Alan Thorogood reads MIT CISR's February 2023 research briefing, which he co-authored with Peter Reynolds. See the text version and related content at https://cisr.mit.edu/publication/2023_0201_GrowingwithxTechs_ThorogoodReynolds.

Abstract: Increasingly, large organizations are partnering with xTechs to supercharge their digital transformation. This is a symbiotic relationship: an xTech brings speed, innovation, and lower cost because xTechs don’t face the process, scale, and governance burdens of large organizations. In exchange, the xTech gains access via its large organization partner to capital, revenue, and cash flow, which support scaling quickly. But how successful are the partnerships in reality? We set out to learn about the motivations, rewards, and challenges of xTechs and organizations working together. This briefing, the first in a series on xTechs, shares our findings on successful partnering strategies in financial services.