates accounts payables and processes over $30 billion in total annual payments volume, announced a $270 million Series F funding led by G Squared. New investors Marshall Wace and funds and accounts managed by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), in addition to current investors Zeev Ventures, Durable Capital Partners, 01 Advisors and others also participated in the funding.
FinTech: Digital Neo Bank Monzo Is Closing On A $500M Raise At $4.5B Valuation
British digital bank Monzo has turned around its fortunes this year after a surge in the number of new customers took its user base to 5 million and doubled its revenues this year. The bank has pivoted from a situation in 2020 when its auditors expressed doubts over its ability to continue operating as a going concern. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that Monzo is in the midst of closing a $500 million funding round at a valuation of $4.5 billion – a far cry from February, when it was valued at £1.25 billion.
Artificial Intelligence: The AI World News Digest
On Wednesday, Google-owned, London-based DeepMind announced an AI algorithm that can perform a wide range of language tasks, and display near-human-level competence on some, such as high school reading and comprehension.
FinTech: Amex-Backed Kabbage Offers Flexible Funding For Small Businesses
Kabbage, which is backed by American Express (NYSE: AXP), announced Wednesday the launch of its Kabbage Funding product aimed at small businesses looking for funding including for working capital. Eligible small businesses may avail of flexible lines of credit in the range of $1,000 and $150,000.
Venture Capital: Urban Clean Energy Startup BlocPower Gets $5.5M From The Bezos Earth Fund
BlocPower, a Brooklyn-based energy technology startup focused on decarbonization of buildings and cities, received a $5.5 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund. The amount was part of new donations of $443 million that the Fund disbursed to various climate and environmental groups this week.
Venture Capital: Loft Orbital, A Provider Of “Space-Infrastructure-As-A-Service,” Raises $140M
Space infrastructure startup Loft Orbital flies customers’ payloads into space aboard its regularly scheduled satellites missions, and as well, handles the entire mission as a service for the customer. It raised $140 million in a funding round led by BlackRock (NYSE: BLK).
Alternative Investments/AI: Mount Yale Launches Growth And Value Alpha Intelligent (AI) ETFs
Princeton Fund Advisors, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mount Yale Capital Group, has launched two new Alpha Intelligent funds based on growth or value. The Alpha Intelligent Large Cap Value ETF (AILV) and the Alpha Intelligent Large Cap Growth ETF (AILG) are based on the Ensemble Active Management (EAM) system.
Artificial Intelligence: A $500M Gift From Priscilla Chan And Mark Zuckerberg Funds New Harvard Institute
A gift of $500 million from Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, announced Tuesday by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), will fund the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence, launched by Harvard University the same day. It represents a new University-wide initiative standing at the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence, seeking fundamental principles that underlie both human and machine intelligence.
Venture Capital: Genesys Closes $580M Round Led By SalesForce Ventures
Call center and customer experience software provider Genesys Cloud Services announced Monday its close of a $580 million round led by Salesforce Ventures with participation by ServiceNow Ventures, Zoom Video Communications Inc., BlackRock, D1 Capital Partners and an unnamed West Coast-based large mutual fund manager.
FinTech: UK Fintech Butter Launches BNPL Card
Butter, the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech based in the UK, has announced the launch of its BNPL card in a bid to take the battle into the courts of the traditional credit card issuers. Credit cards are already on the back foot and BNPL as a payment option has caught on globally. The new BNPL card from Butter is aligned towards brick-and-mortar shoppers, however.
Artificial Intelligence: Controversial AI Company Clearview To Nab Patent For “A Search Engine For Faces”
Clearview AI, the company that has been under fire from governments, tech giants and privacy advocacy organizations for scraping facial images from social media, is on the cusp of bagging a patent for a “search engine for faces” that can roam the internet to find matches.
Digital Assets: Blockchain.com Integrates NFT Transactions Inside Its Wallet
Blockchain.com, a block explorer, crypto wallet provider, and digital asset exchange platform, announced its Blockchain.com NFT, a marketplace that will allow users to buy, sell, and store NFTs right inside their Blockchain.com Wallet.
Alternative Investments/Digital: Defiance Launches The First NFT-Focused ETF
Defiance ETFs has launched the Defiance Digital Revolution ETF on the NYSE’s Arca platform. The ETF, which has the ticker symbol NFTZ, will track the performance of the ‘BITA NFT and Blockchain Select Index,’ which comprises NFT, blockchain and crypto stocks, including NFT marketplaces and issuers such as Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), Playboy (NASDAQ: PLBY), and DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG). The index is rules-based and rebalanced quarterly.
FinTech: Now, Cash Back With BNPL, Thanks To Rakuten-Afterpay Tie-Up
Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) leader Afterpay (ASX: APT) and shopping rewards and cash back program Rakuten have come together to launch BNPL with the added incentive of cash back. Savvy shoppers looking to make this holiday season a bit easier on their budgets can receive elevated incentives along with the convenience of paying in installments.
Venture Capital: Investing Platform Public.com Now Has Tennis Star Maria Sharapova On Board
Former tennis star Maria Sharapova has picked up an undisclosed stake in Public.com, an investing platform that has more than 1 million users, 90% of which are first time investors. In a nod towards promoting financial literacy, Sharapova said she appreciated how Public broke down the category into simple, educational, user-friendly steps to make investing less intimidating, and helped users take control of their finances more confidently.
Digital Assets: El Salvador Ecologist Warns Of Disaster Mix From Bitcoin, Volcanos, And Drug Lords
El Salvador’s leading ecologist Ricardo Navarro, who runs a non-governmental organization CESTA (Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology), said in an interview with the Telegraph that President Nayib Bukele’s plans to use geothermal and volcanic energy to mine bitcoin were ill-advised.
Artificial Intelligence: New Revelations In Pure Mathematics By AI
Machine learning has assisted in the discovery of new fundamental results in pure mathematics. Researchers at DeepMind, London, University of Oxford, and University of Sydney have proposed a method by which machine learning can aid mathematicians in discovering new conjectures and theorems.
FinTech: LatAm BNPL Provider Kueski Nabs $202M Series C Round
Kueski is one of the largest buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and digital lenders in Latin America. It announced December 2 its close of a $202 million Series C debt and equity round. The equity round was led by StepStone Group and the debt financing was led by Victory Park Capital.
Digital Assets: Renowned Investor Charlie Munger Sides With China On Its Crypto Ban
Charlie Munger has shot off another broadside against bitcoin, endorsing China’s action in banning cryptos. A long-standing bitcoin skeptic, Munger was speaking in an interview for the Sohn Hearts & Minds Investment Conference, as reported by the AFR and cited by Yahoo News.
Venture Capital: 15-Minute Delivery Startup JOKR Raises $260M Series B
New York-based instant grocery delivery startup JOKR has become a unicorn within nine months of its launch and raised a $260 million Series B within five months of raising $170 million via Series A in July. The latest round included existing investors GGV Capital, Balderton and Tiger Global. New joiners included Activant Capital, Greycroft, G-Squared, HV Capital, Kaszek, Mirae Asset, Monashees and Moving Capital.
Venture Capital: Porsche Buys A Stake In Sustainable Homes-Focused Startup 1KOMMA5°
Porsche, the German car maker, has taken a stake in Hamburg-based startup 1KOMMA5° through its venture finance arm, Porsche Ventures. The startup seeks to boost the rollout of presently decentralized technologies related to renewable energy and mobility for homes by knitting together electrical installation entrepreneurs and companies onto a networking platform. 1KOMMA5° will also support them with technology for digitizing their business and centralization of admin tasks, as well as provide growth capital.
Artificial Intelligence: In 2022, Order Your Pizza On An App, Have It Served By Robots In A Mobile Restaurant
A trio of ex-SpaceX engineers, Benson Tsai, Brian Langone, and James Wahawisan, founded Stellar Pizza in 2019. The company has devised an innovative machine that uses high technology and advanced robotics to bake a pizza inside five minutes without the touch of a human hand. Stellar Pizza will launch in the spring of 2022 in Los Angeles inside a food truck and will serve pizzas baked on the basis of orders placed on the company’s app.
Alternative Investments/Digital: Fidelity Canada Launches A Bitcoin ETF And Mutual Fund
Fidelity Investments Canada ULC has launched the Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF and Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF Fund (Mutual Fund) for investors seeking exposure to the largest cryptocurrency in the world.