Latest news with #CGRA
TechCrunch
9 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Speedata, a chip startup competing with Nvidia, raises a $44M Series B
Speedata, a Tel Aviv-based startup developing an analytics processing unit (APU) designed to accelerate big data analytic and AI workloads, has raised a $44M Series B funding round, bringing its total capital raised to $114M. The Series B round was led by its existing investors, including Walden Catalyst Ventures, 83North, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Pitango First, and Viola Ventures, as well as strategic investors, including Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel and Managing Partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures, and Eyal Waldman, Co-Founder and former CEO of Mellanox Technologies. The APU architecture focuses on addressing the specific bottlenecks of analytics at the computing level, unlike graphics processing units (GPUs), which were initially designed for graphics and later modified for AI and data-related tasks, according to the startup. 'For decades, data analytics have relied on standard processing units, and more recently, companies like Nvidia have invested in pushing GPUs for analytics workloads,' Adi Gelvan, CEO of Speedata, said in an interview with TechCrunch. 'But these are either general-purpose processors or processors designed for other workloads, not chips built from the ground up for data analytics. Our APU is purpose-built for data processing and a single APU can replace racks of servers, delivering dramatically better performance.' Speedata was founded in 2019 by six founders, some of whom were the first researchers to develop Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Architecture (CGRA) technology. The founders collaborated with ASIC design experts to address a fundamental problem: data analytics were being performed by general-purpose processors. If the workloads grew too complex, they could need to tap into hundreds of servers. The founders believed that they could develop a single dedicated processor to accomplish the task faster using less energy. 'We saw this as an opportunity to put our decades of research in silicon into transforming how the industry processes data,' Gelvan said. Its APU currently targets Apache Spark workloads, but its roadmap includes supporting every major data analytics platform, according to the company CEO. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW 'We aim at becoming the standard processor for data processing—just as GPUs became the default for AI training, we want APUs to be the default for data analytics across every database and analytics platform,' Gelvan told TechCrunch. The startup says it has a number of large companies testing its APU, though it declined to name them. The official product launch is set for the Databricks' Data & AI Summit in the second week of June. Gelvan said that they will publicly showcase its APU for the first time at the event. Speedata claims a specific case where its APU completed a pharmaceutical workload in 19 minutes, which was significantly faster than the 90 hours it took when using a non-specialized processing unit, resulting in a 280x speed improvement. The startup said it has achieved several milestones since its last fundraising, including finalizing the design and manufacturing of its first APU in late 2024. 'We've moved from concept to testing on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and now we are proud to say we have working hardware that we are currently launching. We already have a growing pipeline of enterprise customers eagerly waiting for this technology and were ready to scale our go-to-market operations,' Gelvan, said.
India Gazette
18 hours ago
- Business
- India Gazette
Higher risk buffers by RBI strengthen its balance sheet, support India's macroeconomic outlook: ICICI Bank Report
New Delhi [India], June 3 (ANI): The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision to maintain higher risk buffers is expected to strengthen its balance sheet and support India's macroeconomic fundamentals, especially at a time when global oil prices are expected to remain benign, according to a recent report by ICICI Bank. The report noted that the RBI's strong risk buffer not only adds to its financial resilience but also provides a tailwind for the broader Indian economy. It said 'we believe higher risk buffer by RBI strengthens its balance sheet and provides a tailwind for India's macroeconomic fundamentals when oil prices too are expected to be benign'. The central bank's balance sheet stood at Rs 76.3 trillion as of FY25, marking an 8.2 per cent increase over the previous year. Since FY2022, the balance sheet has expanded by 23 per cent, which is lower than the nominal GDP growth of 40 per cent during the same period. In contrast, during the pandemic years from 2019 to 2022, RBI's balance sheet grew by 50 per cent, while nominal GDP rose by only 25 per cent. According to the report, the RBI's balance sheet is expected to grow in line with or faster than nominal GDP in the coming years, supported by an accommodative policy stance. In FY25, the expansion was primarily driven by an increase in domestic securities, which rose by 14.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 15.6 trillion. Foreign securities saw a modest increase of 1.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 48.8 trillion, mainly due to muted foreign investment flows. On the asset side, the sharpest rise was in gold holdings, which surged by 52 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6.7 trillion. The central bank added 57 tonnes of gold during the year. On the liabilities front, the growth was led by the Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA), which rose 15.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 13 trillion. This was attributed to higher global gold prices and the depreciation of the Indian rupee during the year. The RBI earned Rs 1.1 trillion from its foreign exchange operations in FY25, a 33 per cent jump compared to the previous year. The gross sales and purchases during the year amounted to Rs 65 trillion, compared to Rs 29 trillion in FY24. However, the average spread narrowed to 1.7 per cent in FY25 from 2.9 per cent in FY24, mainly due to a lower average depreciation of the rupee, 2.1 per cent this year compared to 3 per cent last year. The report added that the outlook for foreign exchange has shifted fundamentally. While the US dollar was strong last year due to economic exceptionalism, the dollar index has declined by 8.3 per cent in 2025 so far. This change has improved the position of emerging market currencies, including the rupee. (ANI)
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Higher risk buffers by RBI strengthen its balance sheet, support India's macroeconomic outlook: ICICI Bank Report
ICICI Bank reports that the RBI's decision to maintain higher risk buffers will strengthen its balance sheet and support India's macroeconomic fundamentals, especially with benign global oil prices. The RBI's balance sheet grew by 8.2% in FY25, driven by domestic securities and gold holdings, which surged by 52%. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision to maintain higher risk buffers is expected to strengthen its balance sheet and support India's macroeconomic fundamentals, especially at a time when global oil prices are expected to remain benign, according to a recent report by ICICI Bank The report noted that the RBI's strong risk buffer not only adds to its financial resilience but also provides a tailwind for the broader Indian said "we believe higher risk buffer by RBI strengthens its balance sheet and provides a tailwind for India's macroeconomic fundamentals when oil prices too are expected to be benign".The central bank's balance sheet stood at Rs 76.3 trillion as of FY25, marking an 8.2 per cent increase over the previous FY2022, the balance sheet has expanded by 23 per cent, which is lower than the nominal GDP growth of 40 per cent during the same period. In contrast, during the pandemic years from 2019 to 2022, RBI's balance sheet grew by 50 per cent, while nominal GDP rose by only 25 per to the report, the RBI's balance sheet is expected to grow in line with or faster than nominal GDP in the coming years, supported by an accommodative policy FY25, the expansion was primarily driven by an increase in domestic securities, which rose by 14.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 15.6 securities saw a modest increase of 1.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 48.8 trillion, mainly due to muted foreign investment flows. On the asset side, the sharpest rise was in gold holdings, which surged by 52 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6.7 trillion. The central bank added 57 tonnes of gold during the the liabilities front, the growth was led by the Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA), which rose 15.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 13 trillion. This was attributed to higher global gold prices and the depreciation of the Indian rupee during the RBI earned Rs 1.1 trillion from its foreign exchange operations in FY25, a 33 per cent jump compared to the previous year. The gross sales and purchases during the year amounted to Rs 65 trillion, compared to Rs 29 trillion in the average spread narrowed to 1.7 per cent in FY25 from 2.9 per cent in FY24, mainly due to a lower average depreciation of the rupee, 2.1 per cent this year compared to 3 per cent last report added that the outlook for foreign exchange has shifted fundamentally. While the US dollar was strong last year due to economic exceptionalism, the dollar index has declined by 8.3 per cent in 2025 so change has improved the position of emerging market currencies, including the rupee.
The Print
5 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Why RBI's dividend to Centre is at a record high in FY25 & a volatile history of its surplus transfers
The ECF governs how much capital the RBI should maintain to cover its various risks and how much of its surplus income can be transferred to the government. The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, gives the RBI paid up equity capital of Rs 5 crore. However, under the provisions of Section 47 of the Act, the RBI created discretionary reserves and revaluation accounts to account for fluctuations on its assets side as well as unforeseeable expenses. The announcement of surplus transfer followed a review of the Economic Capital Framework (ECF), which is used to determine provisioning for various kinds of risks the central bank is subjected to and surplus distribution by the central bank. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a record Rs 2.69 lakh crore annual dividend to the central government for FY 25. The record transfer is in spite of the RBI raising the Contingency Risk Buffer (CRB) to 7.5 percent of the balance-sheet from its previous level of 6.5 percent in 2023-24. There are five major reserves operated by the RBI that have quasi-equity like functions. They are Contingency Fund (CF), Asset Development Fund (ADF), Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA), Investment Revaluation Account (IRA) and Foreign Exchange Forward Contracts Valuation Account (FCVA). The CF represents the amounts added on a year-to-year basis for meeting unexpected and unforeseen contingencies. The ADF was created to make investments in subsidiaries and associated institutions. The Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA) reflects the unrealised gain/losses on revaluation of Foreign Currency Assets and Gold which are credited/debited to this account. The Investment Revaluation Account-Foreign Securities (IRA-FS) and the Investment Revaluation Account-Rupee Securities (IRA-RS) account for unrealised gains/losses in foreign and rupee-dated securities, respectively. The unrealised gains/losses arising from forward contracts (marked to market revaluations) are accounted for in the FCVA. The RBI's total economic capital includes the realised equity (CF and ADF) plus the three revaluation balances. Also read: UK FTA is good news for India amid global turbulence. Domestic reforms must follow market access Risks These reserves are maintained to deal with risks. The determination of capital is based on the risk a central bank may face. Market risk captures the risk of losses arising from adverse movements in valuation of assets of the RBI, including foreign reserves, gold and government securities. Credit risk arises if a borrower fails to default on any type of debt. This is not a very prominent source of risk for a central bank. Operational risk may emerge from the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events. For a central bank, the most important source of risk emerges from its monetary policy operations and financial stability mandate. Forex intervention (buying of dollar and sale of rupees) in the wake of capital inflows increases domestic liquidity. If sterilisation operations are conducted to absorb the excess liquidity, it changes the composition of the balance sheet by increasing the forex component. This not only increases the currency risk of the RBI, but also reduces its income as it replaces high yielding domestic securities with lower yield foreign securities. Revised ECF The revised ECF was introduced by RBI in May 2025, marking the first major update since the 2019 framework based on the recommendations of the Bimal Jalan Committee report. The changes aim to enhance flexibility, risk sensitivity, and financial resilience amid evolving macroeconomic challenges. Some of the key changes include the raising the CRB and the inclusion of off-balance sheet exposures in market risk assessment. CRB is a component of RBI's realised equity that accounts for operational, credit, and financial stability and monetary risks. Below is a comparison of the new framework with its predecessor: Stability risk buffer and distribution smoothing RBI noted that in the previous years the surplus transfers made to the government have been volatile. To solve this, the monetary and financial stability risk buffer range has been increased to 5 percent ± 1.5 percent, allowing provisioning between 3.5 percent to 6.5 percent. It was stated that the earlier range did not provide adequate flexibility to smoothen the transfer to the government. Therefore, the revised range is said to provide RBI with ample room to determine its buffer amount while also smoothening the transfers made to the government. Distribution smoothing is a model of remittance that reduces the volatility of the surplus transferred to the government. The volatility is typically reduced through clear rule-based methodology for transfers made by the central bank. For instance, the National Bank of Switzerland has entered into an agreement with the Department of Finance to determine the annual amount of transfer to the government for a 5-year period. This agreement aims to even out any medium-term volatility. Similarly, the Swedish central bank, Riksbank, smoothens its remittances by transferring a 5-year average of its net adjusted income to the government. These are explicit smoothing arrangements aimed at addressing the distribution asymmetry arising from income fluctuations for central banks. The adoption of the ECF added structure to RBI's surplus distribution policy, but the framework relies on broad principles when provisioning for monetary and financial stability risks. While increased flexibility allows for adaptability to changing risk environments, its use for smoothing of transfers, in the absence of a clear methodology, can give rise to unpredictability. The core issue here is not of flexibility but flexibility without clarity. The provision to be made each year appears to be based on the discretion of the central bank. This could mean that the increased buffer range may not necessarily solve the issue of erratic transfers. A clear rule-based framework for provisioning within the given range could provide more transparency and lead to less volatility in transfer of surplus to the government. Radhika Pandey is an associate professor and Nipuna Varman is a research fellow at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. Views are personal. Also read: Moody's US credit rating downgrade may usher in a new era—waning investor interest in US govt bonds
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
American Infrastructure Holding Corporation Provides Update on Share Exchange with American Infrastructure Corporation
Shareholders of American Infrastructure Corporation will receive 60 million common shares and approximately 10 million Series A Preferred. American Infrastructure Holding Corporation (OTCMKTS:CGRA) FISHERS, IN, UNITED STATES, May 27, 2025 / / -- American Infrastructure Holding Corporation, (OTC: CGRA ) ('CGRA' or the 'Company'), a company focused the on the mining and production of critical minerals and resources needed for infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, and defense, is pleased to announce it has finalized its merger with AIC along with share distribution to shareholders of AIC. As part of the transaction, AIC shareholders are is expected later this week to complete the distribution of approximately 60 million common shares and 10 million Series A Preferred shares of CGRA to its shareholders of record as of December 31, 2024. These shares represent the full equity exchange for the sale of 100% of AIC to American Infrastructure Holding Corporation (Formerly CGrowth Capital, Inc.). At the time of the transaction, American Infrastructure had 17,337,385 common shares outstanding, all of which were exchanged for a combination of Common stock and Series A Preferred Stock of CGRA. Each AIC shareholders will receive, for each common share held, 3.46073 common shares and 0.57679 Series A Preferred shares of CGRA, rounded to the nearest whole share. Each Series A Preferred share carries an initial conversion ratio of 1,256 shares of common share of CGRA. Mark Jensen, Executive Chairman of American Infrastructure, commented, 'The distribution of CGRA's common and preferred shares marks one of the final steps in completing the merger with AIC. We expect this share exchange to be fully completed with our transfer agent later this week. Once completed, AIC shareholders will begin to see CGRA common and preferred stock reflected in their brokerage accounts or registered directly with the transfer agent. In parallel, CGRA is also working with FINRA to officially change its name and ticker of the company to American Infrastructure Holding Corporation.' More information on the sale of AIC to CGRA can be found in American Resources' Form 8-Ks dated January 6, 2025 and February 4, 2025. The products extracted from the permits owned and controlled by the Company are essential to national security and are needed to secure our supply chains in the United States and with allied nations. - Metallurgical coal: Produced from the Company's West Virginia and Kentucky assets, which is an essential input and resource utilized in the steel manufacturing process. The carbon obtained from coal is blended with iron ore in the steel formation process. Coal was recently deemed as a critical mineral by the presidential administration, making it entitled to federal funding and deregulation - Iron ore: Produced from our upcoming Jamaica permit and is the second essential ingredient that is utilized in the steel manufacturing process. - Vanadium: Also produced from our upcoming Jamaica permit and is used in a number of high value applications including as an additive to steel, enhancing its strength, toughness, and resistance. It is also used in applications such as ferrovanadium, superconducting magnets, ceramics, and vanadium redox batteries. - Titanium: Also produced from our upcoming Jamaica permit and is used in jet engines, aircraft parts and spacecraft. The name change notification has been submitted to FINRA and is pending regulatory approval. During this review and approval period with FINRA, the Company name listed on the OTC marketplace may be different than the name listed with the Delaware Secretary of State. About American Infrastructure Holding Corporation (OTC: CGRA) American Infrastructure Holding Corporation is a next-generation supplier of high-quality raw materials to the new infrastructure market. The Company is focused on the extraction and processing of raw materials that feed the infrastructure marketplace with a focus on steelmaking materials. American Infrastructure has a growing portfolio of operations located in the Central Appalachian basin of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia where premium quality metallurgical carbon are concentrated as well as iron ore and vanadium assets in Jamaica. The Company is focused on running a low-cost model centered on growth that provides significant opportunity to scale its portfolio of assets to meet the growing global infrastructure markets. For more information visit or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond American Infrastructure Holding Corporation's control. The words 'believes', 'may', 'will', 'should', 'would', 'could', 'continue', 'seeks', 'anticipates', 'plans', 'expects', 'intends', 'estimates', or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved. Company Contact: [email protected] Investor Relations American Infrastructure Holding Corporation + +1 317.855.9926 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Facebook X Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
