Agentic Technology, DeepSeek, and AI in 2025
This week's edition of Finovate Weekly features a pair of articles looking at the continued evolution of AI, both in general and in financial services. We lead off with a hot-off-the-press post from Finovate Senior Research Analyst Julie Muhn looking at the rise of agentic AI in a piece called "Why 'AI Agents' is the Catchphrase of 2025."
Later, in our Pause button section, we look at the panic that struck financial markets and tech company C-suites as China unveiled its latest AI innovation, DeepSeek. As impressive as DeepSeek's performance was relative to ChatGPT, the way the Chinese were able to develop the solution, relying on open source technology and far less capital, may be the most enduring aspect of the DeepSeek panic.
And don't worry, if you've had enough of AI, we've got a great interview on Europe's emerging regulatory environment, a podcast on conversational banking and the future of customer service with a pair of Finovate Best of Show winners, and more!
With that, I'm David Penn. Thanks for reading this week's Finovate Weekly!
Weekly news
Premium creator content platform Viffy forges strategic alliance with Finfare .
Trump Media & Technology Group (yes, that Trump) launches fintech venture, Truth.Fi.
KYC Portal CLM announces strategic collaboration with 普华永道 .
Finovate Global: EverC's Maya Shabi on fintech regulation in the EU
I've mentioned before that Finovate Global is on a great streak of fascinating interviews of late. Before the column takes a break this week, I wanted to highlight our latest conversation in case you missed it.
As bureaucratic and administrative confusion descend on Washington, regulatory clarity is on the horizon on the other side of the Atlantic — at least for financial services companies and fintechs. I talked with Maya Shabi, Senior Risk Strategist for tech-driven, risk management solutions provider EverC , about the emerging regulatory landscape for banks, fintechs, and other financial services institutions operating in Europe.
At the outset, I asked Maya if the regulatory environment of late has been helpful or harmful for innovation in fintech and financial services in the EU.
The EU’s regulatory push has been a double-edged sword for innovation in fintech and financial services. On the one hand, clear and consistent rules across member states have lowered barriers to entry, making it easier for fintech companies to collaborate, innovate, and scale across the EU. On the other hand, tighter regulations come with higher compliance costs and can limit the flexibility that’s often critical for driving rapid innovation.
For more insights from Maya Shabi, read the rest of our conversation on the Finovate blog.
Pause button: Meet DeepSeek
"It doesn't matter where you've been / As long as it was deep, yeah."
--The Cars, "Just What I Needed"
This week's Pause button is all about the panic button that was pushed at the beginning of the week when Wall Street decided that China's latest innovation in AI technology, DeepSeek, might mean that the stock values of U.S. tech companies in the AI space might be significantly overvalued. As you might imagine, widespread equity selling ensued.
The dust may have settled, but the disarray remains as companies, investors, and analysts scramble to find out what the rise of DeepSeek means for AI in general, and American-based AI in specific.
This primer on Deep Seek is a good way to get started in understanding more about the technology, and how it has become one of the most popular technology tools almost overnight.
The Finovate podcast: Conversational banking, the future of customer service, and winning Best of Show
On the Finovate podcast, Greg Palmer has hosted every single Best of Show winner from FinovateFall 2024 — except for one.
Join Greg as he catches up with Janusz Mieloszyk and Lukasz Gajewski , First Deputy CEO and Design & CRM Director for Digital Channels, respectively, at Nest Bank S.A. In partnership with Efigence , Nest Bank took home Best of Show honors at our annual fall conference last September.
In their conversation, Greg and his guests discuss the rise of conversational banking, the future of customer service in financial services, and Nest Bank's Best of Show-winning partnership with Efigence.