Latest Interviews
Showing 1–6 of 6 transcripts.
Clear all filters- a16z12 min
AI Is Coming For These 3 Industries In 2026 (a16z Big Ideas)
Ryan McEntush, Angela Strange, Sarah Wang
Ryan McIntosh, Angela Strange, and Sarah Wang identify three pivotal 2026 inflection points defining the future of American industry, finance, and software architecture. These experts forecast a transition where the U.S. must vertically integrate its electro-industrial ecosystem to match China, financial institutions must abandon legacy mainframes for AI-native data systems to unlock tenfold operational scaling, and dynamic AI agent layers must displace traditional systems of record to enable autonomous execution. Collectively, these shifts emphasize that future economic and military power depends on controlling embodied electrified components, unifying data across unstructured sources, and achieving product velocity through continuous AI-driven iteration.
- a16z26 min
Zach Perret (Plaid) & Simon Khalaf (Marqeta): New Applications in Fintech
Zach Perret, Simon Khalaf, Angela Strange
Industry experts predict the term "fintech" will vanish within two years as major retailers and non-bank entities adopt embedded finance strategies that already contribute nearly half of their operating margins. Plaid is shifting its infrastructure toward AI-driven identity verification to prevent a potential $10 billion in fraud losses while preparing for a regulatory environment where CFPB rules mandate open data sharing. Simultaneously, the payments landscape is evolving from static card models to dynamic, algorithmic wallet aggregations that enable real-time rewards and sponsor banking expansion across over 100 institutions.
- a16z25 min
The Open Source Movement in Fintech
The financial services sector is undergoing a paradigm shift as developers dismantle legacy mainframe systems to replace proprietary "As-a-Service" models with composable, open-source primitives. Leading initiatives like Move and Tsobe are now resolving critical inefficiencies in payments, open banking, and anti-money laundering compliance by leveraging community-driven code to fix thousands of edge cases that traditional institutions cannot address. This transition is transferring purchasing power from C-suite executives to engineering teams, positioning open-source collaboration as the primary engine for the next generation of global financial innovation and inclusion.
- a16z16 min
a16z Podcast | How Technology Is Changing Investing
Josh Levin, John Fawcett, Angela Strange
This initiative addresses the retail investment gap by deploying algorithmic platforms that enable values-based portfolio customization without sacrificing market correlation, targeting the 80% of US equities held by individuals seeking to exclude sectors like weapons or tobacco. Quantopian's open-source model and mobile voting tools further disrupt traditional finance by leveraging global quantitative talent and simplifying shareholder activism to capture the 85% of millennials desiring alignment with personal causes. Together, these strategies aim to transition the industry from static mutual funds to dynamic, cloud-based "rented strategies" that adapt to evolving demographic values while mitigating overfitting risks in automated investing.
- a16z25 min
Managing Risk and Uncertainty: The Future of Insurance
Modern insurance, a $5 trillion global industry rooted in historical risk-pooling practices, faces significant barriers to entry regarding customer acquisition costs and regulatory fragmentation. New market entrants like Next Insurance, Hippo, and Lemonade are overcoming these hurdles by leveraging satellite imagery, behavioral data, and AI-driven fraud detection to enable hyper-personalized underwriting and streamlined claims processing. As venture capital targets these data-centric strategies, the sector is shifting from static, questionnaire-based models toward dynamic, on-demand ecosystems that expand coverage to previously uninsured populations.
- a16z21 min
The Next 3 Billion in Financial Services
Highly concentrated traditional banking coexists with a massive $320 billion alternative financial services sector that serves millions of Americans who rely on high-fee providers due to lumpy incomes, poor credit history, and cash flow volatility. Innovative fintech startups like Earnin, Payjoy, and LendUp address these specific market inefficiencies by leveraging payroll data, device telemetry, and behavioral metrics to offer fee-free wage advances, device financing without credit checks, and alternative credit scoring for the unbanked. These platforms are rapidly scaling by transforming high-frequency engagement into sustainable operating systems that challenge established financial institutions while extending credit access to billions of users globally.