On June 10, the 100 Women in Finance (100WF) North California and 100WFinTech committees organized an event FinTech and AI Frontiers hosted by Moss Adams at their office building overlooking the city of San Francisco.
Thank you to our speakers Cameron Peake (Restive Ventures), Kelsey Willock Jones (Aura Finance), Sue Xu (Amino Capital), and Theresa Wright (moderator, Moss Adams) for their thought-provoking insights and to our audience for their engaging questions.
The panel, consisting of two VCs and one fintech founder, delved into fintech trends, the latest AI applications in finance, risks and opportunities in AI and fintech, fund-raising strategies, scaling growth, and due diligence.
We would like to share the panelists’ key takeaways:
- We are in the very early innings of AI to know its true impact, but regulation and security concerns (like Goldman closing down all usage of ChatGPT) will be a big topic.
- Startups/FinTechs/financial firms increasingly bring AI into their products/offerings, but bear in mind the trust and ethical issues of using AI in financial services: are you truly using AI in your models, understanding mistakes AI can make, and are you ready for SEC to audit when AI is mentioned in your document as an investment advisor?
- So far, there is no convincing evidence that AI can generate investment alpha. However, AI certainly helps in areas such as computation, research, legal contract, etc.
- Gen AI in Finance startups demo looks magical, but does large incumbent data and financial software (think FactSet) already have it? Do the founders understand finance and the flow of money?
- What VCs may look for in startups: (1) those that can automate/do the work the customers truly find unattractive (2) with open-source models.
- Looking to the future: AI has the potential for the underserved and people of color to access credit/financial products.
- To founders: if you have something in mind, do it, be proactive, and execute your North Star.
Following the panel discussion, attendees comprising finance professionals, investors, and founders were invited to reconnect with industry peers and expand their professional networks over light refreshments.
One audience member provided the following feedback:
“The panel insights were particularly intriguing and thought-provoking. The depth of the conversation and the variety of perspectives shared provided a lot of new ideas and considerations that I can take back to my own work. I appreciate the effort that went into organizing such a rich and informative discussion.”
Female founders, investors, academia, and domain experts, we invite you to increase your visibility by joining the 100 Women in FinTech public directory here.
Visit us at: https://100women.org/initiatives/100womenfintech/