Oak HC/FT VC Partner Kim Talks AI, Stablecoins, and Customer Value

“You have to understand the role that product plays in what [the customer] is trying to do — and it better be important — or it’s just not worth the kind of mind share and prioritization of that customer to onboard you.” Audrey Kim, a venture partner at Oak HC/FT, focuses on growth equity and […]

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Inside Aven’s Founder Chic: Sadi Khan on Equity, Credit, and Cognitive Load

“We’re excited about the environment where interest rates are reducing, but at a very high level, our mission does not change: We try to be the lowest cost of capital for consumers as on the way up, and we try to be the lowest cost of capital on the way down,” Khan told Fintech Nexus. […]

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AI Is Coming for the Customer Interface

It’s been a busy week for the government, AI industry, and payments sectors. Let’s unpack.  First, what’s at the top of everyone’s mind today: the U.S. government has shut down. Government-funded AI projects are likely to stall — such as those powered by the NSF, which has already announced its closure. Under its umbrella is […]

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How to Make AI Business Opinions Accurate and Useful

LLMs can answer business questions — but how do you know if their inferences are accurate? Theory Ventures Partner Andy Triedman unpacks what it would take to make AI predictions about human behavior more accurate for marketing and customer research. Like a good friend, LLMs have opinions if you ask them. “Which of these outfits […]

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Renton’s Take: Major Shifts for Small Business Lending?

Tariff headwinds are causing a headache for many businesses with sprawling supply chains and large importers, yet small businesses continue to be optimistic — and fintech is taking note of the opportunity. According to the latest MetLife and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index, optimism climbed to 72.0 this quarter, up sharply from 65.2. […]

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Are We About to Make a Quantum Leap in Small Business Lending?

The first wave of fintech in small business lending brought real innovation. Not only could we apply for loans online for the first time, but the approval decisions were very quick, sometimes even instant. By the mid-2010s, companies like Kabbage, Square, and OnDeck had broken new ground, and small businesses had access to capital like […]

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Fintech’s Battle of the Bots

Self-service finance is here, but the technology needs room to grow before consumers will fully embrace it. In the age of DIY and self-checkout, financial management has entered its own “do it yourself” revolution. Artificial intelligence-powered tools and chatbots now help people budget, invest, and plan for the future — all without waiting for a […]

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AI-Driven Commerce & The Dying Art of the Deal

Delta’s tentative launch of AI for personalized plane-ticket pricing was far from a smooth takeoff. Consumers reacted with alarm to the idea that travel — a sector in which passengers have increasingly limited rights — may become even costlier for the end user, and more profitable for the corporate behemoth.  It had us thinking about […]

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The Scramble to Build the AI Agent Economy

From agentic Fiverrs to enterprise-grade verticals, builders are racing to define how AI agents are created, deployed, discovered, and monetized. Online shopping. Stock trading. Vacation planning. If you listen to the most bullish projections about the scope and speed of AI-agent adoption in the coming years, use cases in commerce, public markets, and flight bookings […]

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The $100K Wall Threatening the U.S. AI Talent Engine

In a country that built its tech edge on global talent, a six-figure entry fee now stands at the border. The U.S. just rolled out a $100,000 surcharge on new H?1B visa petitions. While the intent is to curb abuse of the system — and perhaps re-onshore talent in what’s proved to be an increasingly […]

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