June 09, 2024: All Time Highs For NASDAQ and S&P, Despite Weak Friday

Despite markets falling on Friday after a strong jobs report, Dow Jones was up 0.3% for the week, S&P 500 rose 1.3%, and Nasdaq composite gained 2.4%. Both NASDAQ and S&P set all-time highs. Nvidia’s market cap passed Apple, putting it just behind Microsoft. The company’s stock price increase could have been aided by a “gamma squeeze”, (a bulk buying of call options) according to analysts. The Company also said its next-generation AI chip platform will be rolled out in 2026. Online fashion retailer Shein is close to filing an application to list on the London Stock Exchange. Bakkt Holdings, the digital-asset marketplace backed by the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, is working with a financial advisor to explore strategic options, including a potential sale or breakup. Robinhood has agreed to buy Bitstamp, one of the oldest crypto exchanges, for about US$200 million in cash. Humane is reportedly trying to sell itself to HP for US$1 billion. The U.S. has cleared the way for antitrust investigations into Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia, as federal regulators have reached an agreement on how to divide up the responsibilities for the probes. In Canada, Sophic Client OneSoft, announced its first customer in South America. Sophic Clients, Kraken Robotics was featured in a prominent Canadian tech blog, and Xcyte Digital Corp. presented at the Spring MicroCap Rodeo Conference on June 6, 2024. Shopify acquired popular no-code checkout customizer Checkout Blocks. Cohere recently secured US$450 million from Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures, Cisco and Canadian pension fund PSP Investments. Québec-based hardware startup Vosker closed $171.2 million in debt financing. McRock Capital announced an initial $111 million close of its third fund.

Sophic Client OneSoft Solutions Inc. (OSS-TSXV, OSSIF-OTC) announces first customer in South America.

OneSoft Solutions, announces that its wholly owned OneBridge subsidiary has signed a multi-year agreement wherein a large South American pipeline operator (the “Client”) will onboard the Company’s Cognitive Integrity Management (“CIM”) software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) platform to manage its pipeline assets. The Client is part of a group of companies dedicated to the transport and logistics of hydrocarbons, a leading midstream pipeline operator working in the Colombian oil chain, the second-largest company by asset value and is amongst the 10 largest companies by operating income and profits in the country. The Client operates nearly 9,000 kilometers (>5,000 miles) of oil and polyducts through which most of Colombia’s crude and refined products are transported and, together with several subsidiaries, provides infrastructure and logistics services for the transport of hydrocarbons and their derivatives, gas, biofuels and energy, generating confidence in Colombia’s capacity and potential to manage its energy resources. Implementation of our CIM platform is scheduled to commence imminently. Our intent is to involve a large international consulting firm that maintains a large contingent of Central and South American-based employees in the onboarding of CIM for this Client, who will shadow the OneBridge staff and train to implement CIM for subsequent customers in the region. https://bit.ly/3VdKXED

Sophic Client Kraken Robotics (PNG-TSXV, KRKNF-OTC) featured in Canadian tech blog. https://tinyurl.com/3dmxhvtt

Sophic Capital Client Clear Blue Technologies (CBLU-TSXV, CBUTF-OTC) announces Q1 2024 financial results.

Clear Blue Technologies International Inc., the Smart Off-Grid™ Company, announces its financial results for the first quarter of 2024 (“Q1 2024”) ending March 31, 2024. On a Trailing Four Quarter (“TFQ”) basis: Revenue was $5,950,005, a 255% increase from $1,674,003 in the corresponding period, due to strong revenue growth across all four of Clear Blue’s product lines; Recurring revenue $1,120,838, a 29% increase from $865,610 in the corresponding period; Gross Profit increased to $2,716,412 compared to $574,296 in the comparable period, a 373% increase; Gross margin percentage was 46% an increase over 34% with the comparative TFQ period; Non-IFRS Adjusted EBITDA was $(1,629,513) as compared to $(3,964,030) for the previous period, a 59% improvement. Clear Blue maintains the outlook that it provided on May 28, 2024 as per below. Overall, management is reiterating its previous guidance of 2024 revenue expected to be significantly greater than 2023 and 2022 revenue which were $5.4M and $2.6M respectively. Clear Blue’s business growth has accelerated following a challenging 2022 and 2023. This is expected to lead to increased order intake in 2024, followed by revenue growth. https://bit.ly/4bMNOLB

Sophic Capital Client Xcyte Digital Corp. (XCYT-TSXV) presented at the Spring MicroCap Rodeo Conference on June 6, 2024. https://tinyurl.com/bd62ktz6

Tribe Property Technologies (TRBE-TSXV) completes acquisition of Toronto-based DMSI Holdings and private placement led by PROPELR Growth Fund.

Tribe completes the previously announced acquisition of Toronto-based DMSI Holdings Ltd, including its three subsidiaries. With this Acquisition, Tribe is expected to be on a proforma revenue run-rate of over $31 million with improved profitability. To fund the Acquisition, Tribe completed the previously announced non-brokered private placement to raise aggregate gross proceeds of up to $3,665,439.40 which was led by Round 13 Growth II, L.P., d.b.a. PROPELR Growth, a highly respected, late-stage growth equity investment fund, and also included the participation of the operators of DMSI. Tribe Management acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of DMSI in consideration for $13,000,000. https://tinyurl.com/ypdkbumt

Shopify (SHOP-NYSE, SHOP-TSX) acquires popular no-code checkout customizer Checkout Blocks.

Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify has acquired Checkout Blocks, a no-code checkout customizer and one of the most popular apps on its app store, for an undisclosed amount. Checkout Blocks is one of the most popular checkout apps on the Shopify app store, cracking the top three during 2023’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday. According to a Shopify Developer Spotlight earlier this year, Checkout Blocks is one of the most popular checkout apps on the Shopify app store, cracking the top three during 2023’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday when it received the “Built for Shopify” designation. Checkout Blocks has been used by over 850 Shopify Plus merchants. This acquisition follows reports from Business Insider that Shopify is looking to cease using “Shopify Plus” as a stand-alone brand, which was launched in 2014 to cater to enterprise business and broaden its scope from small-to-medium-sized businesses. https://tinyurl.com/3raf3fpd

Cohere launches program to help early-stage startups adopt AI and secures US$450 million.

Toronto-based generative artificial intelligence (AI) startup Cohere has closed fresh funding and launched a program aimed at supporting early-stage AI innovation. As first reported by Reuters and independently confirmed by BetaKit, Cohere recently secured US$450 million from returning backers, including chip giant Nvidia and Salesforce Ventures, plus new investors such as networking tech firm Cisco and Canadian pension fund PSP Investments. This marks the first tranche of Cohere’s months-long fundraising efforts, through which the company hopes to raise more capital at a $5 billion valuation. As of the end of March, Cohere generated $35 million in annualized revenue, up from $13 million last year. Cohere plans to give eligible businesses access to all of its AI models at a 25-percent discount for up to 12 months, provide support from the company’s technical experts to help develop ideas and solve problems., and showcase participating startups. https://tinyurl.com/u3e63b68

Surveillance hardware tech startup Vosker secures $171.2 million in debt financing.

Québec-based hardware startup Vosker has closed $171.2 million (US$125 million) in debt financing. The Royal Bank of Canada led the financing, and other participants included Export Development Canada, Scotiabank, the National Bank of Canada, and the Fédération des Caisses Desjardins du Québec. Vosker, based in Victoriaville, Que., develops solar-powered hardware products for surveillance applications. Its product line currently includes mobile security cameras for video and photo surveillance, which connect to cellular networks and carry features such as time-lapse, motion detection, and live view. The startup also offers a tool it claims uses artificial intelligence to help users flag the presence of a human in a photo and differentiate it from a vehicle. According to its website, target industries for its products include remote facilities, construction, real estate, agriculture, and law enforcement. According to its website, Vosker’s annual revenue hit $100 million in 2021, and the company’s annual revenue growth reached 582 percent over the three preceding years. https://tinyurl.com/j2pt9ssc

Canada’s AI Global Innovation Cluster invests $31.3 million across 22 projects.

Canada’s artificial intelligence (AI) Global Innovation Cluster, Scale AI, will be investing $31.3 million across 22 projects looking to incorporate AI into various industries Alongside partner participation, Scale AI says the projects represent a total investment of $96 million. Based in Montréal and funded by the federal and Québec governments, Scale AI says it works with more than 500 industry partners, research institutes, and AI players to develop programs that support investments in real-world AI applications. Scale AI’s largest investment of this group is $3.5 million in NavTrax, an AI-enabled forklift automation and collision-avoidance system. https://tinyurl.com/vwbnpfpr

McRock Capital announces initial $111 million close of third fund.

Toronto-based investment firm McRock Capital has launched its third fund with an initial $111 million (US$81 million) close for Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) companies. McRock’s Fund III investors include anchor Limited Partner Export Development Canada (EDC), returning partners BDC Capital, Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC), Fonds de solidarité FTQ, and Aspen Technology. Venture Ontario, Bell Ventures, and CIBC Innovation Banking also invested as first-time backers. https://tinyurl.com/bdtf684b

Shein nears IPO filing in London.

Online fashion retailer Shein is close to filing an application to list on the London Stock Exchange, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, after meeting roadblocks with its attempt to go public in the U.S. Shein could submit a confidential filing for an initial public offering in London as soon as this week, although it could also take a few more weeks to materialize, the person added. Sky News first reported the timing of Shein’s London IPO filing. Shein, which was valued at US$66 billion in a funding round last year, initially preferred to go public in the U.S. Its confidential filing for a New York listing, which reportedly happened in November, didn’t receive a response from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission amid heightened scrutiny over the company’s supply chain practices and U.S.-China tensions. https://tinyurl.com/37f9rx8b

ByteDance seeks to raise up to US$800 million for car marketplace unit.

TikTok parent ByteDance is raising between US$700 million and US$800 million for its online auto information and marketplace business Dongchedi, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter, in preparation for an initial public offering for the unit. Plans for an eventual IPO are part of a bigger plan by the Chinese tech giant to spin off businesses it no longer considers core, abandoning an unsuccessful diversification effort. ByteDance pitched the fundraising to a small number of its own shareholders including HongShan, formerly Sequoia Capital China, which is leading the funding round with a US$400 million to US$500 million contribution, the people added. KKR and General Atlantic, both ByteDance shareholders, will also invest in the round, one of the people said. Through an app and a website, Dongchedi offers detailed information about different cars, including reviews, and runs a marketplace for people to buy and sell used vehicles. The transaction, if completed, will give Dongchedi a valuation of US$3 billion, on par with its domestic rival Autohome, which is already listed in New York and Hong Kong, the people said. https://tinyurl.com/3xvrfc2m

Elliott’s implicit message to SoftBank.

Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has bought a more than US$2 billion stake in Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group, and is making an explicit demand for the company to buy back US$15 billion of its shares, the FT scooped today. But the implicit message is telling: Investors like Elliott don’t trust that Masayoshi Son has really learned his lesson from previous mistakes at his investment arm, the Vision Fund. The pressure comes at an otherwise optimistic time for SoftBank. The company’s stock price has outperformed the broader market this year, surging nearly 50%, lifted by a rally in the stock of Arm, the chip designer it controls, whose shares have more than tripled since the company went public last year. SoftBank, a holding company that largely mixes together its stake in Arm with its namesake Japanese telco, as well as a big stake in T-Mobile and its tech investment Vision Funds, doesn’t appear to have fully captured investors’ confidence with its AI push. The group’s portfolio of investments is worth far less than the sum of its parts. SoftBank’s $91 billion market capitalization is only about half the value of all its assets, a gap that is wider than in the past. https://tinyurl.com/3e6ba6fw

Nvidia passes Apple in market cap as second-most valuable public U.S. company.

Nvidia passed Apple in market cap on Wednesday as investors continue betting on the chipmaker behind the artificial intelligence boom. It is now the second-most valuable public company, behind Microsoft. Nvidia also hit a US$3 trillion market cap milestone on Wednesday after shares rose over 5%. At market close, Nvidia had a market value of US$3.019 trillion, versus Apple’s, which stood at US$2.99 trillion. Microsoft is the most valuable publicly traded company, with a market cap of US$3.15 trillion, as of Wednesday. Nvidia shares have risen more than 24% since the company reported first-quarter earnings in May and have been on a tear since last year. The company has an estimated 80% market share in AI chips for data centers, which are attracting billions of dollars in spending from big cloud vendors. Investors are also becoming more comfortable that Nvidia’s huge growth in sales to a handful of cloud companies can persist. For the most recent quarter, revenue in its data center business, which includes its GPU sales, rose 427% from a year earlier to US$22.6 billion, about 86% of the company’s overall sales. https://tinyurl.com/2n9vznzh

Nvidia market cap jumps by US$350 billion amid ‘gamma squeeze’.

Although many investors have been drawn to Nvidia by its bumper earnings, analysts say the past week’s rally bears the hallmarks of a so-called “gamma squeeze”. In such a market phenomenon, bulk buying of call options — derivatives that give traders the right to buy at a preset price and which can pay off it a stock rises — forces brokers on the other side of the trade to buy shares in the underlying stock to protect themselves. As Nvidia’s share price climbed this week, bullish traders purchased more and more call options, forcing brokers to purchase further Nvidia shares. This pushes the company’s share price higher, boosting demand for calls, all of which drives a self-fuelling cycle of further dealer hedging. Such squeezes are not uncommon. The meme-stock rally of early 2021 that centred on video game retailer GameStop was another example of traders buying short-dated, out-of-the-money call options that forced brokers to snap up the company’s shares, driving a huge, if shortlived, rally. Unlike GameStop, Nvidia boasts profit margins above 50 per cent and has lately come to embody investors’ hopes about the potentially transformative effect on the global economy of generative artificial intelligence, a technology that runs on the company’s chips. https://archive.ph/PNrz3

Crypto Platform Bakkt reportedly weighs sale, breakup.

Bakkt Holdings, the digital-asset marketplace backed by the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, is working with a financial advisor to explore strategic options, including a potential sale or breakup, Bloomberg reported Friday. NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange launched Bakkt in 2018 and the company went public in 2021. Its shares have plunged 66% so far this year, and the firm disclosed in February that it may not be able to continue as a going concern. In March, its CEO Gavin Michael stepped down, replaced by board member Andy Main. The firm laid off 28 people, or 13% of staff, in May. Bakkt owns a BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services, which allows it to provide digital assets business in New York. That license could be attractive for a potential acquirer. https://tinyurl.com/ma2nxmrk

Humane is reportedly trying to sell itself to HP for US$1 billion.

Following rumors that Humane is hunting for a potential buyer for its AI Pin business, a new report suggests that HP may be a contender. According to The New York Times, Humane started talking to HP about selling itself for more than US$1 billion around a week after reviews emerged that widely panned its US$699 wearable AI computer pin. That figure is also reflective of a similar report from Bloomberg last month that said Humane is “seeking a price of between US$750 million and US$1 billion.” It also isn’t inconceivable for HP, which previously acquired Palm hardware and its webOS operating system for US$1.2 billion in 2010. HP killed all Palm-related production and support the following year, citing poor sales. LG now owns webOS. https://tinyurl.com/ycnwsn8w

Microsoft lays off over 1,000 employees in Cloud, Mixed Reality Groups.

Microsoft is laying off more than 1,000 employees across different businesses on Monday, according to someone familiar with the situation. Most of the job cuts are within the company’s Strategic Missions and Technologies org, which aims to sell Microsoft’s cloud software and server rentals for businesses with highly specified needs such as telecom firms and space companies, while other layoffs affect employees in Microsoft’s mixed reality unit. In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson said that the cuts “are a necessary and regular part of managing our business” as Microsoft focuses on hiring “in strategic growth areas.” Some details of the layoffs were first reported by Business Insider and CNBC on Monday. The cuts represent the most significant round of layoffs at Microsoft since last year, when the company announced that it would cut 10,000 roles throughout 2023 in an effort to cut costs. Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to spend heavily on its AI push, including a US$650 million-dollar deal earlier this year to hire staff of the AI startup Inflection, and roughly US$50 billion in capital expenditures coming this year to build new data centers to meet AI demand. https://tinyurl.com/54yxm6c7

Elon Musk diverted Nvidia chips from Tesla to X and xAI.

Elon Musk told Nvidia to redirect graphics processing units reserved for Tesla to the social media site X, which works closely with his artificial intelligence startup xAI, according to CNBC, which cited a December memo written by senior staff at Nvidia. The switch postponed the delivery of US$500 million in GPUs to Tesla by months, potentially delaying its progress in developing autonomous vehicle technology, according to the report. In an email from April, staff at Nvidia also said that Musk’s public statements about spending on AI infrastructure conflicted with Nvidia’s bookings and forecasts, according to the report. In response to the story, Musk said “Tesla had no place to send the Nvidia chips to turn them on, so they would have just sat in a warehouse.” News of the diversion of Nvidia chips comes amid a proxy vote at Tesla to ratify a 2018 pay package for Musk, now worth around US$44 billion. A Delaware judge canceled the package in January, and Musk’s critics have argued that he is too distracted by responsibilities outside of Tesla to justify the extraordinary pay. Musk has previously said that if he doesn’t receive 25% voting power at Tesla, he will prioritize developing AI outside of the electric vehicle company. https://tinyurl.com/3nxtbfnk

Vision Pro’s international launch is closer than ever, says Ming-Chi Kuo.

Rumors have been rampant about the timeline for the Vision Pro’s international rollout. Although the device first shipped to US customers back in February, there has been no official word on its expansion to other countries. Now, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, the international Vision Pro rollout is imminent, with shipments set to begin before mid-June. With shipments expected to begin before mid-June, Apple is certain to announce the international rollout during its WWDC keynote on Monday and provide an official release date then. According to Kuo, the following international markets will be among the first to receive Vision Pro shipments: U.K., France, Germany, China, Japan, Singapore. It’s possible other territories are on Apple’s list for the initial wave of Vision Pro shipments, but Kuo highlights these as some of the most prominent places for Vision Pro’s international launch. Apple announcing the expanded markets for Vision Pro could pair especially nicely with the company’s unveiling of visionOS 2, the first major software update for the device. visionOS 2 is expected to introduce more native first-party apps, new Home screen customization options, and more. https://tinyurl.com/nhznm63e

Microsoft turns off default ‘recall’ AI feature amid privacy Backlash.

Microsoft is making changes to its new AI-powered Recall feature on Windows after it drew harsh criticism from security experts in recent weeks. Recall takes a screenshot of users’ screen every five seconds and lets them use an AI-powered search engine to find apps or windows they used in recent months. Microsoft initially planned to include Recall by default for users of its new line of Copilot Plus PCs but has now changed course, and will give users the choice of whether or not to enable the feature while setting up their computer, Windows leader Pavan Davuluri said Friday. Microsoft will also require users to prove their identity with a PIN, face ID, or fingerprint in order to use the feature, Davuluri said. Recall came under scrutiny soon after the company unveiled the feature last month. Security experts including former Microsoft security researcher Kevin Beaumont publicly slammed the product, saying it would be easy for hackers who broke into a user’s laptop to instantly access reams of sensitive data, including passwords or banking information they had entered while using Windows. In a statement Friday, Davuluri said Microsoft “will continue to listen to and learn from our customers.” https://tinyurl.com/rj63taxa

Spotify raises prices again.

Spotify is raising prices for the second time in nine months, lifting the price of individual subscriptions to US$11.99 a month while a couple will now pay US$16.99 a month. A family will pay US$19.99 a month. The increases mean that Spotify customers are paying 20% to 30% more in the space of a year, depending on the tier. Spotify said the price increase would help it “continue to invest in and innovative on our product features.” Spotify has expanded its audiobook offering, following earlier efforts to expand in podcasts. https://tinyurl.com/4376rmra

FTC investigates Microsoft’s deal to hire inflection staff.

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Microsoft’s recent deal with the AI startup Inflection, according to someone familiar with the situation. The agency is evaluating whether the deal, in which Microsoft paid US$650 million for the rights to the company’s technology and hired nearly all of its staff, should be considered an acquisition that Microsoft would have been obligated to report to the government. Microsoft didn’t buy equity in the startup, but Inflection’s board made the unusual move to redistribute the $650 million that Microsoft paid to Inflection’s shareholders, The Information previously reported. A Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement that the company is “confident” that it has complied with merger laws and that its deal with Inflection was meant to recruit talent “capable of accelerating Microsoft Copilot,” its AI chatbot software. News of the FTC probe was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. https://tinyurl.com/45bufmkk

U.S. clears way for Antitrust probes into Nvidia, Microsoft, OpenAI.

The U.S. has cleared the way for antitrust investigations into Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia, as federal regulators have reached an agreement on how to divide up the responsibilities for the probes, The New York Times reported. Under the agreement, the Justice Department will lead the investigation into Nvidia, while the Federal Trade Commission will take the lead in investigating OpenAI and Microsoft, according to the Times. Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have already pursued antitrust actions against Apple, Amazon and Alphabet, among others. https://tinyurl.com/2nj9ze6d

AI is promoted from back-office duties to investment decisions.

Asset managers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to guide investment decisions, track the habits of portfolio managers and identify moneymaking opportunities. JPMorgan later this year plans to expand the use of a generative AI tool that flags questionable decisions by portfolio managers, such as potentially selling top-performing stocks too soon, company officials told the Financial Times. The tool, dubbed “Moneyball”, is meant to show portfolio managers “how they and the market have behaved in similar circumstances and helps them correct for bias and improve their process”, said Kristian West, head of investment platform for JPMorgan Asset Management. Other fund managers are using AI to complement human analysts, identify targets for litigation finance and explain allocation decisions to investors. These disparate efforts show how the AI arms war in asset management is shifting from paperwork-intensive compliance and marketing tasks towards helping investment professionals make smarter decisions. The JPMorgan tool — part of the US$3.2 trillion manager’s Spectrum portfolio management platform, which is fuelled by about 40 years of data — is a pilot program that is still in development and will be made available to a broader group of portfolio managers later this year. Voya Investment Management already has implemented a virtual analyst that can monitor stocks for potential risks, complementing the US$331 billion manager’s human research staff. Portfolio managers have access to a dashboard in which a human analyst’s review of securities can be viewed alongside AI feedback, such as red-flagging a stock. So far, Voya’s AI analyst has demonstrated a good ratio of right and wrong decisions, making its alerts “a high-value signal”, said Gareth Shepherd, Voya’s co-head of machine intelligence. He likened the process to a pilot and co-pilot reading signals from an aeroplane’s flight management system. In some cases, AI has a good deal of say, as is the case with an AI-powered exchange traded fund from South Korean conglomerate LG and SoftBank-backed Qraft Technologies. Their LQAI ETF, which launched in November and relies on a proprietary AI stockpicking tool, has evolved to incorporate an AI-generated monthly holdings report. A recent AI-generated report explains its decisions to favour certain companies and sectors while selling out of others. https://tinyurl.com/5n6p2wpx

Robinhood to buy crypto exchange Bitstamp for US$200 million.

Robinhood has agreed to buy Bitstamp, one of the oldest crypto exchanges, for about US$200 million in cash to build an institutional crypto business, the retail brokerage app announced Thursday. Last month, Robinhood disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to sue its crypto unit for alleged violations of securities laws. The planned acquisition shows that Robinhood is still eager to expand its crypto business. Bitstamp, founded in 2011 with offices in Luxembourg, the UK and the U.S., offers crypto trading, institutional lending and staking. Bitstamp USA is also part of the acquisition, a spokesperson said. Barclays advised Robinhood, and Galaxy Digital advised Bitstamp. https://tinyurl.com/yc5xthya

Nvidia says its next-generation AI chip platform to be rolled out in 2026.

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said last Sunday that the company’s next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) chip platform was called Rubin and would be rolled out in 2026. The Rubin family of chips will include new graphics (GPU) and central processors (CPU) as well as networking chips, Huang said at National Taiwan University in Taipei as part of the Computex trade show. However, Huang offered few details. https://tinyurl.com/mt54e6jt