Tech Newsletter October 2023
Dear MaGiC Investor,
We are pleased to present the Tech Newsletter for October 2023, providing you with valuable insights into the tech industry and MaGiC investments.
RECENT NEWS
Gaza Internet Collapses: As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, infrastructure is crumbling in Gaza. Internet monitoring firm NetBlocks wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the Palestinian internet service and telecommunications providers NetStream and Paltel had collapsed, resulting in a “total or near-total” internet blackout in the region.
Meta and Amazon settle UK antitrust probes over use of third-party data to benefit marketplaces:
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it has accepted proposals from Facebook’s parent Meta and Amazon to limit how they use data gathered from their respective marketplaces to benefit their own products and bottom lines. The CMA has been probing both companies as part of separate investigations, though the cases bore similarities in terms of how each platform was using data to give them what the CMA argued was an “unfair advantage.”
Instagram spotted developing a customizable ‘AI friend’
Instagram has been spotted developing an “AI friend” feature that users would be able to customize to their liking and then converse with, according to screenshots shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi. Users would be able to chat with the AI to “answer questions, talk through any challenges, brainstorm ideas, and much more,” according to screenshots of the feature.
President Biden issues executive order to set standards for AI safety and security
U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an executive order (EO) that seeks to establish “new standards” for AI safety and security, including requirements for companies developing foundation AI models to notify the federal government and share results of all safety tests before they’re deployed to the public.
The fast-moving generative AI movement
US ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
In November, the Federal Reserve held the target range for the federal funds rate steady at 5.25%-5.5% for the second consecutive time. This decision reflects the policymakers' dual focus on reining in inflation to reach the 2% target while avoiding excessive monetary tightening. Chairman Powell, during a press conference, indicated that the September dot-plot, which showed the majority of participants forecasting one more rate hike this year, might no longer be accurate. Powell emphasized that the FOMC has not discussed any rate cuts yet, with their primary focus on whether additional rate hikes are needed. The Fed is closely monitoring the cumulative impact of previous rate increases, the time lags associated with monetary policy's effects on the economy, and developments in both the economy and financial markets. Source: Federal Reserve.
Dear MaGiC Investor,
We are pleased to present the Tech Newsletter for October 2023, providing you with valuable insights into the tech industry and MaGiC investments.
RECENT NEWS
Gaza Internet Collapses: As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, infrastructure is crumbling in Gaza. Internet monitoring firm NetBlocks wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the Palestinian internet service and telecommunications providers NetStream and Paltel had collapsed, resulting in a “total or near-total” internet blackout in the region.
Meta and Amazon settle UK antitrust probes over use of third-party data to benefit marketplaces:
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it has accepted proposals from Facebook’s parent Meta and Amazon to limit how they use data gathered from their respective marketplaces to benefit their own products and bottom lines. The CMA has been probing both companies as part of separate investigations, though the cases bore similarities in terms of how each platform was using data to give them what the CMA argued was an “unfair advantage.”
Instagram spotted developing a customizable ‘AI friend’:
Instagram has been spotted developing an “AI friend” feature that users would be able to customize to their liking and then converse with, according to screenshots shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi. Users would be able to chat with the AI to “answer questions, talk through any challenges, brainstorm ideas, and much more,” according to screenshots of the feature.
President Biden issues executive order to set standards for AI safety and security:
U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an executive order (EO) that seeks to establish “new standards” for AI safety and security, including requirements for companies developing foundation AI models to notify the federal government and share results of all safety tests before they’re deployed to the public.
The fast-moving generative AI movement, driven by the likes of ChatGPT and foundation AI models developed by OpenAI, has sparked a global debate around the need for guardrails to counter the potential pitfalls of giving too much control to algorithms. Back in May, G7 leaders identified key themes that need to be addressed as part of the so-called Hiroshima AI Process, with the seven constituent countries today reaching an agreement on guiding principles and a “voluntary” code of conduct for AI developers to follow.
US ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
In November, the Federal Reserve held the target range for the federal funds rate steady at 5.25%-5.5% for the second consecutive time. This decision reflects the policymakers' dual focus on reining in inflation to reach the 2% target while avoiding excessive monetary tightening. Chairman Powell, during a press conference, indicated that the September dot-plot, which showed the majority of participants forecasting one more rate hike this year, might no longer be accurate. Powell emphasized that the FOMC has not discussed any rate cuts yet, with their primary focus on whether additional rate hikes are needed. The Fed is closely monitoring the cumulative impact of previous rate increases, the time lags associated with monetary policy's effects on the economy, and developments in both the economy and financial markets. Source: Federal Reserve.
US PRIVATE MARKET OUTLOOK
Private equity deal activity
领英推荐
Global PE Exits:
The total number of global private equity exits in the third quarter was 467, up 21.6% from the same period in 2022, according to data from Preqin Pro.
The three months to Sept. 30 represented the most active quarter for exits during the year as both trade sales and IPOs grew sequentially, while secondary sales and "other exits" were down compared to the second quarter.
Trade sales made up more than half of total private equity exits, with 253 transactions during the third quarter. Secondary sales and other exits numbered 167 and 33, respectively.
Only 14 IPOs were completed during the quarter ended Sept. 30, but that number was double the previous quarter's.
MAGIC USA PORTFOLIO UPDATE
Magic USA’s tech portfolio now stands at 20 ventures across Enterprise hardware, Enterprise software, HealthTech, CyberTech, ConsumerTech, Energy, Robotics, Augmented Reality, Autonomous Vehicle, RetailTech and AgriTech.
We continue to engage with investment managers and companies to keep a close watch on cash burns and other health parameters. Below you will find a selection of updates from the portfolio:
1. ThetaRay
ThetaRay has developed an anomaly detection platform
ThetaRay announced that it has joined the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider program with its SONAR solution now available at the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. To date, more than 50 banks and fintechs around the world have implemented ThetaRay’s solution, hosted on Microsoft Azure.? Among those that have adopted the technology are some of the world’s leading banks, including Santander, Mashreq Bank, Travelex Bank, and ClearBank, as well as many fintechs around the world.
2. Arcadia
Arcadia, founded in 2013, digital utility technology data platform that integrates with almost all power utilities in the United States and offers an online dashboard that allows home owners to monitor electricity usage track bills make clean energy choices and automate energy savings.
In June, Arcadia announced it had acquired community solar provider Oregon Shines. With this transaction, Arcadia becomes the largest manager of community solar projects in Oregon. Arcadia is the only player to have a presence in every community solar state. The Company views AI as a significant opportunity and is taking a proactive, comprehensive approach to AI integration. Arcadia has established a dedicated working group, supported by representatives from various departments, to identify opportunities for implementing AI.
3. Plenty
Plenty is a USA-based startup, building scalable, vertically integrated farms. It has developed a full technology stack to reinvent agriculture and has created the first scalable food production platform.
Plenty opened Plenty Compton Farm – the world’s most technologically advanced indoor vertical farm, designed to grow up to 4.5 million pounds of leafy greens annually in a single city block in Compton, California. The farm is made possible by dozens of Plenty’s patent assets, including the company’s unique 3D vertical architecture that drives its industry-leading yield of up to 350 times the yield per acre of a conventional farm.
4. BrightInsight
BrightInsight, is the leading regulated digital health platform (SaaS), purpose built for bio-pharma and MedTech. It is designed to optimize and improve results from regulated drugs, devices and software through integrated data and actionable insight in order to enable customers to drive increased patient adherence and engagement.
In May, BrightInsight won the Frost & Sullivan 2023 Best Practices Award for Global Healthcare IoT Company of the Year. The award is bestowed upon companies that exhibit excellence in growth strategy and implementation within their field. It acknowledges a high degree of innovation in products and technologies, along with resultant leadership in customer value and market penetration.
5. data.world
data.World, founded in 2016, has built one of the only modern catalogs for data and analysis delivered in a cloud-native Software as a Service (SaaS) way.
data.world launched new automation and automation-driven workflows to dramatically accelerate the delivery of governed data across enterprise teams. The announcement introduces the third class of AI-driven bots on the data.world Data Catalog Platform. The data governance-focused Eureka Bots join the data discovery-focused Archie Bots and DataOps-focused BB Bots to address the most pressing challenges to working effectively with data, automating data management processes, and delivering governed data for AI.
6. TechSee
TechSee uses Machine Vision and augmented Reality powered by smartphones to help remote tech support experts quickly.
TechSee launched a new project to develop its next-generation Generative Multi Sensory AI, and is already oversubscribed with customers interested in participating so they can transform their contact centers to use less manpower than required today. The company also launched its Visual Journeys Editor, the world’s first visual studio for scalable development of computer vision models for applications.
7. Intuition Robotics:
Intuition Robotics (Intuition) creates empathetic digital companions
If you have any further questions, please contact the Investor Relations team at [email protected]