Payflows Series A Funding: Fintech start-up Payflows has emerged from stealth mode with €25 million in Series A funding to support its enterprise financial automation platform. Platform Features: Payflows’ platform is designed to automate financial functions for scale-ups in the mid to upper end of growth. It covers various financial operations, including accounts processing, procurement, payments, cashflows, customer and supplier insights, and other tasks typically managed by CFOs. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Model: The platform is delivered via Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and is i ..read more

AWS, Amazon’s cloud computing business, wants to become the go-to place companies host and fine-tune their custom generative AI models. Today, AWS announced the launch of Custom Model Import (in preview), a new feature in Bedrock, AWS’ enterprise-focused suite of generative AI services. The feature lets organizations import and access their in-house generative AI models as fully managed APIs. Companies’ proprietary models, once imported, benefit from the same infrastructure as other generative AI models in Bedrock’s library (e.g., Meta’s Llama 3 or Anthropic’s Claude 3). They’ll also get tool ..read more

New CEO Appointment: Kneip, a Luxembourg-based fund data management and reporting solutions provider, has appointed Elisa Alonso Sanz as its new CEO, effective from 1 July. Background of Elisa Alonso Sanz: Sanz joins Kneip from ABN Amro Investment Solutions (AAIS), where she served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the investment solutions arm for nearly four years. She brings extensive experience from her previous roles, including Chief Risk Officer at ABN Amro’s private banking unit and leadership positions at financial services firms such as State Street, Nomura, EY, Euroclear ..read more

Acquisition Details: UK fintech Gresham Technologies is set to be acquired by Alliance Bidco Ltd (Bidco), a company indirectly owned by US-based private equity firm STG Partners, in a deal worth £146.7 million. Agreed Deal: The acquisition comprises a cash offer and a permitted dividend, totaling 163.75 pence per Gresham share, representing a premium of approximately 26.9% on the closing share price from Monday. Expected Closure: The acquisition is anticipated to be completed by the third quarter of 2024, subject to approval by Gresham’s shareholders. Merger Plans: Bidco intends to ..read more

Plenty of large corporations want to join the AI revolution, but many feel it’s too early to be locked into one foundational model. That means there’s a market for a layer between companies and large language models (LLMs) — something companies can use to pick LLMs easily without needing to commit for all time to one platform. That’s the market Langdock is targeting with its chat interface that sits between LLMs and a company. Based out of Germany, the startup has recently raised a $3 million seed round led by General Catalyst and its European seed-stage partner, La Famiglia. “Companies don’t ..read more

Partnership Overview: Arizona Financial Credit Union (AZFCU) has partnered with NCR Atleos to upgrade its ATM network and self-service banking options. Current Status: AZFCU, headquartered in Phoenix with $3.3 billion in assets, manages approximately 30,000 ATMs across the US and is part of Co-op Solution’s shared branch network, providing access to 5,000 physical credit union locations for its 165,000 members. Need for Upgrade: Many of AZFCU’s ATMs were reaching the end of their life cycle, prompting the credit union to seek a new technology partner. Solution Selection: AZFCU opte ..read more

Santander’s Expansion Plans: Spanish banking group Santander intends to launch its digital banking subsidiary Openbank in the United States later this year. Openbank’s Offerings: Openbank, established in 1995, offers a range of digital financial services, including current accounts, lending, mortgages, and open deposits. Expansion Strategy: With €18 billion in deposits, Santander plans to debut Openbank in the US market in the second half of the year, alongside a launch in Mexico within the same timeframe. Previous Expansions: Openbank expanded beyond Spain to Germany, Portugal, an ..read more

Humane AI raised more than $230 million before it even shipped a product. And when it finally released its Ai Pin — which costs $699 plus a $24 monthly subscription — pretty much every tech reviewer came to the same disappointing realization: This much-hyped product, which promises to disrupt the smartphone’s dominance, is not very good. Yet some onlookers are declaring that Marques Brownlee, the hugely popular YouTuber known as MKBHD, will be single-handedly responsible if the company eventually fails. Soon after Humane AI dropped its long-awaited product, the conversation evolved away from ..read more

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