Sponsored by Cytophage Technologies

Verses Extends Key Contract With Lead Scientist For Genius AI Platform

Verses AI (CBOE: VERS) has successfully extended an exclusive, multi-year contract with a scientist key to the development of its Genius AI platform. Professor Karl Friston, a neuroscientist, has agreed to continue his work with the company in his role as Chief Scientist.

As part of the renewed exclusive contract, performance-based incentives have been included that recognize breakthroughs in research and development by Friston and his team, and the contributions to the Genius platform.

The contract extension follows last weeks announcement that Verses’ Genius platform successfully outperformed an OpenAI model in a tech challenge. The challenge saw the two models compete head to head in 100 games of Mastermind. Over 100 rounds, Genius outperformed the OpenAI model, completing the task 140 times faster and 5,000 times cheaper than the perceived leader in artificial intelligence.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Trump Threatens to Reclaim Panama Canal (theDeepDive)

• U.S. launches new probe into legacy Chinese chips as tech pressure on Beijing escalates (CNBC)

• ‘Let Canadians Decide’: Conservative MP Files Petition for Early Election (theDeepDive)

• Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder of health insurance CEO (Reuters)

• BHP Plans For A Renewed Bid To Acquire Anglo American, This Time With A “Club” (theDeepDive)

• US banking giants capture biggest share of industry profits since 2015 (FT)

• Society is Becoming Unstable: From Meme Coin Hysteria to Mining’s Next Bull Run | Doug Casey (theDeepDive)

• China says it has given information, documents in probe of two cut Baltic Sea cables (Globe)

• Massive Crypto Scam Busted in Nigeria With Nearly 800 Multinationals Arrested (theDeepDive)

• Palantir and Anduril join forces with tech groups to bid for Pentagon contracts (FT)

What’s the latest?

• MicroStrategy: MicroStrategy owns 439,000 bitcoins (~$42 billion) and raised its market cap to $82 billion with a 477% stock surge in 2024. CEO Michael Saylor predicts bitcoin could hit $13 million by 2045 (29% annual growth) but failed to convince Microsoft to invest.

• Nordstrom: Nordstrom announced it will go private in a $6.25 billion buyout by its founding family and Mexico’s El Puerto de Liverpool. The Nordstrom family will hold 50.1% ownership, with Liverpool holding 49.9%. Common shareholders will receive $24.25 per share. The deal, expected to close in early 2025, follows a previous privatization attempt in 2018. Despite strong fiscal Q3 sales growth of 4%, Nordstrom has faced challenges amid cautious consumer spending in luxury retail.

• Automakers: Nissan and Honda announced plans to merge, potentially forming the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, with a combined revenue target of ¥30 trillion ($191.4 billion). The merger, aimed at competing in EV and intelligent driving technologies, will involve a holding company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Honda, with a market value of $43 billion, will dominate the board of the new entity, while Nissan’s turnaround efforts remain critical to the deal's success. Talks are set to conclude by June 2025, with visible progress expected by 2030.

• Economy: Canada's economy contracted by 0.1% in November after a stronger-than-expected 0.3% growth in October, according to advance data. Fourth-quarter GDP is tracking at a 1.7% annualized pace, above economists' 1.5% estimate but below the central bank's 2% forecast. Mining and oil and gas extraction grew 2.4% in October but contributed to November's decline, while real estate rose 0.5%, its largest increase since January.

• Vermilion Energy: Vermilion Energy is acquiring Westbrick Energy for $1.075 billion, adding 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 770,000 net acres with over 700 drilling locations in Alberta's Deep Basin. The deal, expected to close in Q1 2025, boosts Vermilion's largest producing asset. Last week, the company raised its dividend to $0.13 per share and announced a 2025 capital spending plan of $600-$625 million.

Genius vs. OpenAI

The stock market and stuff

• National Bank of Canada Secures Final Approval For $5 Billion Canadian Western Bank Acquisition (theDeepDive)

• Nordstrom Family Reaches $4 Billion Deal to Take Retailer Private (WSJ)

• US crypto industry eyes possible day-one Trump executive orders (Reuters)

• Agnico Eagle Acquires O3 Mining (theDeepDive)

In the juniors

• Canada Nickel Publishes Maiden Resource At Reid Nickel Sulphide Project (theDeepDive)

• Westinghouse and Aecon Forge $20 Billion Nuclear Partnership in Canada (theDeepDive)

• Payfare To Be Acquired For $4.00 A Share By Fiserv (theDeepDive)

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