Smart Money Stage: The Next Investment Inflection Point in Fintech

As the boundaries between fintech, payments, and AI become increasingly blurred, where are the true value gaps?

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 has specifically set up a Smart Money Stage to discuss fintech, payments, AI, and the intersection zones between them. This is a clear signal: Fintech is no longer a standalone track but rather the capillaries of the entire digital economy. I've met quite a few founders, and after chatting with them, I noticed a trend—people are no longer just talking about "finance," but about "intelligent capital flow."

From Tools to Ecosystems: The Shift in Valuation Logic

In the past, when looking at fintech, we focused on transaction volume, user count, and GMV. That has changed now. An early-stage company I invested in does cross-border payments + AI risk control. The founder feeds payment data into models to automatically optimize exchange rates and anti-fraud strategies. This is no longer just a payment tool; it's a data-driven decision engine. The valuation logic has shifted from "how much do we earn per transaction" to "how much value does each data point generate." The discussions at the Smart Money Stage confirm this: AI isn't just icing on the cake; it's redefining the liquidity of money.

Competitive Moats: It's Not Technology, It's Scenarios

Many people ask me, with AI being so hot, are the technical barriers in fintech lowering? My judgment is the opposite. Underlying models can be open-source, but scenario-specific data is irreplicable. In the payments sector, the most valuable asset isn't the algorithm, but the trust relationship between merchants and users. A B2B payment platform I invested in spent two years connecting local clearing networks across multiple Southeast Asian countries. This kind of scenario barrier cannot be solved by large models. The emphasis on "everything between" at the Smart Money Stage illustrates that the real moat lies in the connections, not in single points.

Investment Judgment: Bet on "Connectors," Not "Replacers"

When I look at projects recently, the thing I fear hearing most is "We're going to disrupt banks." Banks aren't that easy to disrupt. I'm more bullish on teams that act as "connectors"—linking banks, payment providers, AI service vendors, and even non-financial scenarios (like e-commerce, logistics) together, making capital flows real-time and intelligent like data flows. The agenda setting at the Smart Money Stage covers fintech, payments, and AI, essentially exploring this connectivity capability. I will invest in teams whose founders can clearly articulate "where my network effects lie," rather than those who only talk about "how awesome my algorithm is."

The emergence of the Smart Money Stage precisely indicates that the industry needs a new coordinate system. I am waiting for the founder who can draw this new map.

Original Link: https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/24/techcrunch-disrupt-2026s-new-smart-money-stage-explores-fintech-payments-ai-and-everything-between/