Posts by Alex Johnson
PIVOT!
#1: PIVOT! What happened? Kasisto, maker of banking chatbots, is launching its own large language model: Kasisto today announced the launch of KAI-GPT, the world’s first banking-specific large language model (LLM), designed to address the industry’s unique needs for accuracy, transparency, trustworthiness and customization. Powered by KAI-GPT, KAI Answers is Kasisto’s first generative AI application…
Read MoreBirkin or House?
I’m going to start by sharing the first three paragraphs of an article from Vice – Young People Are Moving Back in With Their Parents… to Save For Birkins: “When I tell Hinge dates I’m working towards a Birkin by 30, the reaction goes one of two ways,” says 21-year-old Ellie, who’s chosen not to…
Read MoreA Fintech Takes’ (Aspirational) Reading List
The last time I went out on paternity leave, my final newsletter was a Summer Reading List, aggregated from the suggestions of various friends in and around the fintech ecosystem. It’s a great list, filled with prescient titles like “Reprogramming the American Dream: From Rural America to Silicon Valley–Making AI Serve Us All” and less-relevant-but-still-very-enjoyable…
Read More7 Questions About the Future of Niche Neobanks
Last month, Aspiration laid off 180 employees as part of an ongoing restructuring: Climate-conscious neobank Aspiration is laying off more than 180 workers as part of a companywide restructuring, the fintech disclosed in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter it filed with California last month. The recent restructuring also follows the firm’s leadership change…
Read MoreRe-Ranking the Fintech Logos
Last summer, I published a ranking of the 25 best fintech logos. I was on vacation that week, and I was just looking for something light and fun to run while I was out. Little did I know that the rankings would generate more controversy, by far, than anything I’ve ever published. Founders and marketers…
Read MoreThe Ultimate List of Fintech Resources
Let me start by sharing a couple of things that I believe are true: So, [Hugo Weaving voice] if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand me as I attempt to assemble the ultimate list of fintech…
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