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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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Artificial Intelligence: USC Develops AI To Tackle New Virus Variants “In Seconds”
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a method to accelerate vaccine development to counter potential new mutations of the coronavirus. Using AI, the researchers can vaccine analysis and identify the best medical therapy for treatment.
Digital Assets: Star-Studded Lineup Supports New $72M VC Fund Eyeing Crypto
A star-studded lineup supports a new $72M VC Fund eyeing crypto. Private equity stalwart Glenn Hutchins along with son James Hutchins and partner Travis Scher launched the new fund and attracted hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, Raj and Indra Nooyi (the latter being the former CEO of PepsiCo), and James Todd Smith, a.k.a LL Cool J as investors.
FinTech: Digital Payments Fired Up By The Pandemic Propel PayPal To Its Strongest Year Ever
PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) had a superlative fourth quarter fueled by the ongoing shift to digital payments following the pandemic. Its total payment volume (TPV), or the value of transactions made across the platform, rose to $277 billion, up 39% from $199.4 billion in the year-earlier period. PayPal beat analysts’ estimates of TPV of $268 billion. Active accounts surged to 377 million after the platform added 16 million in the fourth quarter.
FinTech: Ant Group Agrees With Regulators To Become A Financial Holding Company
The Ant Group, which had to shelve its $35 billion IPO in November following a scrap with China’s regulators, has agreed with them to restructure its operations. According to Bloomberg, Ant will now house all its operations, including the tech-heavy food delivery and blockchain, in a financial holding company. This company will be subject to capital requirements akin to banks.
Artificial Intelligence: IdentiFlight’s AI-Powered Bird Detection Systems Save Eagles From Wind Turbines
It’s a “green-versus-green” conundrum. Windfarms generate emission-free energy on the one hand, but cause the deaths of wildlife such as protected eagle species, on the other. IdentiFlight’s smart cameras, however, provide an automated curtailment system that slows or stops wind turbines when it senses the risk of collision due to inbound wildlife.
Venture Capital: Robert Downey Jr. Launches FootPrint Coalition Ventures At WEF Digital Davos Agenda
Robert Downey Jr., producer, investor, and Iron Man star, launched FootPrint Coalition Ventures (FCV) at the World Economic Forum’s Digital Agenda on Wednesday. FCV comprises two ESG sector funds that will accelerate groundbreaking technologies to tackle the world’s largest environmental challenges.
FinTech: Brazilian Fintech Nubank Pulls In $400M At Massive $25B Valuation
Nubank, the Brazilian fintech bank that promised to serve the country’s vastly underbanked population has delivered. The bank now has 34 million customers today, and that number is more than three times its 2019 base of 12 million. After the latest G Round funding of $400 million, Nubank is valued at a solid $25 billion.
Digital Assets: DOJ Busts NetWalker Ransomware Actors
The Department of Justice announced Wednesday its successful strike against the notorious NetWalker ransomware and its perpetrators. The coordinated international action, led by the FBI’s Tampa Field office indicted a Canadian Canadian national, Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins, who allegedly obtained $27.6 million as a “Netwalker affiliate.” Additionally, the law enforcement agents seized $454,530.19 in cryptocurrency from ransom payments. They also disabled a dark web hidden tool that the bad actors used to communicate with NetWalker ransomware victims.
Alternative Investments: BMO Launches 11 New ‘Megatrend’ ETFs
BMO announced Tuesday the launch of 11 new Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Five of these ETFs form part of an Innovation suite, while the other six focus on clean energy, covered calls, fixed income, and ESG.
Artificial Intelligence: Now AI Can Predict Schizophrenia From Brain Scans
Researchers at the University of Alberta developed an AI tool for predicting schizophrenia from brain scans of healthy close relatives (such as children or siblings) of persons suffering from the mental disease. Out of 57 persons, the AI system could identify the 14 individuals that scored the highest in a schizophrenia self-test.
FinTech: Infinity Maritime Names Four Shipbrokers For Its Alternative Ship Finance Platform
Infinity Maritime aims to provide a sustainable solution for maritime finance by digitizing ship portfolios on its platform. This enables fractional ownership, secondary trading in ships, and the financing of environmentally sustainable fleets. The London-based platform announced Wednesday a collaboration with four major shipbrokers to source ships for the creation of a sustainable fleet.
Artificial Intelligence: The World’s First NVIDIA-Certified AI Systems Now Available
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) announced in a blog on Tuesday that its biggest OEMs were now offering NVIDIA-Certified Systems. These are a new class of accelerated servers designed and tested for modern workloads such as AI and data analytics, and suitable for processes running at data center locations, and on the edge of the corporate network. The systems feature NVIDIA’s latest GPUs that ride NVIDIA Mellanox networks and speed up processing for AI.
Venture Capital: Matrix Partners China Raises $1.2B For Sixth Fund
Matrix Partners China, an affiliate of Matrix Partners, the U.S. venture capital firm, has raised $1.2 billion for its sixth China fund according to an SEC filing. It is an early-stage investor in Chinese startups in tech, TMT, Internet, mobile and healthcare sectors.
FinTech: Kamath’s Rainmatter VC Incubator Mulling Alternative Investment Fund
Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, who achieved fame and fortune by bootstrapping Zerodha, India’s first discount broker, to unicorn status, is setting up a fund for investing in fintechs. Rainmatter, Kamath’s VC arm, is considering the launch of an Alternate Investment Fund that would be open to Gulf investors, and as well invest in startups in that region.
Digital Assets: Corporates Dip-Buy Bitcoin; Marathon Invests $150M
In one stroke, Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA), a crypto mining company, has pivoted to become a listed, pure-play option for investors seeking a proxy investment for bitcoin. The company announced today that it had bought 4,812.66 BTC at an aggregate purchase price of $150 million through NYDIG, the bitcoin-dedicated, financial and technology services company.
Alternative Investments/Digital Assets: Valkyrie Joins The Race To Launch A Bitcoin ETF
Valkyrie Digital Assets LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valkyrie Investments Inc., has thrown its hat in the ring to obtain SEC approval for the launch of a bitcoin ETF. On Friday, Valkyrie submitted its application to the regulator for the “Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund,” to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
FinTech: China Tightens Antitrust Regulatory Screws On Fintechs
The People’s Bank of China published a draft set of rules on Wednesday for anti-trust regulation of the non-bank payment providers in the fintech sector. The draft is in the public opinion domain until February 19.
Digital Assets: BlackRock Dips Its Toes In Bitcoin Waters
Filings out Wednesday show that the BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio and BlackRock Global Allocation Fund may invest in cash-settled bitcoin futures, among other assets. BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), the world’s largest asset manager with $7.8 trillion in assets, said in the filings that certain of its funds “may engage in futures contracts based on bitcoin.”
Alternative Investments/ESG: Harvest Portfolios Launches The Harvest Clean Energy ETF
Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. completed last week the initial offering of Class A Units of the Harvest Clean Energy ETF (TSE: HCLN). The units of the ETF commenced trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on January 14.
Alternative Investments/Digital Assets: “An Anti-Asset Like Bitcoin Can Be a True Diversifier” (Ruffer)
In its six-month review for the period ended December 31, 2020, British investment management firm Ruffer threw light on its investments in bitcoin. Interestingly, it has positioned the cryptocurrency as an “anti-asset” within its portfolio, calling it a diversifier.
Alternative Investments: Investors Turn To Alternatives For ‘A.I.D.’ (JPMorgan Report)
The events of 2021 forced us all to reconsider what the “essentials” in our lives are: Health professionals, our family, our health, home, friends, and a good internet connection. The third annual Global Alternatives Outlook by J.P. Morgan Asset Management recommends you add another item to that list of essentials – alternative investments.
FinTech: Jack Ma is Back! Alibaba Stock Soars 8.52% In Hong Kong
Fears that Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA) was missing were laid to rest after he participated in the online ceremony of the annual Rural Teacher Initiative event today, January 20.
Venture Capital: EV Startup Rivian Rakes In $2.65B At A $27.6B Valuation
Electric truck maker Rivian, which is backed by Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Ford (NYSE: F), announced it has received funding of $2.65 billion. The company, which is starting production this summer, said funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. led the round. Fidelity Management and Research Company, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Coatue, and D1 Capital Partners as well as several other existing and new investors also took part.
Venture Capital: Bill Gates-Backed, CleanTech VC Raises $1B
Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) is a venture capital firm that invests in cleantech. The term describes companies (or technologies) that aim to improve environmental sustainability including the negative impact of conventional technologies such as coal-fired power. It was established in 2015 by Bill Gates and a coalition of private investors concerned about climate change. The firm has just raised $1 billion (its second raise of that amount) from unnamed investors.