MicroStrategy has significantly expanded its bitcoin holdings, acquiring $1.11 billion worth of the cryptocurrency between August 6 and September 12. The company now holds approximately 244,800 bitcoins, valued at $9.45 billion. The average purchase price was around $38,585 per bitcoin, including fees and expenses.
This aggressive move towards bitcoin began in 2020, as MicroStrategy sought to preserve its reserves amid declining revenue from its core software business. Its decision to prioritise cryptocurrency has drawn support from investors, linking the company’s stock performance to the fluctuating price of bitcoin.
The firm’s shares have more than doubled in 2024, while bitcoin itself has risen by nearly 31% year-to-date. The approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds by the SEC, alongside backing from influential figures like Elon Musk, has contributed to the mainstream acceptance of the asset.
MicroStrategy also recently underwent a 10-for-1 stock split to increase accessibility for investors, further signalling its commitment to growth in the crypto space. Its ongoing bitcoin strategy reflects confidence in the long-term potential of the digital asset.
Apple’s ‘Visual Intelligence’ feature is exciting and seems to set the stage for future AR glasses. Allowing users to scan and identify objects, copy text, and gather information on the go gives them a glimpse into what could be an integral part of AR glasses.
The idea of using AR glasses to receive real-time information about your surroundings without taking out your phone is very appealing. It could be a significant advantage if Apple successfully integrates Visual Intelligence into future AR glasses.
Given that Apple is known for refining technology before launching it, the Visual Intelligence feature on the iPhone could be an essential part of a broader strategy for AR. It’s a smart move to build and perfect this technology now so that when AR glasses do arrive, they can offer a seamless and polished experience.
The potential for AR glasses is enormous. Other companies like Meta and Google have already invested in this space, so Apple will need to ensure they can compete with a standout product. Hopefully, by the time those glasses are ready, Visual Intelligence will be a well-developed feature that enhances the overall user experience.
Grayscale Investments has launched a new investment trust tied to XRP, offering accredited investors exposure to the cryptocurrency. The Grayscale XRP Trust operates similarly to the firm’s other single-asset investment vehicles and is aimed at institutional and individual investors. Although this is not an exchange-traded fund (ETF), the trust’s creation is seen as a potential stepping stone towards the eventual approval of an XRP ETF by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Grayscale has outlined a four-phase product life cycle for the XRP Trust, which could ultimately lead to the trust being converted into an ETF. While a trust faces fewer regulatory hurdles, an ETF requires SEC approval and is aimed at retail investors. The potential for an XRP ETF has generated interest, particularly given XRP’s role in cross-border payments and its transformative potential for the global financial system.
Grayscale’s head of product and research, Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, highlighted XRP’s real-world applications, specifically in making international payments more efficient. The XRP Ledger, a decentralised blockchain, plays a key role in enabling fast and cost-effective cross-border transactions, which Grayscale believes could revolutionise outdated financial systems.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has approved a new product offering custodial risk insurance for digital asset platforms, developed by Hong Kong-based OneDegree in partnership with Dubai Insurance. Available under the brand “OneInfinity,” this insurance aims to protect Web3 exchanges, asset managers, and custodians from the risk of losing customer funds, including through hacking, internal fraud, or damage to storage systems.
According to Robin Scott, general manager of OneDegree in the Middle East, the introduction of custodial risk insurance brings a layer of protection similar to deposit protection schemes in traditional banking. It allows crypto platforms to offer peace of mind to clients by ensuring their assets are safeguarded. Many global regulators, including those in the UAE, are making such insurance mandatory to prioritise consumer protection.
The CBUAE’s approval marks the first time UAE-based companies can obtain custodial risk insurance locally, which is expected to draw significant interest as more firms seek licences to operate in the region. OneDegree and Dubai Insurance have already started issuing policies to UAE clients and anticipate high demand for the product.
An Indian antitrust investigation has concluded that Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart breached competition laws by favouring select sellers on their platforms. The probe, initiated by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), revealed that both companies created an ecosystem that prioritised certain sellers, making it harder for other retailers to compete.
Reports found that these preferred sellers were given an unfair advantage, appearing higher in search results and receiving additional services, leading to deep discounting practices. The findings highlighted that these practices harmed smaller retailers and stifled competition, especially in the mobile phone sector.
Both Amazon and Flipkart are expected to review the reports and submit objections before any fines are imposed. These companies have consistently denied any wrongdoing and argued that their operations comply with Indian regulations.
The investigation stemmed from complaints by traditional retailers and follows growing concerns about the dominance of e-commerce giants in India. Both Amazon and Flipkart remain major players in a market projected to be worth $160 billion by 2028.
OpenAI’s latest version of ChatGPT, GPT o1, a nomenclature indicative of resetting the counter clock to 1, and its less costly mini version, represents a watershed moment in the company’s LLM stockpile. Designed to replicate superhuman-level intelligence, the models can already answer questions a lot faster than humans. This series of models will be unlike previous ones. In responding to queries, they utilise a human-like ‘chain of thought’ processing combined with reinforcement learning on specialised datasets and optimisation algorithms.
The model outperforms older models by a significant margin. For example, when tested against GPT-4o at the International Mathematics Olympiad, it scored 83 percent to GPT-4o’s 13 percent. What’s unique about the model is its ability to not only provide step-by-step reasoning for outputs but to show human-like patterns of hesitation during the process, ‘I’m curious about…’ and ‘Ok, let me see’ or ‘Oh, I’m running out of time, let me get to an answer quickly’. The new design has also resulted in a reduced occurrence of hallucinations. Yet, despite their many pros, the models have limitations. For instance, they cannot browse the internet, lack world knowledge, and cannot process files and images.
According to the lead researcher on the project, Jerry Tworek, the next level is for the models to perform similarly to PhD students on challenging benchmark tasks in areas such as physics, chemistry and biology. He assures that the intention here is not to equate AI with human thinking but rather to illustrate the model’s ability to dive cognitively deep. For the company, reasoning is a step up from pattern recognition, which is the design model used with previous versions. Ultimately, OpenAI aims to develop a product that can make decisions and take action on behalf of humans, a venture estimated to cost a further $USD 150 billion. Removing the current kinks in the system will mean that the models can work on complex global problems we face today in areas such as engineering and medicine.
More breakthroughs will also mean reduced access costs for developers and users. According to Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew, developer access to o1-preview is currently $15 per 1 million input tokens (chunks of text parsed by the model) and $60 per 1 million output tokens. GPT -o4 costs $5 per 1 million input tokens and $15 per 1 million output tokens.
Connectly, a startup specialising in conversational commerce through AI-driven personalised messaging has secured $20 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Alibaba and included participation from several notable investors, such as Unusual Ventures and Volpe Capital. This new investment boosts Connectly’s total funding to $37.2 million and brings its valuation close to $100 million.
The funds will be used to advance AI research and support Connectly’s expansion into the US and European markets. Additionally, the company plans to strengthen its engineering presence in Greece, aiming to make it a key hub alongside San Francisco. Connectly, a company that uses AI models to help retailers enhance customer engagement and drive sales, has experienced significant growth in the past year.
The successful funding round follows Connectly’s launch of its advanced AI recommendation tool, ‘Sofia AI,’ and its expansion into the US market. The partnership with Alibaba is expected to accelerate Connectly’s global reach further, integrating its AI solutions into Alibaba’s international e-commerce platforms. With plans to grow its workforce to 80 by year-end and a current client base of 300, Connectly is well-positioned to continue its impactful growth in the retail industry.
Adobe has announced the upcoming release of a generative AI-powered video creation tool named Adobe Firefly Video Model. Scheduled for a limited beta release later this year, this tool will extend Adobe’s Firefly suite, which currently includes applications for generating still images and designs. The new model will allow users to create a five-second video clip from a single text or image prompt, with options to specify camera angles, motion, and zoom.
The introduction of this tool marks Adobe’s entry into the competitive AI video generation market, which already features offerings from companies like OpenAI and Stability AI. Adobe aims to differentiate itself by focusing on quality and user-guided prompt understanding, addressing specific needs of videographers.
Adobe assures that the model is trained exclusively on public domain or licensed content from its Adobe Stock database, which includes 400 million curated images and videos, avoiding any intellectual property issues. Additionally, Adobe is launching Generative Extend, a feature for Premiere Pro that extends video clips by generating content to fill gaps.
OpenAI is reportedly in talks to secure $6.5 billion in funding, aiming for a $150 billion valuation. Such a move would significantly boost its position among the world’s top startups, following an earlier $86 billion valuation this year.
Led by CEO Sam Altman and backed by Microsoft, OpenAI’s success with the ChatGPT chatbot has driven its rapid rise. The firm has revived Silicon Valley’s interest in AI, further solidifying its position. A significant portion of the new funding may come in the form of a revolving credit facility, adding $5 billion in debt from banks.
The capital injection will help OpenAI remain a private company, avoiding the regulatory challenges and stock market volatility that often come with public listings. Many high-profile startups are choosing to stay private for longer, bolstered by private equity funding.
Some investors, however, may push for liquidity through a public offering or company sale. Meanwhile, OpenAI has been added to Forge Global’s prestigious list of “Private Magnificent Seven” startups, further highlighting its dominance in the AI sector.
Australia’s NEXTDC has announced a significant debt syndication of A$2.9 billion ($1.94 billion) to facilitate its expansion and acquisition of data centres throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This financial move aligns with the increasing global demand for greater data capacity, mainly due to the surge in AI applications.
The debt syndication follows NEXTDC’s recent capital-raising efforts, which included raising A$750 million through a share purchase plan and a placement. These new 5- and 7-year debt facilities are designed to offer better terms and optimal pricing as the company continues its ambitious growth strategy.
NEXTDC is currently developing nine data centre sites in key markets such as Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, and New Zealand, reflecting its commitment to expanding its infrastructure in response to the rapid growth of data consumption.
