This week, a controversy in the fashion world uncovered consumers’ true sentiment toward AI. Vogue, the decades-old powerhouse of fashion, published a Guess ad with a blue-eyed and blonde AI model. And the Internet is in shambles — one TikTok comment called it “war on art, fashion, and culture.” AI might be ushering us into […]
And what’s really stopping them from doing it I believe that cash flow underwriting is the greatest innovation in lending in the last decade. And I don’t say that lightly. But here’s the thing that keeps bugging me: if cash flow underwriting is so great (and it is), why isn’t everyone using it already? To […]
Where is there room for innovation in consumer lending? It’s a question founders in fintech have been asking for over a decade as the likes of Affirm, Tala, Upstart, and more have looked to fill a role that was traditionally dominated by banks, and later by GSEs. A recent report from the NY Fed digs […]
Fintech summer continues as insurtech giant Accelerant, long-rumored for IPO, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ARX. The company is an AI-enabled insurance marketplace that matches risk capital providers with underwriters. Shares initially priced at $21 and opened more than 30% higher; the IPO is expected to raise more than $720 […]
Hi there and welcome to Funded, where we spotlight early-stage bets on the future of tech. This week, we’re looking at a huge raise for Sunsave, a UK clean tech company aiming to bring rooftop solar and battery storage to the masses. Sunsave just closed a £113 million Series A round to supercharge its subscription-based […]
Modern mythmaking tells us that the most successful business ventures start in workaday, somewhat solitary venues — dorm rooms, garages, and the like — where, through grit and genius, a “lone founder” can turn a promising idea into a runaway commercial success. Yet history (and, frankly, the realities of community and capitalism) suggest that, in […]
President Trump has signed the GENIUS Act into law, with the goal of creating a federal regulatory system for stablecoins in the administration’s push to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world” (their words). Among other changes, GENIUS clarifies that stablecoins are not securities, pegs stablecoins to the dollar through more liquid […]
“Let’s go buy that business together. We’ll be a minority shareholder, we’ll put skin in the game…We all win when we do that.” While Artificial Intelligence (AI) undoubtedly has the long-term potential to revolutionize industries, its short-term impact will be most felt in automating existing workflows. Fractional AI co-founder and CEO Chris Taylor said his […]
The White House just unveiled “America’s AI Action Plan,” a sweeping framework whose sales pitch is to accelerate innovation, build infrastructure, and lead in AI diplomacy and security. The press release emphasizes that, of the 90 policies detailed, the key ones are: Exporting American AI (hardware, software, standards) Expediting the buildout of data centers (which […]
“I truly believe that from now on, we’re going to start to see a lot of partnerships happen within financial institutions and fintechs. And with AI coming, I think the startups are better positioned to leverage AI.” As Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) growth slows and the industry faces regulatory scrutiny, providers must evolve to […]