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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Artificial Intelligence: Autonomous Saildrone Surveyor Completes 28-Day, SFO-HONO Voyage
The Saildrone Surveyor, an unmanned, fully autonomous vehicle designed for deep-ocean mapping, completed its maiden voyage from San Francisco to Honolulu on Thursday, July 8. The 14-ton, 22-meter long Surveyor used wind and solar energy to power its 2,250 NM voyage and array of acoustic instruments.
Venture Capital: Indian eCommerce Giant Flipkart Raises $3.6B At $37.6B Valuation
Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce platform majority-owned by Walmart (NYSE: WMT), announced today (July 12, 2021) its $3.6 billion funding round led by GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Walmart. Sovereign funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional also participated in the round alongside big-name investors such as Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton, and Tiger Global.
FinTech: Stripe Makes The First Move En Route To Much Anticipated Stock Market Listing
A Reuters exclusive report said digital payments processor Stripe Inc had hired a law firm to advise on a potential listing. Stripe is reckoned as the most valuable US tech startup after it garnered a valuation of $95 billion in a $600 million fundraising round in March. Investors included Allianz X, Baillie Gifford, Sequoia Capital, and Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
Venture Capital: India’s Ola To Get $500M In Pre-IPO Funding From Temasek, Warburg Pincus
Ola, the Indian ride-hailing startup, said today (July 9, 2021) that private equity firms Temasek and Plum Wood Investment Ltd, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, are partnering with founder Bhavish Aggarwal in a $500 million investment in anticipation of Ola’s planned initial public offering (IPO).
Digital Assets: Square Mulling A Hardware Wallet For Bitcoin
There has been fresh development on the thought process on a bitcoin hardware wallet kicked off by Square (NYSE: SQ) CEO Jack Dorsey in June. Square hardware lead Jesse Dorogusker confirmed in a tweet that the company was going ahead with plans to make new tools for bitcoin.
Alternative Investments/Digital: Roundhill Launches A Virtual Worlds’-Focused “Metaverse” ETF
Roundhill Investments launched last week a new ETF built around the theme of the Metaverse. The Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF is the first-of-its-kind ETF to provide investors exposure to the market of the Metaverse – “a successor-state to today’s mobile Internet, but which will involve countless interoperable and persistent virtual worlds, be richly integrated into the physical world as well, thereby creating a new medium and economy for work, leisure, and innovation.”
Artificial Intelligence: Micron Technology Uses AI To Earn Higher Interest
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), a manufacturer of memory chips, uses an AI tool to earn millions of dollars of extra income on its treasury operations that deploy the company’s surplus cash in deposits and investments.
Digital Assets: Bank of America Creates Cryptocurrency Research Team
Cryptocurrencies are here to stay, judging from a push into their research by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), the latest Wall Street entity to dip its toes into digital assets. According to Bloomberg, which saw an internal memo, the Bank has installed a new research team focused on cryptocurrencies.
Venture Capital: Clearco, Which Offers Equity-Free Capital To Startups, Raises $215M
That model is clearly working because Clearco has so far paid out $2.4 billion to 5,500 founders in the e-commerce, mobile app, and enterprise software segments. Today (July 8, 2021) the company said it raised $215 million in an equity funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp’s Vision Fund 2.
FinTech: U.K.’s Atom Bank Hits Twin Billion-Pound Milestones On Single Day
App-based Atom Bank, which calls itself the UK’s first bank completely for mobile, hit two major milestones this week on the same day: More than £3bn of residential mortgage completions and £1bn in deposits into its Instant Saver accounts. The growth has encouraged the company enough to reconfirm its intention to go public in the next two years.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Sprott’s To Reorganize UPC Into Physical Uranium Fund
Sprott’s has agreed with Uranium Participation Corp (TSE: U), a Toronto-based company focused on investing in physical uranium, to reorganize the latter into an investment-fund listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Subsequent to such reorganization, the fund will pursue a listing on the NYSE Arca exchange.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Tool Predicts Diabetes Risk From Fat Around The Heart
An AI tool developed by researchers from Queen Mary University of London has established that larger amounts of fat surrounding a person’s heart indicate the higher probability of diabetes regardless of the person’s age, sex, and body mass index. The AI tool could automatically estimate the amount of fat around the heart from MRI scan images.
Venture Capital: Bootstrapped Property Management Software Provider Entrata Nabs $507M
Utah-based Entrata, the fastest-growing software company in real estate and a provider of property management software to more than 20,000 apartment communities across the United States, announced today (July 7, 2021) its first institutional fundraise of $507 million. This is the startup’s first institutional funding since its founding in 2003.
Digital Assets: Ethereum Could Steal A March Over Bitcoin, Says Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) said in a Tuesday note that in years to come, Ether’s market capitalization could overtake that of bitcoin, driven by more real-world applications running on the Ethereum blockchain.
FinTech: Money Transfer App Wise Gets $11B Valuation In London Direct Listing
Fintech Wise Plc (LON: WISE) on Wednesday pioneered the direct listing route for a tech company going public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and in the process, garnered a solid capitalization of £8 billion ($11 billion). Apart from turning founders Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarman into billionaires, Wise’s bumper listing also marked a win for the UK, which has set its heart on turning London into a fintech superhub after Brexit.
Liquid Alternatives: BlackRock Launches Liquid Alternatives ESG Fund In Europe
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) has introduced its Systematic Multi-Strategy ESG Screened fund in Europe. The new fund is categorized as Article 8 under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). It seeks to provide a total return in the form of capital and income through three uncorrelated and complementary strategies.
Digital Assets: The Flip Flop Around Cryptocurrencies
In a note published last week, analysts at UBS’ global wealth management unit warned that investors should stay clear of cryptocurrencies because they were vulnerable to tougher regulations, particularly in the US and UK.
Alternative Investments/ESG: AuAg Funds Launches ESG-Screened Gold Mining ETF
The AuAg ESG Gold Mining UCITS ETF (ESGO) will list on the London Stock Exchange. Sweden-based AuAg Funds, a boutique brand with a focus on precious metals & green-tech elements, and white-label ETF platform HANetf have come together to launch Europe’s first ESG-focused gold mining ETF. The AuAg ESG Gold Mining UCITS ETF (ESGO) provides…
Venture Capital: DIY French Platform ManoMano Raises $355M At A Valuation Of $2.6B
ManoMano, the French startup that operates an e-commerce platform for home improvement products, has raised $355 million at a $2.6 billion valuation to further its growth ambitions in Europe and double its workforce. It also intends to develop its range of products for construction and renovation professionals.
FinTech: Revolut In Talks To Raise Upto $1B At A Valuation Over $30B
Revolut, the British challenger bank, and its advisers have sounded a select group of investors on an investment between $750m (£542m) and $1bn (£723m), according to Sky News. The report, which cited “industry sources,” also said SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 is one of those investors, and that the round, if successful could value Revolut at a massive $30 billion or more.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Cuts Repatriation Costs Of Lost Luggage By 90%
SITA, a specialist in air transport communications and IT, has an AI-powered solution that helps resolve that chronic problem for airlines and passengers alike: lost luggage and articles. The manual process for reporting, matching, recording and return of these items to their owners is slow, opaque, expensive and stressful. The WorldTracer Lost and Found Property software program from SITA solves this problem on a global scale.
FinTech: ClearScore, UK, Scores $200M Investment From Invus Opportunities
ClearScore, the UK-based fintech that provides free credit scores to everybody (forever) announced it had received an investment of $200 million, at a valuation of $700 million, from Invus Opportunities, the global equity investor. Existing investors QED, Blenheim Chalcot and LeadEdge, together with management, retained the majority of their positions in ClearScore, but allowed Invus Opportunities to take a significant minority position in the company.
Digital Assets: World Bank Snub Regardless, El Salvador Announces Bitcoin Wallets, ATMs
Speaking to the nation on Thursday, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said that bitcoin will become legal tender in the country effective September 7. Bukele also gave details of the Chivo bitcoin wallet that Salvadoreans could use and which would be credited with a free $30 worth of bitcoin for signing up.
Venture Capital: RV Rental Platform Outdoorsy Raises $120M In Equity And Debt
Online marketplace for outdoor travel and recreational vehicles (RVs) Outdoorsy announced Thursday an equity and debt financing aggregating $120 million. The company said it was continuing to experience strong growth in its core business as well as its Roamly insurtech business.