A CRISIL study found that private equity funds in India outperformed public markets between fiscal years 2013 to 2022. Analysis of 217 funds showed private markets earned returns 13.5% higher than the S&P BSE Sensex. Over 75% of funds had returns above public market equivalents. There was also greater variation in performance between top and bottom private funds compared to public markets. Alternative investment funds have grown in popularity in recent years, with two-thirds registering in the last 5 years. Strong economic growth, entrepreneurship, digitalization and government support are fueling further growth in private markets. However, funding fell 67% last fiscal year due to global headwinds, increasing scrutiny on fund managers’ exit strategies.
The article outlines 14 predictions for the year 2024. It expects Threads to overtake X as the leading social network as Meta continues promoting it. Google is predicted to largely catch up to OpenAI in generative AI quality. The quality of search results may degrade as Google struggles to detect AI-generated content. Scaled-up AI may outcompete many media companies for ad dollars. Synthetic media is unlikely to heavily impact the 2024 US election due to fact-checking and platform restrictions. Fragmented media may make it harder to understand which narratives are resonating most with voters. An interesting point is how AI content farms could further challenge publishers’ ability to earn revenue.
Cashfree Payments has launched FlowWise, India’s first self-hosted payments orchestration platform. FlowWise allows businesses to manage different payment systems through a single integration and instantly send payments to partners based on their needs. The platform aims to reduce processing costs by up to 40% and improve success rates up to 10% compared to traditional payment gateways. FlowWise enhances security by eliminating risks like data leaks. It uses a specialized machine learning algorithm to dynamically switch between payment options for better success rates. Cashfree Payments believes FlowWise will become merchants’ top choice given its easy integration and high success rates. Notably, FlowWise is a no-code platform that serves as the central intelligence for a merchant’s entire payment infrastructure.
Coinbase has launched a new advertising campaign targeting financially vulnerable young adults. The ads imply that cryptocurrency can solve economic issues like student debt and housing affordability. However, crypto is a highly speculative investment and buying it provides no guarantee of greater purchasing power or financial security. Coinbase charges high fees that can reduce returns. Several other crypto companies like FTX and Crypto. com have run similar ads that oversell crypto’s ability to improve people’s financial situations. These companies’ ads have led some viewers to invest and subsequently lose money as crypto prices dropped. Coinbase also has a history of discriminatory treatment of Black employees and an apolitical workplace culture, calling into question its portrayal as a solution for underserved communities. In summary, while the ads identify real economic issues, crypto is an uncertain investment and not a fix for structural problems.
Coinbase’s asset management arm is launching a new platform called Project Diamond to bring traditional financial assets like bonds onto the blockchain. The platform will utilize Coinbase’s custody, wallet and stablecoin services alongside its Base scaling network. Project Diamond has received preliminary approval from Abu Dhabi’s financial regulator and will enter its regulatory sandbox. As a demonstration, the platform has already issued and distributed its first debt instrument denominated in USDC on Base. Project Diamond aims to create digital assets directly on the blockchain rather than just tokenizing existing off-chain instruments. This could allow traditional assets to benefit from the efficiency and transparency of blockchain technology. If successful, Project Diamond may help close the large gap where less than 0.25% of global assets are currently on blockchain infrastructure.