Financial Technology Weekly | Issue 42

Assist food supply chain companies in managing finance, and start-up Silo completes a $32 million C-round financing

Recently, food supply chain startup Silo announced the completion of a $32 million C-round financing, led by Koch Disruptive Technologies and participated by institutions such as Andreessen Horowitz and Haystack Capital. Silo was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in San Francisco. Currently, it has raised a total of 272 million US dollars.

Information link:

https://foodindustryexecutive.com/2023/07/silo-lands-132-million-to-support-the-food-supply-chain/

Comment: The company is committed to integrating communication information between food companies and agricultural enterprises, applying artificial intelligence to various components of the perishable supply chain (including underwriting, product classification, document extraction, and fraud detection), and improving the automation of enterprise workflows.

Octave Financing $52 million

Octave, an American medical technology company, received $52 million in C-round financing, led by Cigna Ventures and others, with plans to expand treatment services to all 50 states by 2024. Octave mainly provides modern behavioral health treatment services, including online consultation and offline diagnosis and treatment services.

Information link:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/octave-raises-52m-in-series-c-funding-to-expand-in-network-mental-health-301851235.html

Comment: Currently, Octave is developing rapidly. They have established partnerships with over 1000 healthcare workers and providers, and have entered seven states including Washington D.C., providing online behavioral health services to 33 million people.

Data governance provider OneTrust receives $150 million in new financing

In the constantly evolving field of data governance, OneTrust is at the core and is renowned for its innovative methods in data privacy and transparency. The company was established in Atlanta in 2016 and has quickly become a globally renowned company in the field of data privacy and governance.

Information link:

https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/24/onetrust-hauls-in-another-150m-on-a-4-5b-down-round-valuation/

Comment: The latest development of OneTrust is a round of $150 million financing, and the company's current valuation is as high as $4.5 billion. The achievement of this financial milestone has received support from major investors, including Generation Investment Management and Sands Capital, former investors of the company.

Reinsurance brokerage firm Augment received $100 million in private equity investment

A newly established reinsurance brokerage firm, Augment, has received a $100 million injection from private equity firm Altamont Capital to enhance its ability to provide services to global partners. The purpose of Augment's establishment is to provide customized insurance solutions to customers in various markets and product lines, rather than just reinsurance products themselves.

Information link:

https://coverager.com/augment-launches-with-backing-from-altamont/#: ~: text=Reinsurance% 20broker% 20Augment% 20Risk% 20announced% 20its% 20official% 20launch, in% 20the% 20US% 2C% 20UK% 2C% 20Bermuda% 2C% 20EU% 20and% 20Cayman

Comment: He provides a variety of diverse tools, including forward-looking reinsurance products, to enhance corporate value and manage liquidity.

Embedded car insurance technology In The Car reshapes the field of car insurance

In The Car, an embedded auto insurance technology company, was recently established in Connecticut, USA, to help buyers purchase one-stop auto insurance on the website or at Car dealership. In The Car can create a personalized and discounted policy in 30 seconds or less.

Information link:

https://www.itsinthecar.com/

Comment: In The Car uses sales and loan information already provided by consumers, combined with insurance coverage, driving records, and other information, to quickly and seamlessly help consumers obtain high-quality insurance companies' cost-effective policies.

Insurance Technology Akur8 Collaborates with Madison Mutual on Personal Insurance Pricing Technology

Madison Mutual Insurance, a famous insurance company in the Midwestern United States of the United States, announced the establishment of a partnership with Akur8, a non life insurance pricing solution provider. The purpose of this cooperation is to use Akur8's innovative risk and rate modeling solutions to improve the pricing ability of MMI in the field of personal insurance, and also contribute to the Digital transformation and sustainable development of the personal insurance market.

Information link:

https://www.akur8.com/

Comment: Akur8's solution improves pricing complexity and accuracy by modernizing the pricing process, thereby bringing more competitiveness to MMI. Akur8's solution designed for Madison utilizes proprietary machine learning technology to enhance the pricing process.

Akur8 collaborates with Cypress P&C to improve insurance pricing capabilities

Akur8 utilizes transparent machine learning to provide groundbreaking insurance pricing solutions, while Cypress Property&Casualty Insurance Company (Cypress P&C) is a well-known insurance company that offers a variety of innovative insurance products. This collaboration aims to strengthen Cypress P&C's pricing capabilities in its personal and commercial business lines.

Information link:

https://fintech.global/2023/07/26/akur8-partners-with-cypress-pc-to-enhance-insurance-pricing-prowess/

Comment: Akur8's solution is specifically designed for insurance companies, revolutionizing the pricing process through its proprietary machine learning technology. This technology provides advantages for the property and casualty (P&C) insurance market, such as rapid model building, transparent Generalized linear model (GLM) output and data driven underwriting.

AXA XL Collaborates with ClimateSeed to Launch Excess Emissions Insurance

AXA XL has launched an excess emissions insurance product to help maritime customers manage their environmental footprint and support carbon emissions actions. Collaborating with ClimateSeed, an influential company that provides high-quality carbon removal and avoidance projects, the excess emissions insurance product was developed in collaboration with AXA XL's internal carbon team.

Information link:

https://www.esginvesting.co.uk/2021/07/axa-im-alts-acquires-climateseed/

Comment: Excess emissions insurance is an extension of AXA XL's existing hull products, providing compensation for ships' carbon emissions during unforeseeable long-distance voyages caused by underwriting risks. After this event, the policy will pay a fee equal to the excess emissions with a voluntary Carbon credit amount.

Faced with a wave of loan defaults, several European banks have raised their loan loss reserves

Since the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict, Europe has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia. However, the spillover effects of the sanctions have led to high inflation levels in many European countries, and the interest rates of banks have also been continuously raised, increasing the repayment pressure on borrowers. According to the recent report of CNN, many European banks have recently raised their loan loss reserves to set aside more funds to deal with potential loan defaults.

Information link:

https://www.zhicheng.com/cjyh/n/526778.html

Federal Reserve Survey: Further tightening of credit standards in the US banking industry in the second quarter

According to Reuters, on July 31st local time, the Federal Reserve released a survey of credit officers, which showed that the banking industry reported tightening lending standards for the second quarter. According to the survey, 50.8% of commercial and industrial loans issued to large and medium-sized enterprises reported tightening credit standards, up from 46% in the first quarter.

Information link:

Finance. ifeng. com/c/8RsrbiszwUS

The Bank of Korea has identified three candidate regions for central bank digital currency payment pilot projects

Recently, the Bank of Korea announced that Jeju Island, Busan and Incheon were selected as the pilot candidate areas for its Central Bank's digital currency (CBDC) payment, and is currently coordinating with local commercial banks. The Bank of Korea plans to finalize one of the locations as a pilot area to ensure that merchants in the region can accept CBDC payments, and to test the CBDC payment and distribution process at the public level.

Information link:

https://www.mpaypass.com.cn/news/202307/31143324.html

HSBC collaborates with the financial technology platform Tradeshift to launch an embedded finance project

Recently, the B2B financial technology platform Tradeshift announced a $35 million financing from HSBC. Both parties will collaborate to establish a new company and develop an embedded financial solution and financial service application, with the vision of "connecting every company in the world digitally and creating economic opportunities for everyone".

Information link:

https://www.sohu.com/a/708245400_439726

ESMA issued a statement to strengthen sustainable development related disclosures in the prospectus

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU market regulator, has issued a public statement on sustainable information disclosure in the context of ESG transformation, explaining how to adjust the specific disclosure requirements for sustainable development related matters in the Prospectus Regulation's equity and non equity prospectus.

Information link:

https://maples.com/en/knowledge-centre/2022/6/new-esma-guidance-on-sustainability-risks-and-disclosures

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority has announced a series of decarbonization related reform measures

Recently, the UK Emissions Trading Schemes Authority (UK ETS) announced a series of reform measures to ensure the smooth progress of decarbonization. ETS announced that it will further tighten the total greenhouse gas emissions cap for the aviation, power sector, and other energy intensive industries in the future. At the same time, the UK carbon emissions trading plan will be expanded to cover more industries - from 2026 to cover the UK domestic shipping industry, and from 2028 to cover the Incineration industry.

Information link:

https://ecep.ofweek.com/2023-07/ART-93004-8130-30602200.html

Australia issues a sustainability statement to combat corporate greenwashing

The Australian Competition and Consumer Council (ACCC), the competition regulatory agency, has released a new draft of the "Environmental and Sustainability Declaration Guidelines" (referred to as the Guidelines), aimed at improving the integrity of companies' green declarations and protecting consumers from "greenwashing".

Information link:

https://www.pwc.com.au/environment-social-governance.html

International Organization of Securities Commissions IOSCO announced the recognition of ISSB standards

On July 25, IOSCO, the International Organization of Securities Commissions, after conducting a comprehensive review of the ISSB standards, announced its recognition of the recently issued financial disclosure standards related to sustainable development: IFRS 1 and IFRS 2. IOSCO calls on its 130 member jurisdictions (capital market regulatory authorities covering over 95% of global securities markets) to consider how to incorporate ISSB standards into their respective regulatory frameworks to achieve consistency and comparability in global sustainable development related disclosures.

Information link:

https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2023/07/issb-standards-endorsed-by-iosco/

SEC requires securities firms to address conflicts of interest risks arising from the use of predictive data analysis

On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed to require securities firms and investment advisory companies to take measures to resolve conflicts of interest related to their interactions with investors using predictive data analysis and similar technologies, so as to prevent companies from putting their own interests above those of investors.

Information link:

Stockstar comhttps://finance.stockstar.com/IG2023080200011846.shtml 

South Korea's "Technology Exception Listing" System Expands to Enterprises in cutting-edge Strategic Fields

On July 27, 2023, the South Korean Financial Commission held an institutional meeting to determine the "Improvement Plan for the Technology Exception Listing System", which mainly includes incorporating more enterprises that comply with national strategic planning and cutting-edge industries into the "Technology Exception Listing" system. Enterprises with technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), secondary batteries, and cutting-edge biology will reduce their IPO listing restrictions and conduct singular technology evaluations.

Information link:

Weiyangx comhttps://www.weiyangx.com/427415.html

Canada announces its first 'Technology Talent Strategy' plan

Recently, the 2023 Collision, the largest technology conference in North America, opened in Toronto, Canada. Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced the country's first "technology talent strategy". This policy is specifically aimed at talents employed in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, who can work in Canada for up to 6 months if their foreign employers allow.

Information link:

Finance.stockstar.com IG2023073100005591. shtml

Statement by the International Organization of Securities Regulatory Bodies on the US Dollar LIBOR

The International Organization of Securities Industry Regulators (IOSCO) has completed the evaluation of alternatives to the dollar London interbank offered rate (LIBOR). The results show that each of the four benchmarks as potential alternatives has different degrees of problems in benchmark design, data adequacy and transparency.

Information link:

https://www.global-rates.com/en/interest-rates/libor/libor.aspx

The performance of Hong Kong's asset and wealth management business in 2022 is in sync with the global market

On August 4th, the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission released its annual report on the Asset and Wealth Management Activity Survey. According to the survey results, in 2022, Hong Kong's assets under management amounted to HKD 30.5 trillion ($3.9 trillion) and recorded a net inflow of HKD 88 billion ($11 billion). Against the backdrop of net outflows in many other major fund markets, Hong Kong's 14% year-on-year decline in managed assets is close to the 15% decline in managed assets of globally regulated funds, and slightly better than major market indices.

Information link:

https://finance.eastmoney.com/a/202308042803556388.html

White Paper | Creation and Foresight of Digital Wealth Management Capabilities in the AIGC Era

Recently, China E-Banking Network and Beta Data released the White Paper on Wealth Management Capacity Building of Mobile Banking in the [AIGC] Era (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper"), which explores the impact and improvement of digital technology on wealth management business and service mode against the background of Digital transformation of the banking industry and the continuous migration of social wealth.

Information link:

https://www.law.com/corpcounsel/2023/08/03/huntington-bank-hands-legal-reins-from-one-bank-of-america-alum-to-another/?slreturn=20230706021722

Swiss Baida: The valuation of Chinese stocks is low, but it requires two aspects of support

In July, Baida Wealth Management of Switzerland made an updated outlook on the global macro-economy and asset category prospects in the second half of 2023. The institution believes that investors need to take a more proactive investment strategy against the background of the continued differentiation of the Global macro economy. Chinese stocks have a relatively low long-term P/E ratio compared to themselves, and are lower than emerging market stocks and also lower than developed country markets. From a valuation perspective, we feel that we are not far from the bottom now, so compared to other markets, Chinese stocks are still attractive and require support from two aspects: stronger policy support on the one hand, and a rebound in profit expectations on the other.

Information link:

https://www.36kr.com/p/2342609741092355

The Ministry of Finance and other departments have issued tax policies to further support the entrepreneurship and employment of key groups

The Ministry of Finance and other departments have issued a notice on further supporting tax policies related to entrepreneurship and employment for key groups, which states that from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2027, individuals who have been lifted out of poverty (including monitoring objects for poverty prevention, the same below), hold "Employment and Entrepreneurship Certificate" (indicating "self entrepreneurship tax policy" or "self entrepreneurship tax policy within the graduation year"), or "Employment and Unemployment Registration Certificate", and engage in self-employed businesses, From the month of registration of individual industrial and commercial households, within three years (36 months, the same below), the actual VAT, urban maintenance and construction tax, education surcharges, local education surcharges and Personal income tax payable by each household in that year shall be deducted in turn according to the annual limit of 20000 yuan.

Information link:

http://www.stcn.com/article/detail/938025.html

Korean Room Temperature Superconducting Team: The paper has defects and has been requested to be removed from the shelves

A research team in South Korea recently released a paper claiming to have achieved room temperature superconductivity, which has attracted widespread global attention but has also been questioned. However, members of the research team said that the paper was flawed, and one member of the department team released it without authorization. At present, the team has asked to remove the paper from the shelf.

Information link:

https://36kr.com/p/2370110267517825

OpenAI has submitted a trademark application for "GPT-5" to the US Patent Office

On July 31, 2023, US trademark lawyer Josh Gerben tweeted that OpenAI had filed a "GPT-5" trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on July 18. Trademark application information shows that GPT-5 provides offline/online versions of "computer software for manually generating voice and text"; And offline/online version of "computer software for Natural language processing, generation, understanding and analysis".

Information link:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/gpt-5-rumors-news-release-date/

To prevent AI from destroying humanity, companies such as OpenAI and Microsoft jointly established an "autonomous organization"

On July 26 US time, four AI giants, namely OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and Anthropic, announced the establishment of the industry organization Frontier Model Forum. In the next few months, the forum will first establish an advisory committee to help guide the strategy and priorities of the forum. The statement stated that the committee will "represent different backgrounds and perspectives".

Information link:

https://www.36kr.com/p/2362031686385157

Samsung: Introducing Generative Artificial Intelligence into Mobile Phones, Tablets, and Watches

Samsung hardly mentioned artificial intelligence at its latest Unpacked press conference, but the technology giant stated that it is "delving into the development" of methods to integrate artificial intelligence technology into the best Samsung phones, tablets, watches, and headphones.

Information link:

https://www.ithome.com/0/708/675.htm

Disclaimer: The content is from the Internet, WeChat official account and other public channels. We are neutral about the points in the article. This article is only for reference and exchange.