Shopify President: Agentic AI drives 11x spike in orders (6 minute read)
Shopify says agentic AI is transforming online shopping, with AI-driven traffic up 7x and orders from AI searches up 11x since January. President Harley Finkelstein called AI "central to our engine," highlighting Shopify's new "commerce for agents" stack that lets ChatGPT, Copilot, and Perplexity route purchases directly through Shop Pay. The company posted a strong quarter, $92 billion in GMV and 32% revenue growth, underscoring how conversational commerce is quickly becoming a new growth engine for global e-commerce. |
India's Pine Labs trims IPO valuation but eyes global fintech expansion (3 minute read)
India's Pine Labs is set to go public this week at a $2.9B valuation—about 40% lower than its last private round—as it aims to scale its fintech platform globally. Backed by PayPal, Mastercard, Temasek, and Peak XV Partners, the firm cut both its primary offering (by 20%) and offer-for-sale (by 44%), citing investor confidence and long-term focus. CEO Amrish Rau said Pine Labs plans to leverage India's fintech expertise to expand across markets like Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the US. The company, now profitable, serves 980,000 merchants in 20 countries, handling over ₹11.4 trillion ($128B) in transactions. |
Ripple acquires Palisade to bolster crypto custody capabilities (6 minute read)
Ripple is expanding its digital asset custody reach with the acquisition of Palisade, a wallet-as-a-service startup known for its scalable and secure infrastructure. The deal strengthens Ripple Custody's institutional offering, adding fast wallet provisioning, multi-chain support, and advanced MPC-based security to serve fintechs, corporates, and crypto-native clients. With Palisade's tech integrating into Ripple Payments, the company is positioning itself as a one-stop provider for institutions, from long-term asset storage to real-time global payments and treasury operations. |
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Bidipta Datta's AI-driven vision for financial inclusion (7 minute read)
FinTech expert Bidipta Datta highlights how AI can democratize finance by making sophisticated financial services accessible to those often overlooked by traditional banking. Through the convergence of tools like natural language processing, predictive analytics, and Open Banking, the industry is moving toward hyper-personalized, transparent, and compliant financial experiences. Yet Datta emphasizes the continued need for human oversight — especially in complex cases — ensuring fairness and accountability remain at the core of AI-driven finance. |
Apple Pay Comes to India's Cross-Border Payments (10 minute read)
Apple Pay has arrived in India's cross-border payments ecosystem. Apple's entry isn't about adding another feature to the market - it's about strategic positioning - a quiet yet deliberate move in one of the world's most dynamic and regulated financial landscapes. |
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Fiserv launches 'Project Elevate' AI overhaul with IBM (3 minute read)
Fiserv is rolling out a two-year AI transformation plan—dubbed Project Elevate—with IBM to modernize operations and restore customer trust after a rocky year. The initiative will embed AI across sales, client onboarding, support, HR, finance, and the Clover point-of-sale unit, which faces slowing growth and reversed fee hikes. CEO Mike Lyons called the effort a "transformation agenda" to make Fiserv a higher-quality, more productive business. The company will outline costs and expected returns in early 2026. |
Stripe demos face payments with NEC (3 minute read)
On show at the Singapore Fintech Festival, the two firms say that by combining Stripe's payment terminals, payment services, and functions with NEC's face recognition technology, they aim to provide secure and convenient hands-free payments at the checkout. |
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Airwallex hits $1B revenue run rate as UK momentum surges (3 minute read)
Airwallex has surpassed $1 billion in annualised revenue, doubling its run rate in just over a year and marking one of fintech's fastest growth curves. The UK has emerged as the firm's fastest-growing market, with revenue up 109% year over year and headcount in EMEA rising 35%. The payments and banking platform has relocated its EMEA HQ to Fitzrovia, London, and launched a major "Broken Banking" campaign alongside partnerships with McLaren F1 and Arsenal FC. CEO Jack Zhang said the growth reflects rising adoption of Airwallex's global accounts, payments, and embedded finance tools as businesses look to escape outdated banking systems. |
Beacon Software raises $250M to scale 'anti–private equity' AI roll-ups (3 minute read)
Beacon Software, founded by Nilam Ganenthiran (ex-Instacart) and Divya Gupta (ex-Sequoia), raised $250 million at a $1B valuation to expand its AI-driven roll-up strategy. The firm acquires small, profitable software businesses—often serving overlooked sectors like youth sports, manufacturing, and unions—and rebuilds them with an AI-powered tech stack. Backed by General Catalyst, Lightspeed, and D1 Capital, Beacon calls itself an "anti–private equity firm," emphasizing permanent ownership and reinvestment over quick exits. Profitable as a group, Beacon buys a new company roughly every two weeks and uses an internal AI "acceleration team" to automate and modernize operations. |
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