Yesterday was a memorable day at the annual @GilgameshVC Summit in NYC! We had a packed agenda with roundtables, meetings, panels, and even two Fintech Leaders podcast recordings with tech legends Alan Patricof (@alanjpatricof) and Howard Morgan (@HLMorgan). We even sang Happy 90th Birthday to Alan Patricof! Huge thanks to everyone who joined and supported us, especially our founders and LPs!

2023 was a busy year for us at @GilgameshVC. We invested millions in seven new fintech companies from three countries across SaaS, Antifraud, Identity, WealthTech, Payments, and Vertical SaaS. We also started deploying Fund 2 and are excited to back many more fintech founders in 2024 and beyond. We strongly believe that fintech will look different in the next ten years than it did in the last ten years. The line of what's fintech will continue to blur and new business models will emerge. Below are just a few areas we’re excited about investing in the years ahead. - Huge Opportunity in Vertical SaaS: Companies like Toast illustrate the power for these models to support tremendous profitability, based on significant payments monetization. But Toast is just the beginning. Verticals ranging from retail, to law firms, to B2B services, to construction – each can support similar approaches. - Payments To Sustain Its Momentum: Payments was arguably the big winner from the last cycle in fintech (Adyen, Stripe, Wise, dLocal, Bill, Remitly, etc.), and we think that could be the case in the next decade as well. We’re particularly excited about B2B payments as incumbents still struggle to serve merchants effectively. We expect a lot to happen here in next few years. - Renaissance in Capital Markets Infrastructure: Traditionally it’s been hard to get Wall Street to spend money on new software. But that’s likely to change with the aging of legacy infrastructure and the arrival of artificial intelligence. The stakes are too high for investors to have inadequate tools, and we’re already seeing traction from new companies attacking this space. - Long-Awaited Banking Transformation Finally Occurs: Despite macroeconomic headwinds for many banks, the pace of adoption of next-generation infrastructure for banks has accelerated and will increase in the next few years. Banks simply have to invest in third-party technology to retain deposits and capture good customers. Know someone building in these areas or elsewhere in fintech? Reach out! @A_Endo

Last week we traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil for our annual @GilgameshVC Summit. We gathered LPs, Founders, Co-Investors, and friends for a series of events about the future of financial services. One of my favorite parts of the Summit was our keynote with Otávio Damaso, Deputy Governor for Regulation of the Brazilian Central Bank along with Bruno Balduccini, Partner at Pinheiro Neto Advogados. The Central Bank of Brazil stands at the forefront of global central banking, exemplifying visionary strategies and robust collaborations with fintech companies. Mr. Damaso has spearheaded innovative initiatives and policies that have helped earn Brazil a reputation as a global fintech leader. His Keynote speech deeply impressed all attendees - especially those visiting from countries with far less sophisticated Central Banking institutions. Stay tuned for a longer post with learnings and reflections... @A_Endo