Visa to Invest $100 Million in Ai Fintech Startups That Focused on Payments

Visa Inc. announced on Monday evening that it is launching a $100 million initiative focused on generative AI ventures.

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According to a statement from the payment company, this initiative aims to invest in "emerging companies dedicated to the development of generative AI technologies and applications that will have a significant impact on the future of commerce and payments."

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Describing itself as a trailblazer in the use of AI for payments since 1993, Visa disclosed that Visa Ventures, its global corporate investment unit, will oversee this initiative.

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David Rolf, the head of Visa Ventures, stated, "Given generative AI's potential to be a groundbreaking technology of our era, we are enthusiastic about broadening our investments to include some of the most innovative and disruptive startups operating in the fields of generative AI, commerce, and payments."

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Visa joins a growing list of financial institutions that are embracing this new technology. For instance, Morgan Stanley recently became one of the early adopters of GPT-4, the latest iteration of Microsoft Corp.-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT generative AI.

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As of Monday's closing, Visa's shares were up by 0.6% at $231.27. Notably, Visa is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which experienced a 0.2% dip. Year-to-date, Visa shares have risen by 11.3%, while the Dow has gained 0.9%, the S&P 500 index has seen an 11.7% increase, and the Nasdaq Composite has advanced by 27.2%.

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