<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></title><description><![CDATA[Defining the future of venture.]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_ZEH!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe4525b29-9653-4c51-b0f0-599696cbb39a_400x400.png</url><title>Acrew Capital</title><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 19:09:06 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[acrewcapital@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[acrewcapital@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[acrewcapital@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[acrewcapital@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Lauren Kolodny named to Barron's 2026 list of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance]]></title><description><![CDATA[The 2026 list honors 100 influential women in U.S. finance]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/lauren-kolodny-named-to-barrons-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/lauren-kolodny-named-to-barrons-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2026 19:41:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg" width="1026" height="1014" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1014,&quot;width&quot;:1026,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;No alternative text description for this image&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="No alternative text description for this image" title="No alternative text description for this image" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wyHS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f71ff9f-e102-46f0-8bc5-773c1e294299_1026x1014.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Our Co-founder and Managing Partner <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenkolodny/">Lauren Kolodny</a> has been named to Barron&#8217;s 2026 list of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance.<br><br>That recognition feels particularly meaningful coming from Barron&#8217;s. Venture capital represents only a small slice of the broader financial ecosystem, and only a handful of venture investors appear on this year&#8217;s list alongside leaders from banks, asset managers, regulators, and financial infrastructure companies.<br><br>Much of Lauren&#8217;s investing career has been based on the premise that technology can fundamentally reshape financial services for the better. She believes AI may be the biggest unlock we have seen yet. For example, AI has the potential to fundamentally restructure the core infrastructure of finance itself. The industry is built on structured data such as ledgers, payments, and compliance records, which makes it unusually well suited to AI-driven systems. It may also finally allow the services layer of financial services to reach far more people and businesses than it ever has before.<br><br>It will be fascinating to see how the financial landscape, and lists like Barron&#8217;s that reflect it, continue to evolve as these shifts play out.<br><br>Lauren loves working with founders tackling big, messy systems. These are the kinds of problems that require both technical insight and real empathy for the people those systems serve. She's been lucky to work with companies like <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/chime-card/">Chime</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/gustohq/">Gusto</a>, which helped modernize financial access for millions, applied AI platforms like <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/invisible-technologies-inc-/">Invisible Technologies</a>, and a new generation of AI-native startups rethinking how critical services get delivered.<br><br>Thank you to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/reshmakapadia/">Reshma Kapadia</a> for featuring Lauren and helping highlight this moment in finance.<br><br>Congratulations, Lauren.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[As AI Becomes a Platform, Early Builders Move Into Venture]]></title><description><![CDATA[Former OpenAI Head of Sales Aliisa Rosenthal Joins Acrew Capital as General Partner]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/as-ai-becomes-a-platform-early-builders</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/as-ai-becomes-a-platform-early-builders</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 18:03:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_ZEH!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe4525b29-9653-4c51-b0f0-599696cbb39a_400x400.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>SAN FRANCISCO</strong>, <strong>January 21, 2026</strong> &#8212; When the early builders of a new technology move from operating to investing, it is often a signal that the technology has become a true platform.</p><p>Reflecting this pattern in artificial intelligence, Acrew Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm, has added Aliisa Rosenthal, former Head of Sales at OpenAI, as General Partner. Rosenthal brings rare global expertise in scaling AI commercialization into the venture ecosystem, strengthening Acrew&#8217;s ability to support the next generation of AI-powered startups.</p><p>Rosenthal was OpenAI&#8217;s first commercial hire, joining when it was still primarily a research lab. She went on to build and lead the company&#8217;s sales organization, helping scale enterprise revenue from roughly $10 million to roughly $10 billion. During that period, she oversaw the commercial launches of the OpenAI API, DALL&#183;E, and ChatGPT Enterprise, translating frontier AI capabilities into products enterprises could adopt, trust, and pay for.</p><p>Her move into venture comes at a familiar inflection point. Historically, across major technology shifts from the internet to cloud, a key signal that a technology has become a platform is when the operators who built the first commercial wave step into investing. That transition often marks the moment when value creation moves from proving the technology works to building durable companies on top of it &#8212; a second wave of commercial impact.</p><p>&#8220;Aliisa is an N of 1. She didn&#8217;t just see AI scale, she built the commercial layer while the market itself was being invented &#8212; at the fastest growing company of all time,&#8221; said Lauren Kolodny, Founding Managing Partner at Acrew Capital. &#8220;That perspective is invaluable to our founders just as so many AI-native companies are making critical commercialization and scaling decisions.&#8221;</p><p>Before OpenAI, Rosenthal held senior sales leadership roles at WalkMe, where she helped guide the company through its IPO, and at Mixpanel, where she built commercial operations during a critical growth phase. Across more than two decades, she has worked closely with product and engineering teams as enterprise software evolved from traditional SaaS into AI-native systems.</p><p>&#8220;What drew me to Acrew was how clearly the partnership shows up as a team,&#8221; said Rosenthal. &#8220;Founders get the benefit of collective experience and expertise from the group of investors who actually operate like a team, which can be rare. I&#8217;m excited to work with companies building AI-native products who are now facing the real challenges around commercialization, from pricing and trust to designing go-to-market in a world where models evolve in production.&#8221;</p><p>At Acrew, Rosenthal will focus on early-stage investments and work directly with founders on go-to-market strategy, pricing and packaging, sales architecture, and enterprise readiness &#8212; areas that have become defining challenges for AI companies moving from experimentation to sustainable adoption.</p><p>Rosenthal is the first General Partner to join Acrew since the firm&#8217;s founding in 2019. The firm said the decision reflects a deliberate approach to complementing the existing partnership as AI reshapes how companies are scaled.<br><br>&#8220;AI is entering a phase where execution is everything,&#8221; added Theresia Gouw, Founding ManagingPartner at Acrew Capital. &#8220;I&#8217;ve lived these cycles before, and Aliisa&#8217;s hands-on experience at critical inflection points will be invaluable to our founders.&#8221;</p><p><strong>About Acrew Capital<br></strong>Acrew Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founders building category-defining companies across fintech, security, frontier data, and applied AI. Acrew manages over $1.7 billion across multiple funds and has earned a reputation for its thesis-driven approach and team-first partnership model. Its portfolio includes Bilt, Cato Networks, Chime, Coinbase, Gusto, Invisible Technologies, Plaid, Protect AI, Vanta, and Writer. Follow Acrew on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/acrew-capital/">linkedin.com/company/acrew-capital</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Welcoming Acrew’s Newest General Partner: Aliisa Rosenthal, World-Leading AI Sales Leader]]></title><description><![CDATA[Aliisa Rosenthal is an N of 1.]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/welcoming-acrews-newest-general-partner</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/welcoming-acrews-newest-general-partner</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:15:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png" width="1456" height="1040" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1040,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:2696422,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/i/185229475?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOQP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F054f5490-e5e7-4da0-927c-0d07f65e2207_1600x1143.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Aliisa Rosenthal is an N of 1.</p><p>She was the first commercial hire at OpenAI, joining when it was still a research lab. She went on to build and lead OpenAI&#8217;s sales organization, developing an AI-native go-to-market playbook while the market itself was still being invented. Under her leadership, OpenAI went from a lab to the world&#8217;s fastest growing company, reaching roughly $10B in revenue.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p>You might expect someone with that resume would show up with a (well-earned) swagger. Plenty of people with far less impressive experience do. Aliisa is the opposite. She&#8217;s down-to-earth, thoughtful, and relentlessly sharp. She asks the right questions, sees around corners, and knows how to hone in on the decisions that actually change outcomes.</p><p>We could not be happier to welcome Aliisa to the Acrew partnership as a General Partner.</p><p>This is a meaningful moment for us. We founded Acrew to be team-first, and we hold a high bar for anyone who joins our crew. Aliisa is the first GP to join the crew since our founding in 2019. That wasn&#8217;t by accident. It reflects how deliberate we are about building a partnership where each person meaningfully expands what we can do for founders.</p><h4><strong>AI-Native Commercialization, and the Gap Founders Are Feeling</strong></h4><p>AI is upending traditional go-to-market playbooks. Usage-based economics, evolving models, the increasing need for trust, and new security challenges all change how products are sold and scaled.</p><p>Of course, there&#8217;s no shortage of commentary about how AI is reshaping go-to-market.</p><p><strong>There are very few people who have actually scaled an AI-native product through those challenges, at global scale, inside an organization with no precedent to follow. Aliisa is one of them.</strong></p><p>That&#8217;s why her arrival matters so much for our founders. Aliisa brings a stacked r&#233;sum&#233; and something rarer still: demonstrated judgment at the inflection points that matter. She knows where teams rush too early, where they hesitate too long, and which early commercial decisions quietly define what&#8217;s possible later.</p><p>Aliisa will work closely with Acrew founders on building AI-native growth teams, designing go-to-market strategy, and navigating pricing, sales architecture, and early commercial hires. She&#8217;s a supercharger in the truest sense of the word, helping founders avoid the missteps that can harden into long-term constraints.</p><h4><strong>Building a Crew: A single unified team means each partner has to bring complementarity and a team-first mentality</strong></h4><p>Acrew hires for complementarity, not homogeneity. We&#8217;ve intentionally built a medium sized, tightly aligned partnership because doing so allows us to be both powerful and agile. We think it takes performance and discipline to stay in this spot: enough different perspectives to be powerful but intimate enough to operate as one team, one crew. This only works when each person brings distinctive super powers. And there&#8217;s no question that Aliisa&#8217;s arrival fundamentally augments capabilities for our founders: she brings an AI-native commercial lens at hyperscale.</p><p>We&#8217;ve known Aliisa for years, and this decision has been a long time coming. We&#8217;ve been fortunate to collaborate with her over the last decade and to see firsthand how she operates. She shares our values: authenticity, humility, and a bias for the long game. She shows up as a coach and she rolls up her sleeves. She&#8217;s the kind of partner who stays close to founders while they&#8217;re building, not just at milestone moments.</p><h4><strong>Why This Crew</strong></h4><p>As you might imagine, Aliisa had her pick of places to join. In her own words, here&#8217;s why she picked Acrew:</p><blockquote><p>&#8220;After helping scale OpenAI from a research-driven lab into an enterprise-grade business, I wanted to spend my next chapter supporting the founders building on top of this platform shift. I had a front-row seat to how enterprises are actually adapting to AI - what they need, where they struggle, and where early decisions really matter.</p><p>What ultimately pulled me to Acrew was how the team shows up: deeply collaborative, intellectually honest, and genuinely excited to do the work alongside founders. The firm&#8217;s depth across core thematic areas like fintech, infrastructure, data, and security felt like a natural complement to my expertise.</p><p>Acrew&#8217;s low-ego, team-oriented partnership model matches the way I like to work. This is a moment where thoughtful capital and practical experience can shape how AI gets deployed, and Acrew felt like the right place for me to help founders navigate the messy middle and build companies with real, lasting impact.&#8221;</p></blockquote><p>This is the part of the AI cycle where early decisions begin to compound. Sustainable commercialization and demonstrated business impact is no longer a future problem.</p><p>Aliisa has built that bridge before. Now she&#8217;s here to help Acrew founders build it again. We can&#8217;t wait to learn and build alongside her.</p><p><em>&#8212; Lauren, Theresia, Asad, Mark &amp; Aliisa</em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Formulary: Disrupting the Fund Administration Industry]]></title><description><![CDATA[Turning fund administration into a strategic advantage for investors]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/formulary-disrupting-the-fund-administration</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/formulary-disrupting-the-fund-administration</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:38:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The fund administration industry relies on 20th-century workflows and processes to meet the 21st-century needs of GPs and LPs. As the complexity of alternative assets grows, investors are increasingly strained by legacy systems, manual workarounds, and a persistent lack of data accuracy. We believe the industry is at an inflection point and ripe for AI-led disruption.</p><p>At Acrew, we believe in being early backers of category-defining disruptors that can transform legacy industries through AI orchestration and unified technology. As fund managers ourselves, we have experienced firsthand the friction of traditional fund administration. It is a space where existing solutions are no longer fit for purpose, and GPs have been forced to &#8220;learn to live&#8221; with subpar service and inconsistent record-keeping. The Acrew team has been searching for a partner capable of harnessing the full potential of technology to break the status quo and redefine what is possible in private market operations.</p><p>When we met <a href="https://www.formulary.co/">Formulary</a>, we knew we had found the answer.</p><p><strong>The Team Behind Formulary</strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png" width="1400" height="933" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:933,&quot;width&quot;:1400,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bces!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2c3264c-31af-4109-87be-170aad0fcaa3_1400x933.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Founding team from L to R: Bryan Skelton (Chief Controller), Alfia Ilicheva (Founder and CEO), and Rick Pianka (CTO).</figcaption></figure></div><p>From our initial meeting with Alfia Ilicheva (Founder and CEO), it was evident that she and the team have a differentiated approach. With a founding team that comes from Bridgewater Associates, Meta, and leading fund administrators, they bring rare insight and technical depth across applied AI, data systemization, and fund accounting &#8212; a strategic advantage that is difficult to replicate. Additionally, she has been able to recruit senior advisors from leading asset management firms, and this signaled to us strong founder&#8209;market fit and early ecosystem pull.&#8203;</p><p><strong>A New Kind of Fund Administration Partner</strong></p><p>For Formulary, what began as fixing the underlying fundamentals &#8212; embedding data systemization to ensure data accuracy and access &#8212; has evolved into reimagining how a modern fund administrator should operate.</p><p>Three capabilities set Formulary apart. First, an AI-native process orchestration engine that streamlines accounting workflows and captures institutional knowledge across GPs and LPs, eliminating delays and &#8220;key person&#8221; risk. Second, tailored, high-touch service delivered by dedicated fund accounting experts and anchored in data-driven insights for investors. Third, robust data capabilities that expose the full lineage of every number and logic path back to source documents and artifacts, establishing a shared source of truth across GPs, LPs, and third-party partners.</p><p>For asset managers like ourselves, this combination is particularly compelling as we seek to harness the power of our data, scale our teams, and uncover new opportunities for growth. From day one, Formulary&#8217;s ambition to eliminate the &#8220;shadow book&#8221; burden stood out. The results and client feedback make it clear that Formulary is driving meaningful gains in operational efficiency, data integrity, and GP&#8211;LP relationships.</p><p><strong>What&#8217;s Ahead</strong></p><p>The commercial opportunity is significant and growing. Private markets represent over $20 trillion in AUM, and the market spend on fund administration services is poised to double to $25 billion by 2033. Within this category, Formulary already supports firms managing billions in assets and is experiencing rapid growth as the industry shifts toward AI-native operations.</p><p>We are especially excited by the team&#8217;s disciplined focus on trust, excellence, and customer centricity. They are deeply committed to integrity in every aspect of the business and uncompromising in ensuring client priorities remain at the heart of every decision. This rigor has already enabled them to become trusted partners to many leading investment firms.</p><p>We are proud to support Formulary&#8217;s latest funding round alongside Khosla Ventures, Company Ventures, Serena Ventures, and others. This new capital will accelerate the development of proprietary AI tooling and expand Formulary&#8217;s team of accountants and technologists.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Igniting Sparks]]></title><description><![CDATA[Lauren Kolodny: Recipient of the 2025 CoachArt Heart and Humanity Champion Award]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/igniting-sparks-d923c878ef51</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/igniting-sparks-d923c878ef51</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 16:34:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/s58ENvirqjA" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote><p>&#8220;In my work, as a VC, I look for a spark in each of the entrepreneurs that I back. That deep sense of purpose around something greater than yourself. CoachArt ignites and nurtures sparks. In smaller, braver bodies&#8230; especially in need of that&nbsp;light.&#8221;</p></blockquote><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;48469f3a-e996-4bff-93f3-07409fc6a536&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><p>This month we celebrated our Co-Founder and Managing Partner <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenkolodny/">Lauren Kolodny</a> as she received the Heart and Humanity Award from <a href="https://coachart.org/">CoachArt</a>, a nonprofit that supports children facing serious illness through arts and athletics.</p><p>Lauren&#8217;s remarks reminded us that sparks of resilience and purpose take many forms: whether in children finding their light through art or entrepreneurs building to solve problems larger than themselves.</p><p>It was particularly powerful to hear <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbritt/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_recent_activity_content_view%3BXJD2%2FTdVQuaVGmrYvyTfNg%3D%3D">Chris Britt</a>, CEO &amp; co-founder of <a href="https://www.chime.com/">Chime</a>, introduce Lauren for this honor, sharing his reflections on the last decade of their partnership and why he believes Lauren is so aligned with this wonderful organization.</p><p>Congratulations to CoachArt for hosting an evening of inspiration and to all the young artists and athletes whose demonstrations of courage create light for us all.</p><p>Special thanks to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-dirr-5507895/">Molly Dirr</a>,<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-rice-a810b956/"> Jason Rice</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/coltonalexio/">Colton Alexio</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-k-aa803415/">Chris Kwei</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferkuperman/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_recent_activity_content_view%3BXJD2%2FTdVQuaVGmrYvyTfNg%3D%3D">Jennifer Kuperman</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zander-lurie-a0018/">Zander Lurie</a>, and the entire Coachart team.</p><h4>Chris Britt&#8217;s Full&nbsp;Intro</h4><p><strong>&#8220;</strong>I am so honored tonight to have the privilege to introduce my great friend, Lauren Kolodny. Lauren is one of the earliest investors in my company, Chime, while she was at Aspect Ventures and then later at Acrew, where she is a founding partner. I am forever grateful for the belief that she had in me and my team, and that leap of faith she made improved not only my life and the lives of all of the Chimers that work at our company, but also so many other people who have been impacted by our services over the years.</p><p>She played so many roles for us at Chime. She was the CEO advisor, she was a board member, and eventually transitioned to be a board observer. But as anyone who knows Lauren knows, she is anything but an observer. She&#8217;s someone who rolls up her sleeves, who engages, who helps with product strategy. There was a period of time where I&#8217;m pretty sure she was the head of recruiting for the company for a number of years. She&#8217;s always been a trusted voice, a truth teller, insightful, intelligent, but always leading with a huge heart.</p><p>A couple of years ago, I was so proud to read that Lauren was first welcomed into the coveted Forbes Midas List. This is sort of the who&#8217;s who of VC&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;for the nerdy VCs out there, this is like their Oscars&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;honoring the top investors who invested in the best companies. So I&#8217;m not saying her investment in Chime sealed the deal for her necessarily, but I&#8217;m not <em>not</em> taking some credit for that.</p><p>Now that Lauren is an incredibly well-respected investor, she still hasn&#8217;t lost sight of what matters most: the talented people behind the scenes who make all these great things happen, like this great team at CoachArt. She doesn&#8217;t just invest in companies&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;she invests in humans, in ideas, and in possibility. She focuses on people and purpose, and that&#8217;s something that runs very deeply within her family, who are all here tonight and whom I had the pleasure of meeting. It&#8217;s great to meet you all.</p><p>In fact, her mother, Martha, started a nonprofit in Peru to support female artisans and help them create sustainable businesses. Creating opportunities for others&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;this mix of heart and hustle&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;clearly runs deep in the Kolodny DNA. Lauren lives these values every day and has always stayed grounded. She&#8217;s part badass investor, part badass mom to two girls&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;Bayley, who is here tonight, and Sierra. She&#8217;s the mom of Bayley and Sierra, along with her extraordinarily extraordinary husband, Mitch, who I&#8217;ve also gotten to know very well over the years.</p><p>Somehow, she&#8217;s figured out this perfect algorithm&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;or maybe it&#8217;s an AI&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;that allows her to balance term sheets with toddler tantrums. But somehow, she&#8217;s figured it all out, the way we&#8217;re all working to figure it out. Along the way, she&#8217;s always found ways to give back. In fact, recently she had a number of CoachArt kids and families over to her house, and that&#8217;s really who Lauren is. She&#8217;s someone who shows up. She doesn&#8217;t just give money&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;she gives her time, her energy, and her spirit.</p><p>So tonight, we honor you, Lauren, with the CoachArt 2025 Heart and Humanity Champion Award. We are so grateful to have you, and so I&#8217;d love to welcome my good friend, Lauren, up to the stage.&#8221;</p><h4><strong>Lauren&#8217;s Speech</strong></h4><p>&#8220;Thank you, Chris. I&#8217;m going to start with a disclosure. When you and Chris Kwei told me about this honor, I was surprised. You&#8217;re giving the Heart and Humanity Award&#8230;to a venture capitalist? In 2025? Bold Move.</p><p>But then I remembered why I was compelled by CoachArt&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;when you first invited me here nine years ago, right after my investment in Chime. I&#8217;m drawn to those who see potential in others and help to bring it out.</p><p>In a way, that&#8217;s my job.</p><p>In my work, as a VC, I look for a<strong> </strong>spark in each of the entrepreneurs that I back&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;that deep sense of purpose around something greater than yourself<br>the resilience to keep you going when a rational person would stop<br>the energy that makes others take a leap alongside of you.</p><p>When I met Chris Britt, his spark was unmistakable. A drive to financially empower families like the one he grew up in. To build a bank that didn&#8217;t prey on people&#8217;s vulnerabilities, but helped them grow financially stronger<br>That was a bold idea&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;one that many people said couldn&#8217;t be a good business. But Chris&#8217;s spark kept burning, and I think it&#8217;s safe to say he&#8217;s proved them wrong.</p><p>Sparks come in many forms and they burn especially bright in service of others. I see that in Molly and the CoachArt team&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and I learned it from my mom. For twenty years, my mom, Martha, has run a nonprofit supporting female artisans in the high Peruvian Andes&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;to build sustainable income and send their kids to school. Quietly. No spotlight. Remarkable impact. A purpose bigger than herself&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and she&#8217;s exceptionally good at it.</p><p>Her work, like Chris&#8217;s, reminds me: sparks come in many forms<br>but they all share the same root: purpose.</p><p>That&#8217;s why CoachArt resonates. This organization ignites and nurtures sparks&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;in smaller, braver bodies, especially in need of that light.</p><p>Earlier this month, my husband Mitch, and our daughters Bayley and Sierra, and I hosted a backyard event with CoachArt. We spent the afternoon with kids who&#8217;ve endured more in a few years than most of us have in our lives. And yet the mood wasn&#8217;t heavy&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;it was joyful. Painting. Soccer. Decorating cupcakes. Kids and their passions aglow.</p><p>But what really struck me were &#8220;the Ethans.&#8221; Two boys from different families and backgrounds&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;with far more in common than a name. First, five-year-old Ethan Rodriguez, the same age as Bayley. He&#8217;s battled leukemia most of his life, and he wanted to talk to me about exactly one thing: drumming.</p><p>So Mitch built a trash-can drum set, and our backyard turned into a rock concert. Even if he&#8217;d been twice his age, his talent would have floored you.<br>&nbsp;Pure rhythm. Pure energy. Pure spark.</p><p>Then we met nine-year-old Ethan Battogtokh whom you just had the pleasure of hearing play for us here tonight. Can I get another round of applause for Ethan?</p><p>Ethan overcame brain cancer&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;years of surgeries and rehab&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;With a resilience that humbles me, supported by the love of his truly remarkable family. When Ethan sat at the keyboard, the yard was buzzing with kids;<br>the moment he began to play, everything focused. In his hands, our dinky starter keyboard became a Steinway at Carnegie Hall.</p><p>His spark is palpable.</p><p>My best evidence? That night, Bayley practiced piano on her own&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;more than she had ever before, in aggregate. Ethan&#8217;s spark inspired her. To me, the Ethans passions are the purest sparks something to grip when life is uncertain, energy when you&#8217;re depleted, a light in the dark.</p><p>As a mom, time with these families left me spinning&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;Feelings of humility, anger at the unfairness, deep inspiration. And then&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;wow&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;how lucky I am that my kids are healthy. If that weren&#8217;t true, how could anything else matter? And yet here were these families, laughing with Sierra over cupcake decorating gone awry. Seeing them reset my definition of strength.</p><p>And CoachArt&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;CoachArt gives kids like these, kids facing what no child should, the chance to discover or grow a spark&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;one that makes hard days survivable and good days radiant.</p><p>Tonight, as we celebrate their courage and CoachArt&#8217;s amazing work, join me in keeping that light burning&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;Show up for CoachArt so more kids who really need one can find a spark of their own. When we do, we all get to bask in its glow&#8211;just as we did with Ethan tonight. Thank you.&#8221;</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Biomanufacturing in an AI-Native World]]></title><description><![CDATA[Driving 10X+ improvements in time and cost efficiency]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/biomanufacturing-in-an-ai-native-world-532d3fa5bc05</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/biomanufacturing-in-an-ai-native-world-532d3fa5bc05</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2025 15:39:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*IGLyImYqsmrK0_J6" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>By <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kunaalpatel1/">Kunaal Patel</a> and the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/acrew-capital">Acrew Capital</a> team</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png" width="800" height="732" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:732,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PNj2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47d8306b-b87e-45cc-aff7-2f59f4d948e2_800x732.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h4><strong>Executive Summary</strong></h4><p>Biologic manufacturing, from monoclonal antibodies to vaccines, relies on living cells to produce complex therapeutic proteins. Small variations in upstream cell culture or downstream purification can derail safety, potency, and quality, turning what should be routine batches into costly failures. The handoff from development to production (tech transfer) and the systematic scale-up from lab to commercial volumes remains a 12+-month bottleneck. Each failed batch not only delays patient access but also incurs millions in disposal, root cause analysis, and rework costs.</p><p>With over <strong>$120 billion</strong> spent annually on biologics manufacturing, there is an urgent need for smarter, faster, and more predictable processes. AI-enabled platforms that automate tech transfer protocols and predict batch failures promise to modernize this pipeline&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;offering the potential to reduce timelines by an order of magnitude and significantly cut operational expenses.</p><p><strong>Why AI?</strong> The latest wave of deep learning methods, namely LLMs, have transformed the field two-fold:</p><ol><li><p><strong>Compute.</strong> Parameter scaling has provided computational power to ingest, clean, and model multivariate unstructured + structured data at a scale that hasn&#8217;t been possible before.</p></li><li><p><strong>Next Token Prediction.</strong> In practical terms, each &#8220;token&#8221; represents a discrete state in the manufacturing process such as pH level at a given timepoint, dissolved oxygen reading, impeller speed, cell density, or nutrient concentration profile. By encoding these parameters as a temporal sequence, transformer-based models can learn the probabilistic relationships between states and use next-token prediction to forecast process drift, anticipate deviations, and recommend real-time adjustments. This approach effectively &#8220;auto-completes&#8221; the optimal manufacturing run.</p></li></ol><p>We believe <strong>AI-enabled process optimization/improvement platforms focusing on tech transfer automation and batch failure prediction</strong> represent a compelling opportunity to modernize biomanufacturing with potential for 10X+ improvements in both time and cost efficiency.</p><h3>The Problem: Fundamental Scale-Up Challenges</h3><p>Biologics manufacturing scale-up represents a critical &#8220;valley of death&#8221; in the $<a href="https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/biopharmaceuticals-market">448.1</a> billion biopharmaceutical market where promising therapies often fail due to manufacturing challenges rather than efficacy or safety concerns. Unlike small molecule drugs, biologics are produced in living systems that introduce immense complexity when scaling from laboratory (5&#8211;10L) to commercial production (2,000&#8211;20,000L). The economic stakes are enormous&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;facilities cost $<a href="https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/biopharmaceuticals-market">200&#8211;500</a> million to build, each halving of production volume increases unit costs and batch failure rates during early scale-up attempts:</p><ol><li><p><strong>Hydrodynamic Changes</strong>: As bioreactor volume increases, mixing patterns, shear stress, and gas transfer dynamics change dramatically. These physical changes directly impact cellular metabolism, growth rates, and protein expression.</p></li><li><p><strong>Heat and Mass Transfer Issues</strong>: Larger vessels have different surface-to-volume ratios, leading to changes in heat dissipation and nutrient/oxygen distribution profiles that can significantly alter cell behavior</p></li><li><p><strong>Process Control Complexity</strong>: Maintaining consistent pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and nutrient levels becomes exponentially more difficult as scale increases</p></li><li><p><strong>Cell Line Sensitivity</strong>: Mammalian cell lines used for biologics production are extraordinarily sensitive to environmental conditions, with even minor deviations potentially triggering stress responses that alter protein structure or quality</p></li><li><p><strong>Bioprocess Variability</strong>: Living systems exhibit inherent biological variability that becomes magnified during scale-up, making process reproducibility exceptionally challenging</p></li></ol><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png" width="800" height="478" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:478,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fSqz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208799ea-d380-4b14-9e8b-d95b4e57e277_800x478.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><strong>This Leads To Best Practices That Are Inefficient &amp; Do Not Scale&#8230;</strong>Traditional biologics scale-up follows a linear approach with discrete steps between laboratory, pilot, and commercial scales, creating multiple process transfer points where failures commonly occur. Each transfer requires extensive empirical testing with limited predictive capabilities, resulting in tech transfer and process validation timelines of <a href="https://www.pharmtech.com/view/tech-transfer-in-the-new-world-of-new-modalities">12&#8211;24 months</a>. Process parameters that work at small scale often fail to translate directly to larger vessels due to changes in mixing dynamics, oxygen transfer, and heat dissipation. Current approaches rely heavily on trial-and-error experimentation and the expertise of a limited pool of skilled scientists, with minimal real-time feedback during critical scaling decisions. CDMOs have started to adopt &#8216;Scale out&#8217; methods to reduce costs with disposable bioreactors but this neither solves the tech transfer &#8594; production issue nor provides economies scale as these lines must scale linearly with production volume.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png" width="800" height="521" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:521,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!q4T8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66e37522-73be-4dfb-9653-2764eea52f57_800x521.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>These traditional methods contribute to the high failure rates &amp; extended timelines that plague biologics manufacturing.</p><h3>Manufacturing Costs Drive A $120B+ Market Opportunity&#8230;</h3><p>The biopharma manufacturing segment represents approximately ~$120B+ (assuming <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2762308">23.5%</a> margin for manufacturing costs; $<a href="https://www.biospace.com/biologics-market-size-to-hit-around-usd-1-37-trillion-by-2033">511B</a> biologic market) in manufacturing costs across biologics.</p><p>Contract manufacturing specifically is experiencing rapid growth, with the global biopharma contract manufacturing market valued at $40.1 billion in 2024 and projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% through 2030 (<a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/biopharmaceuticals-contract-manufacturing-market">Grand View Research, 2024</a>.)</p><h3>So Why Now? Macro Forces Driving&nbsp;Urgency&#8230;</h3><p>Three significant macro forces have converged to create an unprecedented window of opportunity for innovation in biopharmaceutical manufacturing:</p><h4>1. Intensifying Margin Pressure on&nbsp;Pharma</h4><p>The industry faces unprecedented margin pressure, with R&amp;D costs rising while returns decline sharply:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Rising development costs</strong>: The average cost to develop a new drug has increased to over <a href="https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/about/press-room/global-pharma-rd-returns-rise-as-one-glp-drugs-help-drive-forecast-growth.html">$2.23 billion</a> in 2024, while the average return on R&amp;D investment has fallen from 10.1% in 2010 to just 4.1% in 2023 (<a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/press-releases/deloittes-14th-annual-pharmaceutical-innovation-report-pharma-rd-return-on-investment-rebounds-after-record-low.html">Deloitte, 2024</a>; <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pharmaceuticals-r-d/pharma-industry-returns-on-rd-investment-hit-nine-year-low-idUSKBN1OI08R/">Reuters, 2018</a>)</p></li><li><p><strong>Patent cliff acceleration</strong>: Major pharmaceutical companies face patent expirations on drugs representing $<a href="https://www.geneonline.com/pharma-faces-236-billion-patent-cliff-by-2030-key-drugs-and-companies-at-risk/">236</a> billion in sales between 2024&#8211;2030, creating urgent need for manufacturing efficiency</p></li><li><p><strong>Pricing pressures</strong>: The Inflation Reduction Act&#8217;s Medicare drug price negotiation provisions are expected to reduce pharmaceutical revenues by $96 billion through 2030, driving companies to find cost efficiencies to protect margin</p></li></ul><h4>2. Policy &amp; Geopolitical Pressure Driving &#8216;Nearing-shoring&#8217;</h4><ul><li><p><strong>The Biosecure Act</strong> has prohibited pharma from contracting with &#8220;biotechnology companies of concern,&#8221; primarily from China, with a 2032 deadline for U.S. pharma companies to sever ties with listed Chinese entities. We have already seen signs of decoupling via Wuxi Apptec&#8217;s <a href="https://www.wuxiapptec.com/news/wuxi-news/6008">divestiture of their US/UK CGT</a> therapy business, which may lead to net new supply chains in the coming years</p></li><li><p><strong>Geopolitical Risk</strong>: <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/the-us-is-relying-more-on-china-for-pharmaceuticals-and-vice-versa/">~17%</a> of API the US imports comes from China. Additionally, China supplies India&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;the US&#8217; fifth largest source of pharmaceutical imports&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;with nearly <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/the-us-is-relying-more-on-china-for-pharmaceuticals-and-vice-versa/">70%</a> of its APIs</p></li></ul><p>The vulnerability of extended global supply chains, combined with intensifying geopolitical tensions, has created urgency for pharmaceutical companies to develop more resilient, localized, and efficient manufacturing capabilities.</p><h4>3. Shift Toward Higher Cost Biologics</h4><p>The pharma pipeline is increasingly dominated by complex biologics that present unique manufacturing challenges:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Rising market share</strong>: Biologics now comprise 46% of total medicine spending in the U.S., growing at 12.5% annually, significantly faster than small molecules (<a href="https://www.iqvia.com/insights/the-iqvia-institute/reports-and-publications/reports/biosimilars-in-the-united-states-2023-2027">IQVIA, 2023</a>)</p></li></ul><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png" width="800" height="407" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:407,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dqaN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2e803c1-b2ae-4f89-9838-388e959e8d1c_800x407.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><ul><li><p><strong>Manufacturing complexity</strong>: Biologics require specialized facilities and expertise, with production costs 10&#8211;20x higher than small molecules due to their size (<a href="https://synergbiopharma.com/biologics-vs-small-molecules/">200&#8211;1000x larger than small molecules</a>) and complex structure.</p></li><li><p><strong>Small batch production</strong>: Unlike mass-produced small molecules, biologics typically require smaller, more specialized production runs and precision manufacturing techniques, with stringent temperature and environmental controls</p></li><li><p><strong>High-value specialized products</strong>: Specialty medicines accounted for 55% of net spending in 2022, up from 28% in 2011, with continued growth driven primarily by autoimmune and oncology therapies (<a href="https://www.iqvia.com/locations/united-states/blogs/2023/07/insights-into-the-2023-us-pharmaceutical-market">IQVIA, 2023</a>)</p></li></ul><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png" width="800" height="352" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:352,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GeAv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F649b2379-8833-476e-8405-745e13dc8d4a_800x352.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>This shift requires fundamental changes to manufacturing approaches, moving from traditional batch processes optimized for high-volume production to flexible, precise processes capable of handling complex biomolecules in smaller, highly controlled environments.</p><p><strong>Convergence Point<br></strong>The confluence of these three macro forces&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;margin pressure, Policy and Geopolitical shifts, and the rise of biologics&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;has created an unprecedented window of opportunity for innovation in manufacturing. At the forefront AI (process optimization, cell expression modeling, metabolic pathway modeling etc.) and Robotics (dark factories, continuous manufacturing etc.) provide immediate utility to solve this issue.</p><h3>What Could Be The Winning Formula For This&nbsp;Space?</h3><p>AI-enabled manufacturing systems can transform biologics scale-up by addressing the core challenges of predictability, reproducibility, and process optimization.</p><ol><li><p><strong>AI-enabled platforms that address immediate pain points</strong> in tech transfer automation and batch failure prediction, where ROI can be immediately quantified. A key gating factor is <strong>data access</strong>, especially failed batch data, which is often siloed, incomplete, or commercially sensitive.<br>Startups will need to overcome the &#8220;cold start&#8221; problem through early design partnerships with CDMOs or pharma, creative use of synthetic data, transfer learning from adjacent processes, and leveraging any regulatory pathways that mandate data sharing. While life sciences data generation continues to grow exponentially to the exabyte level, customers are still struggling to turn process data into actionable insight. This creates a large opportunity for platforms that can both operate at the application layer and build proprietary datasets over time.</p></li><li><p><strong>GTM: Improve vs. Net New.</strong> Design partnerships with pharma/CDMOs to start with process optimization (improve existing workflows) before process improvement (net new workflows)</p></li><li><p><strong>Solutions that demonstrate measurable economic impact</strong> through pilot projects (e.g., &gt;$1M in direct cost savings, &gt;10% throughput improvements, or &gt;30% reduction in process development time)</p></li><li><p><strong>Founding teams with complementary background</strong> in both biomanufacturing ops and AI/software dev, with an emphasis on connections to CDMOs and pharma manufacturing teams (to hack GTM)</p></li><li><p><strong>Companies that can address multiple therapeutic modalities within biologics</strong>, such as monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, mRNA vaccines, and cell or gene therapies. Platforms that can adapt to the varying manufacturing requirements, process controls, and quality attributes of these modalities will be better positioned to capture share across the fastest-growing and most complex segments of the market.</p></li><li><p><strong>Companies with strong &#8216;simulation&#8217; capabilities</strong> that enable virtual process experimentation (digital twins) and simulation before physical implementation, as they offer significant risk reduction and cost-saving benefits to manufacturers</p></li><li><p><strong>Value technology differentiation through hardware-software integration</strong>, particularly in solutions that combine specialized hardware automation with proprietary AI models that get better a function of their proprietary data generation flywheel</p></li><li><p><strong>Positioning against incumbents</strong> is critical. Existing manufacturing execution systems (MES) and process analytical technology (PAT) tools from incumbents such as Emerson, Siemens, and Sartorius are often rigid, hardware-tied, and poorly integrated with modern AI workflows. They excel at compliance and monitoring but lack predictive capability, cross-process learning, and the ability to incorporate unstructured data such as lab notes or image-based QC results. This creates clear whitespace for nimble players who can layer intelligence on top of existing infrastructure without forcing costly system overhauls.</p></li></ol><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png" width="800" height="542" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:542,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a9jB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc798cc1b-a53b-4c5a-8123-bb9a6b991c2c_800x542.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The biopharma manufacturing scale-up process represents a significant opportunity for technology-enabled disruption. While the market has been historically conservative in adopting new approaches, economic pressures and competition for manufacturing capacity are driving unprecedented openness to innovation.</p><p><em>Fortune favors the bold.</em></p><p><em><strong>If you&#8217;re building or operating in this space let&#8217;s connect: <a href="mailto:kp@acrewcapital.com">kp@acrewcapital.com</a></strong></em></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Backing Highbeam: The AI Finance Platform Built for Brands]]></title><description><![CDATA[Running a consumer brand is a constant juggling act.]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/backing-highbeam-the-ai-finance-platform-built-for-brands-de1e856606e7</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/backing-highbeam-the-ai-finance-platform-built-for-brands-de1e856606e7</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 09 Sep 2025 15:14:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*tD7FvMPdSbrZtBuNsUhGlg.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png" width="800" height="398" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:398,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SXvw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F859378be-8beb-4349-8b7d-313f467d370f_800x398.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Running a consumer brand is a constant juggling act. Margins are tight, sales are seasonal, and decisions like when to order inventory or how much to spend on marketing can make or break a quarter. Yet most founders are stuck relying on outdated banking products, clunky dashboards, and spreadsheets that never quite reconcile.</p><p>The turbulence in the small business banking world over the past year only reinforced what operators already knew: traditional providers weren&#8217;t designed for modern, nimble brands. Founders need more than a place to park their deposits. They need AI-enabled financial platforms that help them plan for the future, make decisions in real time, and bank with confidence.</p><h3>A new kind of financial partner</h3><p><a href="https://www.highbeam.com/">Highbeam</a> was founded to be that partner. What began with better banking&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;transparent accounts, competitive yields, and FDIC insurance&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;has evolved into a full financial operating system built specifically for consumer brands.</p><p>Three capabilities set it apart. First, AI-automation that shows operators a real-time picture of their business and forecasts what&#8217;s ahead. Second, integrated financial products&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;from high-yield accounts to flexible credit&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;designed and optimized for the rhythms of retail and ecommerce. And third, autonomous finance agents that go beyond reporting to recommend, and even execute, actions that improve outcomes for the business.</p><p>For founders, that means they can ask and answer the questions that matter most: <em>Can I afford a bigger production run this month? Do we have the runway to open another store? How will higher ad spend impact cash flow?</em></p><p>With Highbeam, those answers are clear, timely, and actionable.</p><h3>Stories from the brands they&nbsp;serve</h3><p>The best measure of Highbeam&#8217;s impact is how its customers describe it.</p><p>One fast-growing apparel brand told us that Highbeam&#8217;s high-yield accounts didn&#8217;t just save them money&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;the additional income helped fund a major marketing campaign that propelled its growth.</p><p>A DTC furniture company shared how their finance team had been bogged down by manual cash flow planning beforeHighbeam&#8217;s forecasting tools automated the process, freeing up employee time to focus on more meaningful strategic decisions.</p><p>And for a consumer goods brand with heavy seasonality, the founders relied on Highbeam&#8217;s scenario planning to navigate the crunch of holiday inventory. What had once required painstaking manual analysis became manageable, helping them avoid costly stockouts during their busiest season.</p><p>Across these stories, the theme is the same: Highbeam isn&#8217;t just a better bank, it&#8217;s a trusted financial partner embedded in the daily decisions that drive growth.</p><h3>The team behind&nbsp;Highbeam</h3><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png" width="512" height="288" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:288,&quot;width&quot;:512,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TCXP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9799eb1-a1f3-485c-b393-84c64de36242_512x288.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><em>Highbeam cofounders: Gautam (left) and Samir (right) in&nbsp;NYC.</em></p><p>The strength of Highbeam&#8217;s team lies in its complementary perspectives. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sshergill/">Samir Shergil</a> (co-founder, CEO) brings technical rigor and strategic experience, having started at Microsoft, advised at McKinsey, and led product at AppNexus through its $1B+ acquisition by AT&amp;T. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gautamgpt/">Gautam Gupta</a> (co-founder, CTO) adds fintech and commerce expertise from his time at Shopify, Venmo, and Alloy, grounding the platform in the realities of brand operations. And <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-segal-80b6079/">David Segal</a>, founder of DAVIDsTEA and Firebelly Tea, contributes the operator&#8217;s lens&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;the lived experience of navigating cash flow, growth, and scale as a consumer entrepreneur. That combination of skills and perspectives is what makes Highbeam a platform that brands can trust.</p><p>Together, they&#8217;ve built a company that customers consistently describe as highly innovative, relentlessly supportive, and deeply human. In diligence, we heard again and again that working with Highbeam feels less like dealing with a financial institution and more like having a strategic partner who genuinely wants the business to succeed.</p><h3>Why we&#8217;re&nbsp;excited</h3><p>The opportunity ahead is enormous. Independent consumer brands represent nearly a trillion dollars in annual sales. Within that landscape, Highbeam has already become the system hundreds of operators rely on to store, move, and optimize their finances. This year, the platform will manage more than $5B in transactions, driving revenue growth of more than 3x YoY.</p><p>We&#8217;re especially excited by how deliberately the team prioritizes impact. Highbeam isn&#8217;t chasing every workflow or feature&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;they&#8217;re focused on the finance processes where they can deliver measurable outcomes: higher yields, faster decisions, and less time wasted on manual reporting. That discipline has allowed them to become a foundational platform for the brands they serve.</p><p>We&#8217;re proud to have led Highbeam&#8217;s $30M Series A alongside FirstMark, Mayfield, Two Sigma Ventures, and Vesey Ventures, among others. This new funding will accelerate development of AI tooling, expand access to best-in-class financial partners, and deepen vertical-specific benchmarks and optimizations.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Investing in Medallion: accelerating back office automation in healthcare]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Vishal Lugani, Kendra Ragatz, Tom Porter, and Maitree Mervana Parekh]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/investing-in-medallion-accelerating-back-office-automation-in-healthcare-b1b18fba8233</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/investing-in-medallion-accelerating-back-office-automation-in-healthcare-b1b18fba8233</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 27 Aug 2025 17:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>By <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishal-lugani-79116220">Vishal Lugani</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendra-ragatz-22611a153">Kendra Ragatz</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomporter3">Tom Porter</a>, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmervana">Maitree Mervana Parekh</a></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg" width="800" height="418" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:418,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iuLj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb36fc1a8-7efb-4df2-b990-66002f7fae5b_800x418.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>We are proud to be leading <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/medallion-credentials/">Medallion</a>&#8217;s latest funding round. Immediately upon meeting <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/derektlo/">Derek Lo</a>, we were struck by Derek &amp; the team&#8217;s ambition to transform healthcare by tackling one of its most persistent pain points: administrative burden. Medallion operates an AI-powered workflow automation platform for the healthcare back-office, helping providers get onboarded and in-network with insurance up to 10&#215; faster, automating credential verification, and serving as the system of record for provider data.</p><p>Medallion unveiled its newest initiative: CredAlliance, a national credentialing clearinghouse. Credentialing &#8212; the process by which payers verify that providers are licensed and qualified &#8212; is necessary, but incredibly duplicative. Each of the ~4M credentialed providers in the U.S. contracts with an average of 19 payers, leading to ~25M credentialing events annually and an estimated $1.25B in costs.</p><p>CredAlliance enables payers to verify providers once and share those results across networks while maintaining their own quality standards. The potential impact is enormous: millions of redundant credentialing events eliminated, ~10M provider hours saved, and far less friction for providers and patients alike. CredAlliance has already signed up a few dozen payers, with five of the nation&#8217;s top 10 health plans considering joining. The network is growing fast.</p><p>This is exactly one of the themes we set out to pursue in Acrew Capital&#8217;s healthcare investing. Medallion is an exemplar of a company that uses the latest in technology to reduce administrative waste while improving the efficiency and trustworthiness of the healthcare system.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Alix: Where Compassion Meets Automation for the $90T Wealth Transfer]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Lauren Kolodny, John Gardner and Tom Porter]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/alix-where-compassion-meets-automation-for-the-90t-wealth-transfer-3daac520d26c</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/alix-where-compassion-meets-automation-for-the-90t-wealth-transfer-3daac520d26c</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:17:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*NLa4ST_C6JGzYV0e" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>By Lauren Kolodny, John Gardner and Tom Porte</em>r</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EUnf!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f970fcc-f6ca-429e-b4af-56e832fbad69_800x438.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EUnf!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f970fcc-f6ca-429e-b4af-56e832fbad69_800x438.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EUnf!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f970fcc-f6ca-429e-b4af-56e832fbad69_800x438.jpeg 848w, 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8f970fcc-f6ca-429e-b4af-56e832fbad69_800x438.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:438,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EUnf!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f970fcc-f6ca-429e-b4af-56e832fbad69_800x438.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EUnf!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f970fcc-f6ca-429e-b4af-56e832fbad69_800x438.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EUnf!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f970fcc-f6ca-429e-b4af-56e832fbad69_800x438.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EUnf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f970fcc-f6ca-429e-b4af-56e832fbad69_800x438.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Death and money. Two topics human beings avoid at all costs, even when talking with those closest to them. So, it&#8217;s not surprising that estate settlement&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;or how assets get managed after someone dies&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;is not a popular conversation topic. And yet, it&#8217;s one of the most universally painful human experiences.</p><p>If you&#8217;ve experienced the problem, then you know. If you haven&#8217;t, imagine: you&#8217;ve just lost a family member or best friend. You&#8217;re processing grief, funeral plans, and family dynamics. And in that <em>exact moment</em>, you&#8217;re faced with one of the most complex, time consuming and bureaucratic financial processes of your life. Settling that estate will take you, on average, 12&#8211;18 months and 900 hours of your life: learning the legal process, investigating what your loved one had in the first place, making sense of paper statements, getting access to accounts, filling out a maze of forms, attempting to follow nonsensical processes from digitally backwards financial institutions&#8230; wasting days of your life listening to terrible hold music.</p><p>Talk about a substantial consumer pain. During one of the most painful moments of your life.</p><p>That&#8217;s why we are proud to share that Acrew has led the $20M Series A in<a href="https://www.meetalix.com/"> </a><strong><a href="https://www.meetalix.com/">Alix</a></strong>&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;the first AI-native estate settlement company built to empathically solve estate settlement&#8211;just in time for the $90 trillion in wealth transfer that will occur over the coming decades.</p><p>Lauren first met Alexandra Mysoor, Alix&#8217;s immediately captivating CEO, in an elevator lobby earlier this year. The way Alexandra told the story of the opportunity and her palpable passion for the problem stuck in Lauren&#8217;s mind. Talk about your ultimate elevator pitch.</p><p>But it wasn&#8217;t until we spent real time with Alexandra and her co-founder, Hugh Tamassia, that it truly clicked: this is the team built to fix estate settlement. Alix was born from personal tragedy&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;Alexandra, in the wake of a family friend&#8217;s passing, found herself navigating an outdated, opaque, and deeply frustrating process. She saw not just a broken system, but a massive opportunity to rebuild it with empathy and modern technology.</p><p>With over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience across consumer products, as well as an active role on the Board of Directors at Security National Financial Corporation, a publicly traded life insurance, funeral services, and mortgage loan company (Nasdaq: SNFCA), she brings a rare combination of operational grit, financial know-how, and consumer insight. Hugh, a veteran fintech CTO who&#8217;s led engineering at JP Morgan, AIG, and Acorns, brings deep technical and regulatory expertise. Together, they are not just reimagining a legacy system, they&#8217;ve combined AI and empathy to support the largest generational wealth transfer in history.</p><p>We&#8217;re thrilled to be joined by wealth industry leaders <strong>Charles Schwab</strong>, <strong>Edward Jones</strong>, and returning investors including Andrew Sather at <strong>Initialized Capital</strong>, Elizabeth Weil at <strong>Scribble Ventures</strong>, Julie Wroblewski and Joanna Drake at <strong>Magnify Capital</strong>, and Laura Rippy at <strong>Alumni Ventures</strong>.</p><p>&#128161; Alix is setting the bar for a new wave of consumer fintech where AI-native companies, powered by technology that&#8217;s finally good enough, can solve meaningful and complex financial pain for everyday people.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Early Bet That Changed Chime]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Theresia Gouw]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/the-early-bet-that-changed-chime-f1992ab6beb1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/the-early-bet-that-changed-chime-f1992ab6beb1</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 20 Jun 2025 18:07:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*253U2tnkcNbxQsLTh9DoIw.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>By Theresia Gouw</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png" width="800" height="1000" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1000,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FveD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc708d2c2-05ea-4070-bf4e-0ddb890de417_800x1000.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>A lot of incredible stories were written about Chime last week. But this is my favorite: Minutes after ringing the bell at Nasdaq, Chime co-founder Ryan King sat down with <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/12/chime-almost-died-in-2016-turned-down-by-100-vcs-today-it-ipod-at-14-5b/">TechCrunch</a>.</p><p>They asked him, over 13 years of building Chime, what was the most challenging moment and how did you navigate it?</p><p>He pointed to 2016&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;Chime was weeks away from running out of cash. More than 100 investors had passed. The company was almost out of time, with no clear backstop.</p><h4><strong>&#8220;So what happened to save Chime?&#8221; asked TechCrunch. </strong>&#8220;A single investor said yes: Lauren Kolodny, co-founder of Acrew Capital.&#8221;</h4><p>My partner, Lauren, led Chime&#8217;s $9M round&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;a second Series A for the company. It was the only term sheet on the table.</p><p>&#8220;She really took a bet on Chris and me,&#8221; Ryan said. &#8220;She believed in our passion and zeal and sort of attitude.&#8221;</p><p>But that belief wasn&#8217;t blind.</p><p>Lauren had done the work. She read through dense financial partner contracts to see that slim margins could become meaningful at scale. She combined her own insight with a ton of user research to build conviction that a member-aligned, mobile-first bank serving everyday Americans could be a massive business. And she developed a strong belief in Chris and Ryan as the founders to do it.</p><p>She convinced me. And then she held the line when others walked away. Not easy to do as an early career VC.</p><p>&#8220;Kolodny saved the company by buying in at 26 cents per share.&#8221;</p><p>Last week, the company opened at $42/share and hit a $14.5B market cap. And Lauren stood on the podium with the team to ring the opening bell.</p><p>There&#8217;s a lesson here:&nbsp;<br>It&#8217;s easy to say yes when it&#8217;s obvious, when everybody wants in.<br>But saying yes with conviction when you&#8217;re standing alone is an entirely different thing. And it&#8217;s one of the very rare moments when we as VCs can change the trajectory of a company&#8217;s future.</p><p>Thank you to Ryan for sharing this story on the morning of your IPO&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;most people would have just taken the win and been silent on the challenges. But that&#8217;s never been how you and Chris have approached leadership.</p><p>Congrats again to Ryan King, Chris Britt, Matthew Newcomb, and Chimers everywhere. And thank you for choosing Lauren&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and our team at Acrew Capital&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;as your long term board member and partner.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg" width="800" height="983" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:983,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dHL1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea6590fe-acb6-49d1-9e89-349097633524_800x983.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Chime is Public!]]></title><description><![CDATA[Very Few Bets Return This Well. Even Fewer Feel This Good.]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/chime-is-public-47c55950461a</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/chime-is-public-47c55950461a</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 14 Jun 2025 02:39:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*8f0g-WLvUh1bXPSg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>By <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenkolodny/">Lauren Kolodny</a></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png" width="800" height="409" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:409,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HT_M!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71f20a29-9174-42bb-a6e5-fa5bc91f2a65_800x409.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>&#127881;&#128154; <a href="https://www.chime.com/">Chime</a> went public this morning.&#128154;&#127881;</p><p>The elation, the commitment to the mission, and the genuine love among this community was palpable on that floor today. I&#8217;ve really been trying to be present and take in this surreal moment.</p><p>And yet, my mind keeps wandering back to the moments that preceded my leading Chime&#8217;s 2016 Series A round.</p><p>As is common for our team at Acrew,<em> I had done my thesis work.</em> The premise was: millennials would adopt digital-first financial products. That belief was grounded in three converging shifts: consumer distrust in legacy institutions as a result of the Global Financial Crisis, the ubiquity of mobile as a new platform, and the coming of age of my own generation&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;the first quasi-digital-natives.</p><p>But my real conviction was in Chris and in Ryan.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg" width="800" height="1067" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1067,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hvh5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7119cef-3b2e-460f-8079-df034a1bf93c_800x1067.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Chris Britt (CEO &amp; Co-founder, Chime), Lauren Kolodny (Co-Founder &amp; Managing Partner, Acrew) and Ryan King (Co-founder) celebrate Chime&#8217;s Opening Bell Ceremony at Nasdaq in&nbsp;NYC</p><p>Chris didn&#8217;t come to this problem space as an outsider or opportunist. He showed up with lived experience for the problems&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;a deep understanding of what this population actually needed&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and the financial services expertise to build a real business to solve those problems. Ryan brought the technical rigor, product creativity, and sheer will to build a best in class product experience&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;<em>in spite of </em>the constraints of legacy financial products. They were the ultimate complimentary team. Humble, high integrity and motivated by so much more than their own financial success.</p><p>And, yet somehow, the round I led for Chime was not what you would call a &#8220;hot VC round.&#8221;</p><p>It seemed that most investors didn&#8217;t believe you could build a venture-backed financial services business serving everyday Americans&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;the 70% of the population who live paycheck to paycheck. Skeptics would say &#8220;You can&#8217;t serve this population profitability without being predatory.&#8221; Or: &#8220;People won&#8217;t put enough of their spend on debit cards.&#8221; Or: &#8220;Consumers won&#8217;t trust a bank they can&#8217;t walk into.&#8221;</p><p>Silicon Valley not only underestimated Chime. It underestimated everyday Americans.</p><p>Thankfully, Chris and Ryan had the clarity&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and the resilience&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;to prove it.</p><p>Their pitch was simple: forget exorbitant hidden fees, forget predatory credit traps. Chime would offer their otherwise-underbanked members a <em>quality</em> banking experience, become their primary banking relationship, and earn a fee every time a member swiped their debit card. At scale, those pennies could become billions.</p><p>And it worked.</p><p><em>Get paid two days early. SpotMe. MyPay.</em> Each new feature was grounded in members&#8217; real financial stress points, executed with empathy and discipline. And always through the lens of what would serve members in the long run&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;not just a product, a relationship.</p><p>The result?</p><p><strong>A generational company built off of aligning its business with the financial well being of its members.</strong></p><p>For a long time now, the margins have looked like that of a best in class SaaS business, customer loyalty off the charts&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and the mission remains front and center.</p><p>But this IPO isn&#8217;t just a milestone for one company. It&#8217;s a validation&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;that building for the financial health of everyday people is not only possible, it&#8217;s durable, scalable, and profitable.</p><p>Chris and Ryan, I get a lot of credit for betting on you. But, obviously, the truth is that we bet on each other. Thanks for letting a Principal at a brand new fund lead your 2016 Series A.</p><p>Very few bets return this well. Even fewer feel this good.</p><p>&#128154;&#128154;&#128154;</p><p>P.S. The best thing I ever did for Chime wasn&#8217;t the round I led. The best thing I ever did for Chime was, as a brand new board member, introducing Matt Newcomb to Chris. I&#8217;ve loved being on this journey with Matt from our shared beginning. But, today, 9 years later, watching Matt be the CFO to take this company public overwhelms me with a joy I could never have imagined. (Shout to Lily Lyman and Brown University for bringing us together.)</p><p>Special thank you to all of the Chimers&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;past and present&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;who have made this possible. Including: Jennifer Kuperman, Madhu Mathukumar, Melissa Alvarado, Mark Troughton, Vineet Mehra, Zach Smith. Grateful for my friends and co-investors: Kirsten Green, Satya Patel, James M. P. Feuille, Sauraubh Gupta, Shawn Carolan.</p><p>And more gratitude&#8230; Aaron Plante, Adam Frankel, Amine Asmerom, Apple Palarca, Barkha Saxena, Ben Savage, Brian Mullins, Carl Cummings, Cynt Marshall, David Pearce, Denis Barrier, Dennis Yang, Emmalyn Shaw, Ivo Parashkevov, Jackie Chang, Janelle Sallenave, Jason Lee, Jay Parekh, Jeff Currier, Jimmy Dunne III, Kate Karas, Kendra Boccelli, Paul Stamas, Rekha Venkatakrishnan, Sarah Wagener, Simon Wu, Sofia Fatakhova, Sue Decker, Tim Connors, Xiongwen Rui&#8230;so many more.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mzGQ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F44af88a8-0fd7-45ca-9cec-1b044075b7c0_384x512.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" 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x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Emerging Shape of Fintech’s AI-Native Winners]]></title><description><![CDATA[This era of fintech isn&#8217;t a remodel , it&#8217;s a teardown]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/the-emerging-shape-of-fintechs-ai-native-winners-09b87cf844dd</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/the-emerging-shape-of-fintechs-ai-native-winners-09b87cf844dd</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 04 Jun 2025 11:13:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*Ob4U3Y_CW2sDBjtMApGYkw.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>By Lauren Kolodny, Co-founder &amp; Managing Partner, Acrew Capital</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg" width="800" height="415" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:415,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4B6v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F036a077b-31c4-4f7c-9558-4e3afabc9c24_800x415.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Let&#8217;s be honest: financial services has been stubbornly resistant to fundamental change.</p><p>Don&#8217;t get me wrong, the past decade of fintech has been critical for the industry: it has expanded access, improved distribution, and modernized the customer experience. At Acrew, we&#8217;ve been lucky to back some of the generational companies that have led that charge&#8211;and paving the way for what comes next.</p><p><strong>But AI has the potential to upend the structural blueprint of financial services.</strong></p><p>This isn&#8217;t about squeezing more efficiency out of existing systems. AI redefines the architecture altogether&#8211;introducing new actors (agents), new primitives (intent, delegation, autonomous execution), and new threat vectors (synthetic identity, deepfake fraud). Its very existence poses an existential threat to an industry that has been inching slowly toward &#8220;digital transformation&#8221;&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;demanding swift substantial change or risking obsolescence.</p><p><strong>And what&#8217;s different this time is agency.</strong></p><p>Unlike past cycles, the AI-native opportunity doesn&#8217;t start with better tooling&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;it starts with a shift in agency itself. Agents don&#8217;t just assist; they act. And when software starts behaving like a user, the entire stack&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;including some of the very financial products themselves&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;breaks and needs to be rebuilt.</p><p><strong>So where do AI-native entrants win?</strong></p><h3>The shape of <strong>reinvention will be more profound&#8211;and less predictable</strong>&#8211;than any tech&nbsp;before</h3><p>Unlike prior tech shifts, like mobile or cloud, the shape of this transformation isn&#8217;t as clear.</p><ul><li><p><strong>In cloud,</strong> new entrants had a clear edge&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;born flexible, built to scale.</p></li><li><p><strong>In mobile, </strong>native players redefined industries using location and real-time UX.</p></li><li><p><strong>In AI,</strong> it&#8217;s murkier. The tech is easy to deploy. Large incumbents have an edge in data and distribution.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Moats blur.</strong></p><p>And many financial services leaders do recognize the opportunity and existential threat of AI. Nearly half say legacy tech is hurting resilience.&#185; And with the global fintech AI market projected to reach $80B by 2030&#178;, the imperative couldn&#8217;t be more clear: evolve or become irrelevant.</p><h4><strong>What the Acrew x Money20/20 AI Index Revealed</strong>: industry leaders are adopting AI at staggering rates and in meaningful ways</h4><p>In order to get better visibility into what financial services industry leaders are actually doing with AI, we at Acrew launched the <a href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/announcing-all-in-on-ai-the-first-financial-services-ai-adoption-index-by-acrew-capital-money-70c6dbe31823">All in on AI: Financial Services AI Adoption Index </a>alongside Money20/20 last fall. After studying 200+ leading fintechs and financial institutions, here&#8217;s what surprised us:</p><ul><li><p><strong>76%</strong> announced a meaningful AI initiative&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;staggering adoption for an industry thought to be a laggard.</p></li><li><p><strong>51%</strong> embedded AI into a core customer-facing product. This doesn&#8217;t even include customer support. <strong>That means the initiatives were using AI to deliver their core product or service.</strong></p></li></ul><p>But only a handful had taken swings at category reimagination, business model transformation or solving problems created by AI. Here, we think, there&#8217;s room for new companies to take their place.</p><h3><strong>AI will favor the bold for new startups in&nbsp;fintech</strong></h3><p>In the AI era of financial services, the old startup trope of <em>start small and then expand</em> won&#8217;t cut it when competing with incumbents. The good news? Compressed development cycles mean founders can afford to be bolder from the very beginning. They can take the big swings where incumbents risk cannibalizing their own businesses, undermining their own business models and where completely new categories come to the fore as AI <em>creates</em> its own new set of problems.</p><p><strong>1. Category Reimagination<br></strong>AI offers the tools to reimagine the foundations of financial services&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;like brittle core banking systems, payment rails built for plastic not silicon, and the very <em>services</em> in financial services that can now be automated. Most incumbents won&#8217;t tear it all down to build it back up&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;they won&#8217;t risk dismantling the very businesses that have driven their success. Nor will they take the regulatory risks when they are already in the spotlight. There are exceptions, for example: Stripe has launched agentic payment tools like single-use virtual cards and payment link generation for AI agents, and Coinbase has introduced AgentKit to enable agents to perform on-chain operations. But even they have limits. AI-native startups, by contrast, can build from first principles&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;reimagining agentic commerce, autonomous finance, and AI-driven financial operations from the ground up.</p><p><strong>2. Business Model Transformation<br></strong>Fintech may be poised to be the leading business model of the agentic era. As LLMs supplant search, they challenge the ad-driven monetization model that&#8217;s dominated the web for decades. In an era where agents not only discover but transact, payments, lending and embedded financial services could become the native monetization rails. And in the same way that incumbents won&#8217;t blow up their existing businesses, they won&#8217;t be likely to blow up their existing business models either.</p><p><strong>3. Solving AI-Created Problems<br></strong>As AI systems become more powerful, they&#8217;re also creating new vulnerabilities. Fraudsters are now shipping features: synthetic identities, deepfake voice scams, and autonomous social engineering bots that operate at scale. Agentic systems introduce orchestration challenges: countless agents acting independently with partial context and no shared memory. And the authorization gap: no standardized way to determine which agent is allowed to move what money, on whose behalf, and under what conditions. These aren&#8217;t problems incumbents are optimized to solve within legacy systems&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;they&#8217;re net new infrastructure challenges.</p><p>These three categories offer a starting point for where bold founders can build in the agentic era. But there&#8217;s a twist: the moats that once protected the best startups don&#8217;t hold the same power anymore.</p><h3>History Will Not Predict The Future When It Comes To Enduring&nbsp;Moats</h3><p>In previous tech cycles, startup moats were built on things like: <strong>proprietary technology </strong>(now easier to replicate with open-source models and AI-assisted reverse engineering),<strong> speed and first-mover advantage </strong>(diminished by automation and radically shorter development cycles), <strong>technical hiring</strong> (AI enables smaller, less technical teams to achieve more), <strong>user scale advantages</strong> (less relevant when AI agents&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;not humans&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;are making decisions), and <strong>raw proprietary data</strong> (less powerful as foundation models generalize effectively across domains).</p><p>In the AI-native era, startups must build moats in areas that are harder to copy and rooted in human judgment, context, and systems thinking. Promising examples include:</p><p><strong>1. An Emotionally Resonant &amp; Trusted Brand<br></strong>In the AI-native era, brand isn&#8217;t just a logo or a layer of polish&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;it&#8217;s how the product makes people feel. Trust, joy, confidence, familiarity. As users face a flood of faceless AI tools&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;especially in high-stakes categories like finance&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;brand becomes the clearest proxy for quality and alignment. It signals that someone is accountable. That there&#8217;s care behind the system. Startups can no longer wait to &#8220;earn&#8221; brand&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;they must design it from day one. It will be built not just through words, but through how the product looks, behaves, and earns trust with every interaction.</p><p><strong>2. Interaction Experience<br></strong>In AI-native products, interaction is where trust is earned&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;not just through clarity, but through judgment. The way a system asks for input, takes action, and communicates outcomes must feel aligned with user intent&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;even when that intent isn&#8217;t fully stated. This is especially critical in domains like financial services, where poor alignment erodes confidence fast. That kind of alignment mirrors how we trust people who know us well: we trust them to act with intuition, not just instruction. Recreating that feeling in software takes more than good UX&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;it demands human-crafted design, creative rigor, and a deep understanding of when to act and when to ask.</p><p><strong>3. Tailored Expertise<br></strong>In domains like finance, accuracy isn&#8217;t enough&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;users need to feel understood. The strongest AI-native products will combine deep domain expertise with personalized context to deliver answers that are not just correct, but specifically right for <em>you</em>. This isn&#8217;t general-purpose AI&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;it&#8217;s tuned to your situation, your constraints, your goals. When a system consistently delivers that kind of precision, it stops feeling like a tool and starts acting like a trusted advisor. That&#8217;s a moat.</p><p><strong>4. System of Process<br></strong>Owning the system of record used to be enough. In the AI-native era, the real moat comes from owning the system of process&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;the blueprint for how decisions get made, automated, and improved over time. In financial services and other complex operational domains, startups that combine the data layer, decision logic, and execution engine&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and embed feedback into the loop&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;become deeply embedded. They&#8217;re not just a tool; they&#8217;re the infrastructure the business runs on. That&#8217;s hard to displace.</p><h3>Illustrative <strong>Sectors Ripe For AI-Native Entrants</strong></h3><p>There&#8217;s room across sectors in financial services for category reimagination, fresh business models, and purpose-built solutions to the problems AI creates.</p><p>We&#8217;ve already seen a plethora of emerging activity across sectors, including:</p><p><strong>Banking Tech:</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Portfolio Company Example:</strong> <a href="https://withglide.com/">Glide</a> is modernizing financial institutions with an AI-powered platform designed for agility and automation.</p></li></ul><p><strong>CFO Stack &amp; Financial Operations Automation:</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Portfolio Company Example:</strong> <a href="https://www.stream.claims/">Stream Claims</a> is using GenAI to transform the workers&#8217; comp experience&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;cutting friction, not just costs.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Capital Markets Tech:</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Portfolio Company Example:</strong> <a href="https://www.cruxclimate.com/">Crux</a> is using powerful software, embedded proprietary data, and AI to change the way clean energy and manufacturing projects are financed in the US.</p></li><li><p><strong>Portfolio Company Example:</strong> <a href="https://formulary.co/">Formulary</a> is reimagining fund administration from the ground up as an AI-native operating system.</p></li></ul><p>Below we deep dive into three more areas we think are increasingly ripe for new entrants.</p><p><strong>1: A-Commerce &amp; Agentic Payments</strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png" width="800" height="35" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:35,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RbIS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca85608e-ee29-4771-baed-d2b0d607fb16_800x35.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Every major technological shift has transformed commerce and payments&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;unlocking opportunities to build generational companies. We&#8217;re now entering the era of agentic commerce&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;a category we at Acrew call <strong><a href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/a-commerce-evolution-agentic-commerce-as-the-new-frontier-27a4c855a778">a-commerce</a></strong>. This will be a full-stack reinvention of online transactions powered by agents. These agents will act on behalf of users to discover products, compare options, execute purchases, and manage post-sale tasks.</p><p>Some front footed incumbents are making real moves here as we discussed above (i.e. <a href="https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/paytech/stripes-total-payment-volume-reaches-1-4t-as-long-standing-investments-in-ai-pay-off/">Stripe</a>, <a href="https://www.coinbase.com/developer-platform/discover/launches/introducing-agentkit?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Coinbase</a>, <a href="https://corporate.visa.com/en/products/intelligent-commerce.html">Visa</a>, <a href="https://developer.paypal.com/community/blog/paypal-agentic-ai-toolkit/">Paypal</a>). But these incumbents have to be mindful of conflicting businesses, eyes of regulators, etc. There&#8217;s room for bold startups to own a big share of this pie. Here are some categories of greatest interest:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png" width="800" height="671" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:671,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vK9v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2707262f-cfbb-428b-9d67-fc6ae83d0c6f_800x671.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><em>For a more in depth overview on A-Commerce, check out our deep dive&#8202;</em>&#8212;&#8202;<a href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/a-commerce-evolution-agentic-commerce-as-the-new-frontier-27a4c855a778">A-Commerce Evolution: Agentic Commerce as The New Frontier</a>.</p><p><strong>2: AI vs AI: Fraud &amp; Identity Defense</strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png" width="800" height="35" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:35,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CMpz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c907b74-20bc-4f63-90dc-1c9f8b2de168_800x35.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>AI doesn&#8217;t just create opportunity&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;it creates threat vectors. <strong>Combatting fraud and malicious actors is going to be an all out arms race.</strong> GenAI has already become a tool of innovation and exploitation for those who operate outside of the law.</p><p><strong>Deepfakes now appear every five minutes&#8310;</strong>, and <strong>AI-driven fraud losses in the U.S. are projected to reach $40B by 2027</strong>.&#8311; As fraudsters scale faster than incumbents can adapt, AI-native technologies&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;built to simulate, detect, and block AI-powered attacks&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;become paramount for financial security.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png" width="800" height="671" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:671,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2LOF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcf9d453-39dd-4fea-be00-fd7176b51901_800x671.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" 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x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><strong>3: Personal Financial Agents</strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png" width="800" height="34" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:34,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5RwK!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc29b1d0b-7281-4f9f-a879-570aa6f8d355_800x34.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Still in its early innings, consumer fintech is about to go through its greatest transformation yet. While this may not be a popular opinion among my VC peers, all of the ingredients are in the water: <strong>a tech platform shift </strong>(obviously, AI);<strong> demographic shifts </strong>(Gen Z coming of age and the $11 trillion Boomer-to-Millennial wealth transfer)&#185;&#8304;; and <strong>macroeconomic shifts </strong>(ongoing macroeconomic volatility impacting consumer financial psyche).</p><p>A similar pattern powered the last breakout cohort of B2C and B2B2C fintechs that were born out of the Great Recession, as mobile became ubiquitous and millennials came of age. Think Block, Chime, Coinbase, Robinhood, Stripe, Square, etc. This isn&#8217;t a new idea for us&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;in fact, I wrote<a href="https://fortune.com/2023/11/06/millennials-led-consumer-fintech-revolution-post-2008-gen-zers-finance-lauren-kolodny/"> op-ed in </a><em><a href="https://fortune.com/2023/11/06/millennials-led-consumer-fintech-revolution-post-2008-gen-zers-finance-lauren-kolodny/">Fortune</a></em> about this a while back&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;but as AI comes into relative ubiquity the consumer opportunity comes to the fore.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png" width="800" height="671" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:671,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H5Z1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cf8734c-18b7-4260-9211-d84051942589_800x671.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>Everything&#8217;s Changed&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and It&#8217;s Still All About the&nbsp;Founders</h3><p>Even as AI reshapes what&#8217;s possible, the companies that define this era will still be shaped by the people building them&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;because with the best founders, nothing else I&#8217;ve said really matters.</p><p>Founders who win in this era will uniquely have:</p><p><strong>A clearly articulated view of their moat. </strong>The most enduring companies will be built by those with a sharp perspective on what makes them defensible&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;even if that view evolves. What matters is having clear thinking to anticipate where the edge could live, and the ability to think several moves ahead while others are still reacting.</p><p><strong>A balance of conviction and agility. </strong>To build in this landscape, founders need strong belief in what they&#8217;re creating&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;enough to move with focus and speed. But they also need the humility to adapt. AI-native markets will shift under their feet, again and again, and only those willing to reimagine their product in real time will keep pace.</p><p>The ones who come out on top won&#8217;t just adapt to the AI era&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;they&#8217;ll tear it down and rebuild financial services from the ground up.</p><div><hr></div><p>&#185; <a href="https://www.americanbanker.com/news/80-of-wall-street-firms-are-splurging-on-ai-broadridge">American Banker</a>: 80% of Wall Street firms are splurging on AI: Broadridge (April 2025)</p><p>&#178; <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/11/25/2986780/0/en/Artificial-Intelligence-AI-in-Fintech-Business-Research-Report-2024-Global-Market-to-Grow-by-56-9-Billion-by-2030-with-AWS-Complyadvantage-Google-IBM-Inbenta-at-the-Forefront.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Global Newswire</a>: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Fintech Business Research Report 2024: Global Market to Grow by $56.9 Billion by 2030 with AWS, Complyadvantage, Google, IBM, Inbenta at the Forefront (November 2024)</p><p>&#179; <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/consumers-ready-for-ai-agents-research/">Salesforce</a>: Consumers Are Ready for AI Agents. Are Businesses? (April 14, 2025)</p><p>&#8308; <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nearly-half-us-consumers-ai-070000052.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANLbKLvRA93M3cl6EZNa5PSIYNd_x-QowSILQ_1WqTVRbABtDtFvt0HlNDH32OTydLlsOvbYYBCdyrb1Rq5sCIjNULxHJHe6uYG3tRW8Af3lbnDULhKPsb1IPfGHpby-mU0dSqIJrQydlGCj5akHpiFcBwfNdq3mU9FeCoBQXY84">Yahoo!Finance</a>: Nearly half of US consumers use AI tools when shopping online, study finds (April 4, 2025)</p><p>&#8309; <a href="https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/paytech/stripes-total-payment-volume-reaches-1-4t-as-long-standing-investments-in-ai-pay-off/">FF News</a>: Stripe&#8217;s Total Payment Volume Reaches $1.4t as Long-Standing Investments in AI Pay Off (June 3, 2024)</p><p>&#8310; <a href="https://www.entrust.com/company/newsroom/deepfake-attacks-strike-every-five-minutes-amid-244-surge-in-digital-document-forgeries">Entrust</a>: Deepfake Attempts Occur Every Five Minutes Amid 244% Surge in Digital Document Forgeries (November 2024)</p><p>&#8311; <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/financial-services/financial-services-industry-predictions/2024/deepfake-banking-fraud-risk-on-the-rise.html">Deloitte</a>: Generative AI is expected to magnify the risk of deepfakes and other fraud in banking (May 2024)</p><p>&#8312; <a href="https://datadome.co/learning-center/ai-fraud-detection/">DataDome</a>: How AI Is Used in Fraud Detection (March 21, 2025)</p><p>&#8313; <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/Advisory/us-generative-ai-and-the-fight-for-trust.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Deloitte</a>: Generative AI and the fight for trust (May 2024)</p><p>&#185;&#8304; <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/great-wealth-transfer-millennials-benefit-203607724.html">Yahoo!Finance</a>: How Millennials Could Get Rich During the Great Wealth Transfer (December 13, 2024)</p><p>&#185;&#185; <a href="https://www.experianplc.com/newsroom/press-releases/2024/experian--americans-are-embracing-gen-ai-to-make-smart-money-mov">Experian</a>: Americans are embracing Gen AI to make smart money moves (October 24, 2024)</p><p>&#185;&#178; Ibid</p><p>&#185;&#179; <a href="https://www.weforum.org/press/2025/03/new-research-finds-retail-investing-shift-towards-younger-investors-reshaping-market-trends/">World Economic Forum</a>: New research finds retail investing shift towards younger investors, reshaping market trends (March 25, 2025)</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Good Things Come in Threes: Celebrating Lauren Kolodny’s Third Year on the Forbes Midas List]]></title><description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re proud to share that Lauren Kolodny, Acrew&#8217;s co-founder and managing partner, has been named to the Forbes Midas List for the third consecutive year. This milestone isn&#8217;t just a celebration of Lauren&#8217;s individual achievements &#8212; it&#8217;s a reflection of the amazing founders who let us join them early in their journeys, and the Acrew team, who shows up with hustle and thesis-driven conviction.]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/good-things-come-in-threes-celebrating-lauren-kolodnys-third-year-on-the-forbes-midas-list-7797cd6e016d</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/good-things-come-in-threes-celebrating-lauren-kolodnys-third-year-on-the-forbes-midas-list-7797cd6e016d</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 02 Jun 2025 13:39:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*fPAatNfOk-3pwfTl" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We&#8217;re proud to share that Lauren Kolodny, Acrew&#8217;s co-founder and managing partner, has been named to the <strong>Forbes Midas List</strong> for the <strong>third consecutive year</strong>. This milestone isn&#8217;t just a celebration of Lauren&#8217;s individual achievements&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;it&#8217;s a reflection of the amazing founders who let us join them early in their journeys, and the Acrew team, who shows up with hustle and thesis-driven conviction.</p><h3>Backing Bold Founders Before the&nbsp;Crowd</h3><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg" width="800" height="600" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PoqY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9192fc65-b04a-4e2b-a640-c7b5833b5d87_800x600.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><em>Lauren Kolodny co-hosts the first ever Chime Mafia Dinner with Chris Britt (CEO of Chime), Kirsten Green (Founder of Forerunner Ventures) to bring together an amazing group of former Chime&nbsp;alumni.</em></p><p>Her recognition on the Midas List is a testament to a deep belief that enduring companies are built in partnership&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;with patience, conviction, and integrity. It&#8217;s not just about identifying breakout potential. It&#8217;s about showing up early, sticking around through the tough moments, and staying aligned to help teams scale real businesses.</p><h3>Leading with Thesis-Driven Conviction</h3><p>This milestone is also a reflection of Acrew&#8217;s broader DNA&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and Lauren&#8217;s commitment to thesis-driven investing. In the past year, Lauren has thoughtfully crafted our thesis perspectives in areas such as:</p><h4>&#129302; All In on AI: A Financial Services AI Adoption&nbsp;Index</h4><p>Proprietary research on how leading financial services companies are adopting AI&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and where opportunities for AI-native startups exist.</p><p>&#127909; <a href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/lauren-kolodny-introduces-acrew-capitals-original-report-all-in-on-ai-a-financial-services-ai-142cce012ca7">Watch Lauren present on stage at Money20/20<br></a> &#128269;<a href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/announcing-all-in-on-ai-the-first-financial-services-ai-adoption-index-by-acrew-capital-money-70c6dbe31823"> Read our blog summary<br></a> &#128196; <a href="https://www.money2020.com/content/whitepapers/ai-financial-services">Download the full report<br></a>&#128202; <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yKgDuwNRUgmVDwISWl02PjiDNVXFS1VKwaOgGCgGxYc/edit?gid=742580144#gid=742580144">Primary database for the data nerds</a></p><h4>&#128717;&#65039;The A-Commerce Evolution: Agentic Commerce as the New&nbsp;Frontier</h4><p>A perspective on agentic commerce&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;a category-defining opportunity we believe will reshape online transactions and payments as AI agents act on behalf of users.</p><p>&#128221; <a href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/a-commerce-evolution-agentic-commerce-as-the-new-frontier-27a4c855a778">Read our thesis &amp; market map<br></a>&#127909; <a href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/what-midas-investors-are-backing-in-ai-humanx-a0efa29a3435">Watch Lauren speak on a-commerce at HumanX</a></p><h3>A Thoughtful Reflection from Lauren&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and her daughter, Bayley</h3><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png" width="800" height="1123" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1123,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W3hw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e74b7ac-eb4b-4861-8afb-3f9f17df130f_800x1123.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><strong>Congratulations, Lauren&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;your crew is so proud to be working and learning alongside you.</strong></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Powering the Next Chapter of Banking]]></title><description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re thrilled to announce that Acrew Capital has led Glide&#8217;s Series A!]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/powering-the-next-chapter-of-banking-ab7079fd2346</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/powering-the-next-chapter-of-banking-ab7079fd2346</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 08 May 2025 13:30:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*AB4nr4SuOOoexoyr" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We&#8217;re thrilled to announce that Acrew Capital has led <a href="https://withglide.com/">Glide</a>&#8217;s Series A!</p><p>Glide is tackling a massively overlooked opportunity in fintech: modernizing the credit union and community bank sector. These institutions are the cornerstone of American banking&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;but many rely on fragmented vendor stacks running on infrastructure that is decades old. Glide&#8217;s embedded fintech platform helps these institutions compete in a digital-first world and give customers the seamless experience they&#8217;ve come to expect&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;without sacrificing the community trust they&#8217;ve built.</p><p>By replacing outdated onboarding and account opening tools with a unified digital experience layer, Glide reduces friction for both employees and customers. The company&#8217;s impressive early momentum is a testament to the strength of their product, GTM strategy, and urgency of the problem they&#8217;re solving:</p><ul><li><p>Glide&#8217;s first product, Deposit Origination, has already proven transformational&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;cutting onboarding time from 20 minutes to under 3, and boosting conversion rates by 3x.</p></li><li><p>In just 12 months, Glide has signed 15 credit unions to multi-year contracts&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;all through founder-led sales.</p></li></ul><p>At Acrew, we back founders that balance conviction with agility&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and the Glide team embodies this mindset. The company is led by co-founders Gautam Ajjarapu (CEO), Sameer Kapur (CTO), and Vishnu Chakroborty (COO), who bring a rare combination of fintech depth, AI fluency, and execution speed in regulated markets. Their clarity of vision in the fast-moving AI landscape sets them apart, even among top-tier founders.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ht4u!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F50d0e135-eec6-4a52-b7f4-a5210383cf73_800x1000.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ht4u!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F50d0e135-eec6-4a52-b7f4-a5210383cf73_800x1000.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ht4u!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F50d0e135-eec6-4a52-b7f4-a5210383cf73_800x1000.jpeg 848w, 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https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ht4u!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F50d0e135-eec6-4a52-b7f4-a5210383cf73_800x1000.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ht4u!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F50d0e135-eec6-4a52-b7f4-a5210383cf73_800x1000.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ht4u!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F50d0e135-eec6-4a52-b7f4-a5210383cf73_800x1000.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><em>Glide Co-founders Vishnu Chakroborty (COO), Gautam Ajjarapu (CEO), and Sameer Kapur (CTO)</em></p><p>We&#8217;re proud to invest alongside Pear Ventures and Pathlight Capital, as well as strategic angels like Claire Hughes Johnson (former COO of Stripe), Paul Williamson (former CRO of Plaid), and Arash Ferdowsi (Co-founder of Dropbox).</p><p>This new capital will accelerate Glide&#8217;s product roadmap&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;including loan origination and agentic tooling&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;while scaling the team across engineering, product, and go-to-market. (P.S. They&#8217;re hiring:<a href="https://careers.withglide.com"> careers.withglide.com</a>)</p><p>The problem Glide is solving couldn&#8217;t be more timely. As AI reshapes every corner of financial services, banks face growing pressure to modernize or become irrelevant. We&#8217;re proud to support Glide as they power the next chapter of financial infrastructure&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and help banks thrive in a digital-first, AI world.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Midas Investors are Backing in AI @ HumanX]]></title><description><![CDATA[At HumanX, our Co-founder & Managing Partner, Lauren Kolodny, joined a panel with Navin Chaddha, Managing Director at Mayfield, Martin Mignot, Partner at Index Ventures, and Ben Bergman of Business Insider on stage for a lively discussion.]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/what-midas-investors-are-backing-in-ai-humanx-a0efa29a3435</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/what-midas-investors-are-backing-in-ai-humanx-a0efa29a3435</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2025 12:29:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*a7mvsz-01AYK4CdAzjMQMw.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg" width="800" height="534" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:534,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JwFy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd8a198a-86f7-46c9-aee1-f2ec8cf93691_800x534.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>At <a href="https://www.humanx.co/">HumanX</a>, our Co-founder &amp; Managing Partner, Lauren Kolodny, joined a panel with Navin Chaddha, Managing Director at Mayfield, Martin Mignot, Partner at Index Ventures, and Ben Bergman of Business Insider on stage for a lively discussion. A few of the topics covered:</p><p><strong>The Rise of A-Commerce<br></strong>A-Commerce represents a fundamental shift in how we transact online&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and <a href="https://acrewteam.medium.com/a-commerce-evolution-agentic-commerce-as-the-new-frontier-27a4c855a778?source=user_profile_page---------0-------------fe96f52dd61a----------------------">we see opportunities emerging</a> across the entire stack, from shopping assistants to financial infrastructure to payments.</p><p><strong>AI Adoption in Financial Services<br></strong>AI adoption is happening at a breakneck pace. Even sectors that have been historically slow to adopt new technologies, like financial services, are <a href="https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/announcing-all-in-on-ai-the-first-financial-services-ai-adoption-index-by-acrew-capital-money-70c6dbe31823">integrating AI solutions at an unprecedented rate</a>.</p><p><strong>Founders with Strong Beliefs, Loosely Held Will Win<br></strong>The pace of AI innovation requires evolution, and that&#8217;s why now more than ever, Acrew is focused on backing founders who are both <strong>highly convicted and agile at the same time.</strong></p><p>At Acrew, we are excited to back the founders who are reimagining their industries with AI.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[A-Commerce Evolution: Agentic Commerce as The New Frontier]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Maitree Mervana Parekh, Lauren Kolodny]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/a-commerce-evolution-agentic-commerce-as-the-new-frontier-27a4c855a778</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/a-commerce-evolution-agentic-commerce-as-the-new-frontier-27a4c855a778</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:40:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*Y0Ldji4LWVim52JP4M46PQ.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>By <a href="mailto:maitree@acrewcapital.com">Maitree Mervana</a> Parekh, Lauren Kolodny</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png" width="800" height="450" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:450,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AWhU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b83a90d-32cd-4faa-bb85-2374a404ea50_800x450.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Every major technological shift has transformed commerce and payments, resulting in generational companies along the way. The early web era unlocked online commerce, allowing platforms like Amazon and eBay to digitally connect sellers with global audiences, and necessitated new payment infrastructure like PayPal and WorldPay to revolutionize online payments. The rise of the social web turned networks into powerful discovery and distribution engines, enabling direct merchant-to-consumer relationships at scale. This was further accelerated as the mobile revolution gave rise to ubiquitous connectivity and unlocked location-based services like Uber and Instacart. These necessitated even more modular and seamless transactional infrastructure unlocking opportunities for Stripe, Square, and Shopify. Each wave of commerce innovation brought new requirements in compliance, fraud prevention, and payments infrastructure&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;simultaneously creating massive opportunities for founders building the next generation of enabling technologies.</p><p>Now, we stand at the brink of a new era in commerce, and anticipate the same dynamic playing out. <strong>AI is creating a shift from manual, search-based transactions to more autonomous, intent-driven and personalized transaction experiences</strong>. As we saw in prior technology waves, the path of discovery and distribution massively evolved for merchants (ex: SEO and social media as critical gateways). Today, we&#8217;re already witnessing the early stages of AI-facilitated discovery through answer engines like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Claude, which act as intermediaries between consumers and merchants by synthesizing information and providing recommendations, rather than simply displaying an endless feed of links. This represents a fundamental shift in the discovery paradigm. The next frontier of AI includes autonomous agent systems, where LLMs not only respond to queries but proactively direct their own processes, orchestrate multiple tools, and execute complex tasks with minimal intervention.</p><p>This will mean for the first time, agents will be invited into the payment system and will transact and negotiate dynamically on behalf of individuals, businesses, and even with other AI agents&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;creating a radically different commercial landscape.</p><h3>Introducing <em>A-commerce</em></h3><p>Agentic commerce represents a paradigm shift where AI agents participate in commercial transactions, acting on behalf of users, businesses, or autonomously. This transcends traditional shopping/retail use cases. Agents will make purchasing decisions, negotiate prices, and execute a variety of transactions autonomously based on predefined parameters and learned preferences. Unlike traditional commerce where humans drive all decision-making, agentic commerce introduces intermediaries that can understand context, interpret intent, and take action within specified boundaries.</p><p><strong>Modes of Agent-led Transactions</strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg" width="800" height="910" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:910,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2CVV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd0e49b4-4365-4d17-b496-04eca640d49d_800x910.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>The Landscape</h3><p>While we are in early innings, the pace of AI innovation and adoption has been unprecedented. A-commerce will follow suit. This market map provides a framework for understanding the evolving opportunities and highlights the early movers currently laying the foundation for agent-driven transactions. We want to acknowledge that this market map is not exhaustive, in part due to the breakneck pace of innovation.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png" width="800" height="453" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:453,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NRX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cfd6e79-049f-4b34-a180-f694b6bf5d94_800x453.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>At a high-level, we segment the A-commerce landscape into two primary layers: <strong>Agents (/AI-Enabled Apps)</strong> and <strong>Enablers</strong>.</p><p><strong>Agents/Apps: </strong>This layer represents the transactional interfaces&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;we anticipate seeing both general purpose and vertical agents for consumers and businesses alike. This may look like a shopping assistant for a consumer to an agent that manages the procurement process for a business. Ultimately, these agents will transact fully.</p><p>Vertical agents will massively simplify complex and fragmented purchases. For example, a travel transaction requires contextual understanding of preferences and logistics as well as facilitation with multiple vendors. This is a natural example of where an AI travel agent can shine. We anticipate many other verticals to see purpose built agents deliver immense value.</p><p><strong>Enablers: </strong>The supporting stack is critical to allow buyer&#8217;s agents to participate in commercial transactions and merchants to adapt to this new mode of commerce.</p><ul><li><p><strong>Access: </strong>The shift to agent-driven transactions will necessitate new access infrastructure that enables agents to authenticate, retrieve information, and call tools. This may even require new identity frameworks for agents. The emerging development of MCP (model context protocol) servers may be an unlock in enabling more structured, secure, and interoperable systems for agents to interact across platforms.</p></li><li><p><strong>Payments: </strong>Today&#8217;s financial rails were designed for human-initiated transactions, where users actively verify purchases and authenticate accounts, creating clearer rules for dispute resolution. However, agents will increasingly require seamless ways to access &amp; authenticate to perform transactions. The requirements will depend on the use case and level of user involvement / control (Simon Taylor recently <a href="https://www.fintechbrainfood.com/p/four-models-agentic-payments">laid out</a> the spectrum of agent transactions in relation to how involved a user might be in the transaction flow).</p></li><li><p><strong>Merchant Solutions: </strong>Merchants will need new tools to stay discoverable, accessible, and protected as agent-led transactions become more pervasive. Agent-driven fraud presents new risks, requiring better detection and mitigation strategies. As agents take over more of the transactional flow, ensuring they operate securely and within controls is critical. Programmatic controls, secure credential sharing and authorization will be important functionalities required for users to build trust with agents. There is also an opportunity&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;or perhaps an imperative&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;to fundamentally redesign a dynamic &#8220;storefront&#8221; to surface personalized goods/services to transacting users, agents and consumers alike.</p></li></ul><h3>Closing Thoughts</h3><p>Our own views here are evolving in real time and we welcome your input as we continue to refine the market map and a collective perspective for what the future holds. Our hope is to keep a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ojzJIE8bg-Tp2tiPSh1M3Xq1z4DF7kZielhKn0quwsw/edit?gid=0#gid=0">dynamic database</a> of companies innovating in this space&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;please ping us with companies that should be added here.</p><p>We are grateful to those who contributed, challenged, and expanded our views on this topic, including Cuy Sheffield (Visa), Daphne Che (Montage), Jeff Weiner (Stripe), Jess Ou (LangChain), Jonathan King (Coinbase), Murtaza Meerza, Rachel Zabronsky (PayPal), and many others.</p><p>As the A-commerce ecosystem matures, new challenges and opportunities will emerge&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;many of which we have yet to imagine. Founders will drive the magic here, and we&#8217;re here to support them when they do.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[All in on AI, the first Financial Services AI Adoption Index by Acrew Capital & Money2020]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Lauren Kolodny]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/announcing-all-in-on-ai-the-first-financial-services-ai-adoption-index-by-acrew-capital-money-70c6dbe31823</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/announcing-all-in-on-ai-the-first-financial-services-ai-adoption-index-by-acrew-capital-money-70c6dbe31823</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 31 Oct 2024 02:31:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*SmeVUl5m7e0tMA_sg-I3Jw.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>By <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenkolodny/">Lauren Kolodny</a></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NaIG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65c24a55-8de3-48e4-a630-27c255c0a06d_800x418.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NaIG!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65c24a55-8de3-48e4-a630-27c255c0a06d_800x418.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NaIG!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65c24a55-8de3-48e4-a630-27c255c0a06d_800x418.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NaIG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65c24a55-8de3-48e4-a630-27c255c0a06d_800x418.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NaIG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65c24a55-8de3-48e4-a630-27c255c0a06d_800x418.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NaIG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65c24a55-8de3-48e4-a630-27c255c0a06d_800x418.png" width="800" height="418" 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https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NaIG!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65c24a55-8de3-48e4-a630-27c255c0a06d_800x418.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NaIG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65c24a55-8de3-48e4-a630-27c255c0a06d_800x418.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NaIG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65c24a55-8de3-48e4-a630-27c255c0a06d_800x418.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>FinTech is dead&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;or so everybody keeps telling me. They point to FinTech investors fleeing like rats from a sinking ship as evidence. I see those investors fleeing too. I also saw them jump aboard when the going was good. That&#8217;s the thing about tourists&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;they come when the weather is nice and leave before the rainy season.</p><p>FinTech is in its rainy season. It&#8217;s taken a meaningful hit and hasn&#8217;t bounced back the way other industries have. I think there&#8217;s a real reason for that: Tech hasn&#8217;t reinvented financial services yet. There have been few efficiency gains and not nearly enough innovation. It&#8217;s a highly regulated industry, so I understand why.</p><p>But over the last year, I&#8217;ve had a sneaking suspicion that AI might be the forcing function for financial services to reinvent itself.</p><p>Until recently, that suspicion wasn&#8217;t supported by data.</p><p>Today, that changes.</p><p>At <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/acrew-capital">Acrew Capital</a>, we partnered with Money 2020 to create the <a href="https://www.money2020.com/content/whitepapers/ai-financial-services">Financial Services AI Adoption Index</a>&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;a massive undertaking profiling 221 companies and analyzing 376 AI initiatives.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png" width="800" height="418" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:418,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3uxl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f3f3ff0-558d-4861-b708-72d2e5009de9_800x418.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Through our analysis, patterns began to emerge. For the first time, we gained insight into not only what financial services are currently doing with AI, but where the gaps are and where new AI-native startups could step in to meet unfulfilled needs.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png" width="800" height="418" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:418,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2RNG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6ecd7a9-20e2-4e57-9272-9eacfa68bb1b_800x418.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The numbers tell a compelling story but it&#8217;s the conversations we had while building this report that make me feel more bullish than ever.</p><p>Aliisa Rosenthal, Head of Sales at Open AI told us that &#8220;when we launched ChatGPT Enterprise&#8230; our first customers were largely Financial Services.&#8221;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png" width="800" height="418" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:418,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!riZt!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c6eef5b-ae02-4e77-b6d6-63db8f83fc0e_800x418.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>I&#8217;m excited by the massive opportunities we uncovered. I think you will be too. Maybe we can finally put the &#8220;FinTech is dead&#8221; narrative to rest once and for all. If this report is any indication, FinTech&#8217;s finest hours lie ahead.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cornerstone AI: Making real-world data clean, actionable, and reliable]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Vishal Lugani, Asad Khaliq, and the Acrew Team]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/cornerstone-ai-making-real-world-data-clean-actionable-and-reliable-1a56e2f68b6d</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/cornerstone-ai-making-real-world-data-clean-actionable-and-reliable-1a56e2f68b6d</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 31 Oct 2024 01:22:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*90JGrEi0eVnuGbxtIA4DUA.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>By <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishal-lugani-79116220?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Aorganization_admin_admin_page_posts_published%3B292baab7-5fe3-44ac-ae36-94a211abfecd">Vishal Lugani</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/asadkhaliq">Asad Khaliq</a>, and the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/acrew-capital">Acrew Team</a></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png" width="800" height="286" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:286,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D43U!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9db120a-d98e-4944-9a90-69971f15c0bf_800x286.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Acrew led<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/cornerstone-ai/"> Cornerstone AI</a>&#8217;s latest round of funding. If you&#8217;re a biopharma company, a life sciences data commercialization business, or a services vendor to biopharma, Cornerstone AI is a must-have partner for you. They are fast becoming the neutral, trusted way that biopharma makes data actionable, by leveraging AI to clean real world healthcare data significantly faster and more accurately than other solutions.</p><p>Underappreciated in healthcare is that there now exists a path to strong health data availability. A decade after the EHR became widely adopted, and several years after regulation passed to drives interoperability and data transfer standards in the US healthcare system, rich health data is accessible to those that have a legitimate need.</p><p>Despite these advances, the data is rarely actionable (i.e., data quality and integrity has a long way to go). There is a burning need we&#8217;ve observed among life science companies that use and buy that deidentified data to assess the quality of the data they buy or even generate quality improvements themselves, because they need data:</p><ul><li><p>Quality Checked: rapidly characterize the quality and completeness of every dataset in an automated consistent manner for comparison across data sources</p></li><li><p>Cleaned: find errors in the data, correct them if possible</p></li><li><p>Standardized: convert all free text entries to industry standard medical terms (why does my lab data have 150 ways to represent neutrophils?)</p></li><li><p>Cohorted: collate all patients who meet study criteria without needing to understand the details of the data schema from a larger dataset</p></li><li><p>Harmonized: combine multiple data sets and de-duplicate so the power of a larger dataset can be leveraged (why does every data provider use a different schema?)</p></li><li><p>Auditable: explain how raw data gets to final data in a way that would pass regulatory scrutiny (FDA is encouraging RWD submissions but is holding them to similar standards as clinical trial data)</p></li></ul><p>This is really hard and is not just a technical problem. Cornerstone AI has pulled this off a depth of data science, AI, life sciences, and regulatory expertise. Having gotten to know<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-elashoff-4096681/"> Michael Elashoff</a> over the course of a year, we became convinced that he had assembled the team for the job. Almost everyone has worked together previously in highly relevant roles for several years. Mike,<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhowland/"> Andrew Howland</a>, and<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-oromendia/"> Clara Oromendia</a>, as co-founders, brought decades of biostatistics, genomics, and data science expertise to bear. The team has strong engineering capacity and a grip on when AI is needed, ML is best, or data science is the best path to solving a problem. They understand the regulatory constraints pharma &amp; life sciences face. With the addition of now CEO<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/virajnarayanan/"> Viraj Narayanan</a>, who experienced the problems associated with unclean data throughout his career and has a track record of scaling life science businesses, we believe Cornerstone has remarkable leadership and team maturity for their company stage. And customers agree!</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Finix — Transforming Payments for Modern Businesses]]></title><description><![CDATA[In today&#8217;s digital-first economy, mid-market businesses face countless challenges in managing their payment processes efficiently.]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/finix-transforming-payments-for-modern-businesses-37e86934de04</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/finix-transforming-payments-for-modern-businesses-37e86934de04</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:51:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*hCR2P7uOzdaGEcE5" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In today&#8217;s digital-first economy, mid-market businesses face countless challenges in managing their payment processes efficiently. While large corporations have long had access to quick, cheap, and sophisticated payment technology, these mid-market players have been left with outdated systems and complex fee structures.</p><p><strong>Industry Tailwinds</strong></p><ul><li><p>Over the last decade, complexity in the payments market has risen dramatically as many merchants have moved towards an omni-channel strategy, which the legacy providers cannot properly address due to the old tech stacks upon which they were built</p></li><li><p>There are 33MM+ small businesses in America, which account for 99.9% of all U.S. businesses. (<a href="https://www.uschamber.com/small-business/state-of-small-business-now">Source</a>)</p></li><li><p>The global digital payments market is projected to reach $236Bn+ by 2028 (<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-payment-market-size-worth-236-10-billion-by-2028--cagr-19-4-grand-view-research-inc-301229687.html">Source</a>)</p></li></ul><p>Yet despite these tailwinds, many mid-market firms are stuck using legacy processors, stitched together by patchwork software and point solutions. Enter Finix, a company that&#8217;s leveling the playing field by bringing enterprise-grade payment solutions to businesses of all sizes.</p><p>Originally built to be a payment facilitator in 2015, Finix was founded to democratize payments for mid-market companies. The company&#8217;s mission is to create the most accessible financial services ecosystem in history&#8211;starting with payments. Eight years later, Finix announced that they had made the necessary investment and taken the necessary steps to become a full-blown payment processor. As a processor, Finix is now connected to all major U.S. card networks&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa, allowing them to offer their customers instant onboarding, innovative products, and streamlined payment operations.</p><p>Since the transition in early 2023, Finix has acquired hundreds of customers and processed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transactions. These customers have used Finix&#8217;s platform to reduce payment processing costs, streamline payment operations, improve cash flows, access detailed transaction data, and scale payment infrastructure as they grow. Finix customers reap these benefits by integrating into the Finix platform, which includes:</p><ol><li><p><strong>A Customizable API</strong> with thousands of configurations allowing tailored payment solutions in just one day.</p></li><li><p><strong>User-Friendly Dashboard</strong>: Easy-to-use interface with low/no-code options for every customer.</p></li><li><p><strong>Virtual Terminal</strong>: Allows users to process payments directly from their browsers.</p></li><li><p><strong>Future-Proof Technology</strong>: An adaptable platform designed to meet ever-evolving payment needs.</p></li><li><p><strong>No-Code Payments</strong>: Allows customers to set up tailored payments experiences for their buyers with zero code required.</p></li></ol><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg" width="800" height="1201" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1201,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZBVm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F108740fd-da6e-449b-8315-d1f366602d22_800x1201.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>At the helm of Finix is co-founder and CEO Richie Serna (pictured above), whose customer-centric vision is the driving force behind Finix&#8217;s success. Richie got his start in payments as an engineer at Balanced&#8211;the first payments API ever designed specifically for marketplaces. After Balanced was sold to Stripe in 2015, Richie founded Finix. The strides he&#8217;s made since&#8211;both personal and professional&#8211;have been incredible to witness. Founding a business is hard. Successfully leading a business through a major transition is harder. And we&#8217;ve watched Richie thrive at both.</p><p>Since we first invested in Finix nearly 5 years ago, we&#8217;ve had a front row seat to an incredible story; one with several twists and turns, all leading to today&#8217;s monumental announcement. We at Acrew Capital are incredibly proud to be leading Finix&#8217;s $75MM Series C round of funding alongside existing investor Lightspeed Venture Partners and new investor Leap Global Partners. We&#8217;re joined by other existing investors Homebrew, Insight Partners, Inspired Capital, and Cap Table Coalition, and new investors Citi Ventures, Open Opportunity Fund, and Tribeca Venture Partners, alongside many other faithful supporters.</p><p>In an era where every transaction counts, we believe that this capital will allow Finix to give their customers the tools they need to thrive, one payment at a time.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Five years & $700MM of new capital]]></title><description><![CDATA[2024 marks Acrew Capital&#8217;s fifth anniversary. This milestone provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the past and plan for the future.]]></description><link>https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/five-years-700mm-of-new-capital-e7705f7210fd</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://perspectives.acrewcapital.com/p/five-years-700mm-of-new-capital-e7705f7210fd</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Acrew Capital]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 17 Oct 2024 15:58:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*aYjyT6EA9R6ei6Tv" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>2024 marks Acrew Capital&#8217;s fifth anniversary.</strong> This milestone provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the past and plan for the future.</p><p>In tandem with this reflection, <strong>we are pleased to announce that we have raised over $700MM of new capital across our family of funds</strong> to continue supporting world-class founders in our three key sectors: Data and Security, Fintech, and Health. Acrew invests $1&#8211;15MM to lead rounds for Seed and Series A companies out of its early stage program and invests $10&#8211;20MM into rounds for Series B and Series C companies out of its inflection stage program.</p><p>When we started Acrew in 2019, we pursued a fresh take on building a venture firm. We aim to be the preferred partner to founders and their companies in our sectors <em>and </em>we also care about how we go about doing that. We aspire for founders to describe our team as: authentic, empathetic, and long-term oriented.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg" width="800" height="450" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:450,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aFCs!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fee6bf0-6387-4def-9b4c-e76d15311089_800x450.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Throwback to 2019: our founding partners (with significantly fewer gray hairs), at the start of our now five-year journey.</p><p>At the beginning, the five of us founding partners (and several of our key Acrew team members) reaffirmed our desire to work together. We spent weeks outlining our values, vision, and strategy. In 2019, our LPs put us in business with our first $258MM fund. Now, with our new capital, the firm manages over $1.7B in assets on behalf of our investors, which include several pensions and foundations that find strong alignment with our values and seek a continuation of top tier returns.</p><p>There are three things that we&#8217;ve been reflecting on. Firstly, we have an awareness of how lucky we are to work with fantastic founders and their teams. Secondly, the firm has sharpened its focus through its continued commitment to evolution. Lastly, we&#8217;ve grown our team and feel privileged to work with our amazing crew.</p><p>~</p><p>The founders we partner with are good people. And they are tough, unyielding at times, and fair. Our founders will either have come to a valuable, earned insight through direct experience in an industry or through deep curiosity for the sector they are pursuing. Most importantly, we believe that the founders with whom we partner seek a trusting relationship with our crew. We hold that trust with the utmost respect.</p><p>We want to highlight three sets of founder relationships, among the many we are privileged to earn:</p><p>Chris and Ryan, founders of Chime, set their sights on providing a better banking solution for every-day Americans. From Chris&#8217; personal experience growing up, and then his professional experience at Green Dot, he&#8217;d seen how the large banks in the United States ignored the needs of millions of Americans. Our team leaned in to support their vision by leading their Series A-2. Acrew has since invested several times in the company. Chime announced earlier this year they had $1.5B of annualized revenues and powered spending for 7MM customers, who spent $8B per month on their Chime cards. When we reflect on the journey thus far, which is far from over, we admire Chris, Ryan, and team&#8217;s singular focus on serving their customers with simplicity.</p><p>Our relationship with Shlomo Kramer, CEO and co-founder of Cato Networks, goes back 20 years. We had met and backed him when he was running Imperva, a company he eventually took public. Fast forward to 2015, and our team co-led the Series A of Shlomo&#8217;s latest company, Cato Networks. We&#8217;ve since invested several more times in Cato, including out of our Acrew inflection stage program. Having been involved with many notable cybersecurity and data companies over the years, Shlomo set out to create a new category by building the world&#8217;s first Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform, which converges software defined networks and network security into a global, cloud-native architecture.</p><p>Shlomo, in turn, introduced us to At-Bay, an insurance and security platform that tackles cyber risk for small to medium sized businesses. We led one of the company&#8217;s early stage rounds. When we met At-Bay founders Rotem and Roman, we were struck by their combination of domain knowledge and ambition. On the one hand, the company continues to innovate on its offering and product suite. On the other hand, the company held a high bar in terms of managing not only their clients&#8217; risk, but also their own risk (e.g., loss ratios). To grow rapidly while maintaining best in class risk management demonstrates the team&#8217;s competency and discipline. At the time of our investment, cyber insurance was viewed as a challenging category. In spite of that challenge, or maybe because of it, At-Bay has had a meaningful impact on the industry.</p><p>~</p><p>Our sector focus has evolved over time. When we started the firm, we had five areas of focus, with each of our partners expressing a &#8220;major&#8221; and a &#8220;minor&#8221;. Today, in 2024, Acrew operates as one firm that houses specialist practices in our three sector areas of Data &amp; Security, Fintech, and Health. 90% of what we do fits squarely into one of those three areas.</p><p>With that said, many of our investments end up sitting at the venn diagram of two of our areas or, even, all three. Acrew provides the depth of a specialist firm in each sector, while also providing the benefits of cross-sector insights, given the firm&#8217;s commitment to operating as one team.</p><p>Take for instance our newest sector focus: Health. Our thesis within health is primarily focused on three broad areas: (1) the intersection of health &amp; data, including tooling to better manage and manipulate that data, (2) improving the personalization of care, and (3) lowering the administrative burden in healthcare, while enabling stakeholders to adjust to big business model shifts. Our health founders very much appreciate the cyber security expertise the firm brings to bear as well (as do our fintech founders). Conversely, our data &amp; cyber founders are very interested in opportunities to sell into financial services and healthcare.</p><p>~</p><p>Internally, we believe in operating like one team. Founders benefit from this because they get access to all of our investors, not just the ones they work with day to day. We strive to ensure that everyone&#8217;s voice is heard at the firm and that each member of our crew feels like an owner (because each team member is an owner). We align our compensation and recognition to reinforce the emphasis on team and the idea that every investment we make is an investment from Acrew, not just an individual partner. We&#8217;ll have more to announce in the coming months in terms of new and refined initiatives from our team that will continue to support our founders.</p><p>~</p><p>In the scheme of things, five years isn&#8217;t that long. But with each day that passes, we continue to march towards our shared goal of building a leading venture capital firm. We intend to do it our way and we hope that you now have a better sense of what that way is.</p><p>To the next five years and beyond.</p><p>Theresia, Lauren, Vishal, Asad, Mark, and the Acrew Team</p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>