Toward BNPL 3.0: From Checkout Button to Financial Infrastructure
Lower funding costs, tighter distribution and regulatory fragmentation will define the next phase of buy now, pay later. PayPal and Affirm recently applied for industrial loan company charters, and Sezzle says it’s open to pursuing that path. These moves reveal something bigger: BNPL is no longer just about shopping. It’s becoming core financial infrastructure. These […]
Looking Back at 2025
We spent 2025 focused on what we know best: backing early-stage companies, helping teams embed financial infrastructure and AI into operations, and writing about the execution decisions that move companies forward. Some of that work came from companies we’ve backed directly. Some came from platforms we’ve supported for years. All of it reflects our belief […]
Deal Flow Is the Lifeblood of Any VC Firm – Here’s How It Happens
by Graeme Thickins Not surprisingly, the more established a VC firm, the more startup pitches it gets. Well-known VC partners get hundreds and hundreds of unsolicited pitches every week. But the real essence of deal flow for a VC is getting to see only the best of the best startups. Of course, that’s easier said […]
APIs, AI and Embedded Finance: What We’re Watching at Money 20/20
As the industry converges on Las Vegas, we’re focusing on infrastructure that helps launch products faster, supports new use cases and durable companies. With Money 20/20 around the corner, the conversation is shifting from front-end apps to the infrastructure shaping fintech’s future. Fintech’s next wave won’t be defined by the next consumer-facing app. It will […]
‘Embedded Everywhere’: Tim Li on the future of lending, AI, and VC scrutiny
Tim Li is a fintech veteran with two decades of experience working at the intersection of banking and technology. After earning a master’s in engineering and building microprocessors at Intel, he pivoted to financial services in the early 2000s, joining JPMorgan Chase to help launch its first digital banking platforms. As the financial crisis hit […]
The ‘GoDaddy of lending’: How LendAPI enables embedded finance at scale
Fintech startups are known for slick user experiences, but building them can be a major hurdle. Founders often have to stitch together a web of KYC/KYB systems, underwriting logic, compliance workflows, and loan origination tools — with limited capital and no backend infrastructure. Some are turning to platform solutions like LendAPI to speed up time […]