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Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, aims to secure $1 billion in equity financing to compete with industry leaders such as OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google. The company, co-founded by Musk, has already garnered $135 million from investors, as revealed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Digital Assets: Transparency And Risk Management At Crypto Firms Still Fall Short Despite FTX (WSJ)
In the absence of a regulatory mechanism in the US, and particularly after the collapse of so many crypto industry players (including FTX – the latest and most high profile) there is all around concern regarding the procedures for risk management, fair accounting, and internal controls that must be implemented within the industry. According to the WSJ, though crypto firms have started to disclose more information about their affairs, investors are still not comfortable with the levels of transparency and accountability in the industry.
Venture Capital: Cyber Security Firm Netskope Raises $401M From Top Notch Investors
Security firm Netskope announced an oversubscribed round of $401 million that saw participation from Morgan Stanley Tactical Value, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments)
Venture Capital: ChatGPT Creator OpenAI May Value At $29B In Share Sale
In a Thursday report the Wall Street Journal revealed that OpenAI, the creator of the highly successful ChatGBT AI bot, was in talks to sell existing shares amounting $300 million to VC firms Thrive Capital and Founders Fund. The transaction (known as a tender offer) would value OpenAI at around $29 billion, WSJ said, with the sellers being existing shareholders including employees.
Artificial Intelligence: ChatGPT Causes A Furore In The Academic World
“It’s a new world. Goodbye homework!” That was Elon Musk’s tweeted response to news that some New York-based colleges are planning to ban the use of ChatGPT to complete homework and are concerned about “negative impacts on student learning and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content.” As a part of the measure, systems linked to university servers will not open the ChatGPT website.
Artificial Intelligence: Microsoft To Integrate ChatGPT’s Tech Into Bing For “Conversational” Search
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is considering the integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT3 technology into its Bing search engine, a nod to the latter’s rising popularity and potential use for answers to queries in conversational language. That would be a huge change from the Google search engine’s link-based responses to search questions.
Digital Assets: Don’t Paint Bitcoin And Ether In The Colors Of Scam-Tainted FTX, Says The Wolf Of Wall Street
And in more good news for crypto aficionados, Belfort also said he expected the price of bitcoin and ether to be “a lot higher.” The Wolf also dismissed the FTX imbroglio as a fraud: “FTX was a scam and there is no way to protect against a scam like that.”
Venture Capital: Troubled Indian On-Line Education Startup Byju’s Wants To Restructure $1.2B Loan
Byju’s, the storied Indian educational startup that last scored a valuation of $22 billion, is seeking to renegotiate the terms of its $1.2 billion dollar loan amidst a surge in interest rates and steep losses in its business.
Artificial Intelligence: Facebook Dating Will Use Facial Scanning To Detect Underage Users
“We’re bringing our age verification tools to Facebook Dating to verify that only adults are using the service, and to continue our efforts in preventing minors from accessing it,” said a blog post Monday by Meta (NASDAQ: META), the parent company of Facebook Dating. Users would be provided two options to verify their age, one of which is to take a video selfie.
Artificial Intelligence: Monarch’s Electric, Driver-Optional, Smart Tractor Now In Commercial Production
Monarch Tractor has rolled out the first production model of the MK-V tractor that combines electrification, automation, and data analysis to help farmers reduce their carbon footprint, improve field safety, streamline farming operations, and boost profitability. The company’s first customer is liquor and wine group Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ), which has purchased the first six Founder Series MK-V tractors.
Digital Assets: Doom And Gloom Predictions, And A Massive Layoff By Kraken
Luminaries from both the financial and crypto worlds are sounding dire warnings about the future of the industry. At an event hosted by the New York Times DealBook, Larry Fink, CEO, BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), said he believed the majority of crypto businesses “are not going to be around” in the future, given that “there were misbehaviours of major consequences.”
Venture Capital: Daycations Platform ResortPass Lands $26M Series B Including From Gwyneth Paltrow
Ever considered a daycation (day+vacation) at your nearest luxury hotel, spending hours enjoying facilities at the property such as the pool, spa, fitness center, and more, without breaking the bank? It’s possible with ResortPass, which makes it possible to enjoy these ‘experiences’ right there in your neighbourhood, at hotels including Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, W Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Fairmont, and Westin. ResortPass announced a Series B raise of $26 million.
FinTech/ESG: Carbon Management App Cogo Partners With Digital Bank Tandem
Cogo is a carbon management expert that pairs its Carbon Footprint model with live banking data allowing a bank’s customers to track how much carbon is associated with their spending anywhere, anytime. Cogo has announced a partnership with digital challenger bank Tandem to initially feature on the bank’s green living hub, which offers practical advice, information and tools for customers. Cogo will integrate with the Tandem banking app fully in 2023.
Artificial Intelligence: Thanks To AI, Insurers Now Have SuperNormal Powers, Says Sompo Chief
These prophetic forewarnings range from the weather, natural calamities, and even senile dementia, according to Mikio Okumura, chief of Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings (TYO: 8630). The forward-looking company invested $500mn investment two years ago in Palantir (NYSE: PLTR), the US specialist in big data analysis. It also has bought a stake in Abeja, a Japanese AI start-up.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Investment Advisory Wahed Launches Shariah And US Equity ETP
A new ETP (Exchange Traded Product) launched by Wahed, a registered investment advisor focused on Halal investments, will invest in US stocks that have passed through a screening process to determine their Shariah status. The ETP, named the Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF, has listed on the LSE.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Powers Mylo, A Virtual Lifeguard That Watches For Pool Drownings
Coral Smart Pool, an Israeli startup, has developed Mylo, a virtual lifeguard that uses computer vision and AI to detect potential drowning accidents in the swimming pool. It also sounds an alarm in case it detects a pool entry.
Artificial Intelligence: Mass Firings At Twitter Include Its Ethical AI Team
Elon Musk-owned Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) is executing a massive firing plan globally. Twitter has closed its offices and suspended the badges of all employees until a decision is made as to whether an employee is fired or retained.
Digital Assets: Coinbase Reports A Net Loss Of $545M In The Third Quarter As Trading Volumes Decline
Crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) has reported disappointing numbers for the September quarter, with its perfomance impacted by the bearish conditions prevailing in the digital assets market, and the consequential impact on transaction revenues.
FinTech: Stripe Lays Off 14% Of Employees As It Faces “A Different Economic Climate,” And “Leaner Times”
“Today we’re announcing the hardest change we have had to make at Stripe to date. We’re reducing the size of our team by around 14% and saying goodbye to many talented Stripes in the process. If you are among those impacted, you will receive a notification email within the next 15 minutes. For those of you leaving: we’re very sorry to be taking this step and John and I are fully responsible for the decisions leading up to it.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Hypatia, A New Fund Manager, Files For ETF On Women CEOs
Hypatia Capital Management boasts of a network of CEO-Level women, asset managers, and public board members that form its collaborative platform. The firm has formulated the Hypatia Women CEO Index (HWCEO), which is designed to measure the performance of female leadership in publicly traded companies. Hypatia has filed with the SEC for the launch of the Hypatia Women CEO ETF (ticker WCEO).
Artificial Intelligence: Meta AI Predicts The Shape Of 600 Million Proteins
Scientists at Meta (NASDAQ: META) used AI to predict the structures of approximately 600 million proteins from bacteria, viruses and other microbes that were not studied before. “Today, we announced an AI breakthrough that accelerates protein folding — the process of predicting a molecule’s shape. Our researchers have used it to create a database of the molecular structures of proteins, which are the building blocks of life on earth,” said an announcement from the company.
Alternative Investments: Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) Of Illinois Plugs $1.5B Into Alternative Investments
Teachers Retirement Systems (TRS) said its long-term funded ratio rose 1.3% during fiscal year 2022 to 43.8%, above TRS’ average funded ratio of 40.7% over the past decade. The Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) of the State of Illinois said it allocated nearly $1.5 billion to alternative investments, out of the $2.6 billion it committed since…
Venture Capital: Elon Musk’s SpaceX Launches Its Falcon Heavy Rocket On National Security Mission
Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Tuesday launched a classified USSF-44 mission for the U.S. Space Force on board its towering Falcon Heavy rocket. The launch came more than three years after the Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission in June 2019, which carried experimental satellites on a demonstration flight for the Pentagon. It was also the company’s record 50th launch this year from the Falcon series, with most from the Falcon 9.
Artificial Intelligence: Silver Lake Backed Bayanat AI Triples On IPO Debut In Abu Dhabi
An Initial Public Offer (IPO) by Bayanat AI, a company owned by Abu Dhabi’s G42, and backed by IHC, the most valuable firm in the United Arab Emirates, proved to be highly successful on its trading debut today on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). Shares of Bayanat AI, whose IPO was oversubscribed over 90X, more than tripled from their IPO price of 1.10 dirhams each, but closed the day at 4.10 dirhams, with gains of 272%.
FinTech: India’s Money View In Talks To Raise $150M At $1B Valuation
Sources have told The Economic Times that Money View, an Indian fintech, is in talks to raise up to $150 million at a valuation of $900 million to $925 million pre-money and over $1 billion post-money. The sources also revealed that global private equity giant Apis Partners is expected to join as a new investor and also lead the round.