a16z Live

a16z general partner David Haber and fintech partner Marc Andrusko talk to Tim Karpoff, the Global Head of Strategy at Citi, where he guides the bank’s core focus areas, as well as future investment in emerging tech like AI. The conversation covers the shifting landscape of banking policy and regulation, the increasingly important role startups are playing in partnership with big banks, and where Tim disagrees with the zeitgeist when it comes to the adoption of AI in financial services.

0:00-1:05 Intro

1:06-2:28 Navigating bureaucracy

2:29-4:26 What "chief strategy officer" entails 

4:27-8:18 Citi's role in the banking ecosystem

8:19-9:16 Fallout from the 2023 banking crisis

9:17-13:10 Citi's revised risk controls and tech investment

13:11-14:59 How Citi works with startups

15:00-20:00 Citi's future: AI and regulation

20:01-23:33 What people get wrong when it comes to AI 

23:33-24:12 Outro

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov joined a16z general partner David George to discuss how Waymo is using genAI to help them build safer, sustainable, and more accessible transportation. In the conversation, Dmitri talks about the potential of embodied AI, the value of simulations and building training data, and his approach to leading a company focused on solving the challenges of building AI that can navigate the real world.

• [00:01:22] The early days of autonomous vehicles
• [00:05:27] Layering genAI into traditional AI/ML
• [00:09:42] The value of simulation
• [00:15:56] The hard part about integrating AI in autonomous systems
• [00:22:45] AI in the real world
• [00:28:47] Where does Waymo go from here?
• [00:37:21] Dmitri's learnings from hard problems

This conversation is part of our AI Revolution series, which features some of the most impactful builders in the field of AI discussing and debating where we are, where we’re going, and the big open questions in AI. Find more content from our AI Revolution series on www.a16z.com/AIRevolution.

As genAI expands through the enterprise, many leaders are figuring out how to evolve their genAI prototypes into production-ready tools. Pinecone CEO Edo Liberty and LangChain CEO Harrison Chase discuss which parts of the stack to build or buy, how to improve out-of-the-box models by helping customers select and ingest the right data, and picking the right partners to scale genAI applications with a16z Growth General Partner Sarah Wang.

• [00:02:16] Navigating the gap from prototype to production
• [00:07:03] How to educate partners on genAI tools and capabilities
• [00:11:38] Deciding whether to build or buy
• [00:17:36] Successful implementations of genAI
• [00:21:20] Balancing enterprise and open-source community needs
• [00:23:06] Balancing short-term revenue gains with long-term vision
• [00:25:18] Picking the right partners to scale

For a transcript of this episode of a16z Live!, click here.

In this episode, which took place at a16z's Connect Fintech event, a16z General Partner David George interviews Capital Group's Mark Casey on his investment philosophy, what sends him into what he calls "barnacle mode," his preference for customer-focused North Star metrics, and more.  

0:00-1:42 Intro

1:42-5:58 Approach to investing

5:58-8:20 What Casey told Jeff Bezos, and what he learned

8:20-12:57 How CEOs communicate with public market investors; unconventional North Star metrics

12:57-15:48: Why Casey loves dividends

15:48-20:44 Macro trends and investing theses

20:44-21:37 Ecommerce predictions 

21:37-23:15 Opportunities and choke points in AI

23:15-25:18 What makes a great public company?

25:18-26:04 Outro

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In this conversation, which took place at a16z's Connect Fintech event, a16z General Partner Angela Strange, Plaid CEO and cofounder Zach Perret, and Marqeta CEO Simon Khalaf discuss how AI will shape the future of banking, the battle between payment rails in the U. S., and how there's still opportunity to transform the basic credit card into a fully digital product. 

0:00-1:42 Intro

1:42-1:56 Topics: Generative AI, payment rails shift, and regulation in open banking and sponsor banking

1:56-4:46 GenAI's potential impact on credit modeling and fraud

4:46-7:09 Implications of payment products becoming digital products ("The open face of the internet")

7:09-8:33 Why brands need to embed finance, and why every company will eventually be a fintech company

8:33-11:01 The card vs. pay-by-bank debate

11:01-12:24 New infrastructure to combat fraud

12:24-17:27 Reassessing traditional "top-of-wallet" tactics and longstanding business models

17:27-20:04 Potential implications of Visa/Mastercard antitrust suit

20:04-24:12 Regulation around open banking and sponsor banks

24:12-24:40 Outro

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In a new episode of In the Vault, a16z General Partner Angela Strange talks with Jeff Sloan, former CEO of Global Payments, about how he was early to spot significant industry trends, how to make bets that move an organization, and the sea change that AI represents for the financial services industry.

0-1:40 Intro

1:40-8:15 Joining Global Payments

8:15-19:30 Placing many bets

19:30-26:10 Deal integration and scale advantage

26:10-31:35 GenAI sea change

31:35-32:19 Outro

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In a new episode of In the Vault, a16z General Partner David Haber talks with Marty Chavez, a partner and vice chairman of Sixth Street Partners, about the foundational role he’s had in merging technology and finance throughout his career, and the magical promises and regulatory pitfalls of AI.

0-1:30 Intro

1:30-12:50 Marty's history and transition to Wall Street

12:50-20:50 Financial Crisis and SecDB

20:50-32:10 GenAI's impact

32:10-36:15 AI and biotech

36:15-37:06 Outro

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In a new episode of In the Vault, a16z General Partner David Haber talks with Marco Argenti, the chief information officer at Goldman Sachs, about bringing fintech processes into financial services, turning developers into clients, and how AI is a major inflection point in the history of technology.

0-1:30 Intro

1:30-12:05 From tech to financial services

12:05-17:30 Turning developers into clients

17:30-23:50 GenAI and productivity

23:50-28:50 The future of financial services

28:50-29:31 Outro

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In this SaaS era, partnering with no one means competing with everyone. How the best companies take advantage of ecosystem-led growth—or where they sit in the SaaS ecosystem to improve acquisition, expansion, and access to new markets, as discussed by a16z general partner Sarah Wang and Crossbeam CEO Bob Moore.

• [00:01:43] The birth of ecosystem-led growth
• [00:05:12] The data revolution in partnerships
• [00:12:46] Integrating ecosystem-level GTM motions
• [00:16:29] Bob's founder history
• [00:24:30] Ecosystem-qualified leads and new opportunities
• [00:29:34] ELG as AI force multiplier

For a transcript of this episode of a16z Live!, click here.

CEO of Quora Adam D’Angelo discusses how building infrastructure for creators can democratize AI, in conversation with a16z’s David George. 

• [01:07] Social networks as compliment to AI
• [03:59] Poe: bringing AI to the masses
• [05:51] The future of AI is multi-model and multimodal
• [08:11] Is the model the product?
• [11:31] Building AI infrastructure for creators
• [13:41] Navigating platform shifts
• [16:02] Sharing human- and computer-generated knowledge
• [17:43] Knowledge sharing on the internet
• [20:41] The benefits of scale for AI
• [21:59] Competing on scale or feature differentiation
• [25:01] Fault tolerance as a wedge for startups

This conversation is part of our AI Revolution series, which features some of the most impactful builders in the field of AI discussing and debating where we are, where we’re going, and the big open questions in AI. Find more content from our AI Revolution series on www.a16z.com/AIRevolution.