FinTech

San Francisco-based wallet-as-a-service (WaaS) provider Magic has raised $52 million in a strategic funding round led by PayPal Ventures bringing the firm’s valuation to just under $500 million. Other participants of the fund round include Cherubic, Synchrony, KX, Northzone, and Volt Capital. The latest capital infusion will be deployed to expand Magic’s functionality and enable growing use cases. The focus will also be on making a deeper integration within the European Union...

Contract electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn banks on explosive AI popularity to drive its server business revenue in 2023.  Foxconn has forecasted significant growth in its artificial intelligence (AI) server business due to robust demand. On Wednesday, the company’s Chairman, Young Liu, said revenue generated from its AI businesses would more than double this year. Liu credited the popularity of generative AI applications like ChatGPT for stoking interest in the sector. At Foxconn’s...

Leading chipmakers MediaTek and Nvidia recently combined resources to “offer a truly unique” in-cabin AI experience in automobiles.  Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc has partnered with US chip-manufacturing giant NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) to bring enhanced AI tech to automobiles. The partnership seeks to revamp in-car experiences with software-defined, smart cabin solutions using Nvidia’s GPU chiplets. The joint artificial and accelerated computing offerings would be available in a broad vehicle class...

Due to a favorable forecast and AI adoption, Nvidia has seen explosive growth and could soon hit the trillion-dollar market cap. Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is fast approaching the trillion-dollar market cap due to its explosive stock surge. On Thursday, the chip maker’s shares jumped 26% following a robust earnings outlook and increased production scale. Nvidia’s market valuation sits at $950 billion, which is almost $200 million higher than it was at Wednesday’s close. The Santa...

Nvidia recently increased its quarterly earnings guidance on the back of solid demand, also sparking a rally in AI stocks.  The latest earnings outlook of Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) has triggered a substantial rally in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. Early Thursday, the chip maker’s stock soared, pulling other AI-exposed companies higher on a better-than-expected sales forecast. Nvidia’s bullish sales forecast originated from surging demand for its AI chips, which has also...

For Q1 2023, Xiaomi sold far fewer smartphones than in the first quarter of last year due to waning demand.  Xiaomi Corporation recently posted its Q1 2023 earnings report, which saw its revenue plunge 18.9% amid a wane in global smartphone demand. On Wednesday, the Chinese consumer electronics designer and manufacturer reported first-quarter sales of 59.5 billion yuan ($8.61 billion). Xiaomi’s Q1 2023 sales figure was roughly in line with the 59.43 billion yuan analysts expected for the...

Wise saw its shares dip Monday after management announced that long-serving CFO Matt Briers would leave the company early next year.  Shares of British fintech firm Wise (LON: WISE) slipped 4% on news of CFO Matt Briers’ resignation next year. The London-based company’s stock slide also comes amid reports of CEO Kristo Kaarman’s paternity leave which begins in September. Wise’s shares are changing hands at 590 GBX after management made the announcements. Briers’ pending departure in 2024...

Global payments giant Visa has deployed experimental smart contracts on Ethereum’s Goerli testnet to pilot gasless transactions through account abstraction. The two sets of smart contracts, dubbed Paymaster, will simplify user interaction with the Ethereum network by performing complex tasks and managing transaction costs on behalf of other accounts. Visa Tests Paymaster for Frictionless Transactions Account abstraction is a proposal to increase flexibility in the management...

Amid financial scrutiny, UK fintech giant Revolut faces rejection for its long-running banking license application.  Revolut is facing a possible rejection of its UK banking license application submitted to the Bank of England (BoE). The British neobank’s long-standing application for a UK banking license appears to be in jeopardy and could cause a big blow to the company’s operational growth plans. Revolut has been campaigning for a license for two years, with high-ranking executives...

With increasing concern over data leaks, AI tool makers are working to assure concerned users that their data is safe. Apple has banned the use of the AI tool ChatGPT among its employees in a bid to prevent data breaches and leaks. This was reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited an internal memo from the company. Apple and Other Companies Are Concerned about Data Safety The restriction makes Apple one of several businesses that are limiting the use of the software by some of its...