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The Rise, Fall & Reset of The Fintech Industry

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

Pins

The Rise, Fall & Reset of The Fintech Industry

The a16z Show

2025/12/19
The a16z Show

The a16z Show

2025/12/19
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Fintech went from a full-blown surge to a near standstill in just two years. At its peak, about 25 percent of all venture dollars were pouring into the category. By late 2022, that number had collapsed to almost zero. In this conversation, a16z General Par...

Highlights

The fintech landscape has weathered a turbulent few years, swinging from explosive growth to sharp contraction and now showing signs of a resilient comeback. What once seemed like an unstoppable wave of innovation hit macroeconomic headwinds, forcing startups and incumbents alike to adapt or perish.
00:00
25% of venture dollars flowed into fintech during 2020–2021 peak
14:47
AI is driving productivity gains in major financial institutions adopting external technology
19:52
AI could enable self-driving money apps that automate financial decisions.
24:53
The biggest current use-case of AI in financial services is fraud committed by fraudsters.
27:28
Pig butchering fraud is now often AI-driven and manipulates people into sending money to strangers.
34:50
The fintech winter allowed Plaid to prove itself and launch critical products.
42:36
Plaid's LendScore offers a modern alternative to traditional credit scores

Chapters

How Did Fintech Go From Boom to Bust—and Back Again?
00:00
What Happens When Fintech Solves More Than Just Access?
07:09
Was the Fintech Crash Inevitable—and What’s Left Standing?
17:29
Could Your Money Soon Drive Itself? The Rise of AI Agents
22:24
Is AI Making Fraud Unstoppable by 2026?
27:28
Plaid’s Near-Death Experience and Quiet Reinvention
30:10
What Will Fintech Look Like in 2026?
39:33

Transcript

Zach Perret: 2018, 2019 in fintech was late spring. You get into 2020 and COVID, and that was utter insanity of a story. David Haber: Like, 25% of all venture dollars in that period went into fintech, Wow, 25%. Zach Perret: The stat after that is not a g...