Your BCV Knowledge Drop

You’ll never guess what our team at BCV has been writing about the past few months — OK, yeah, it’s AI. But there’s a reason why generative artificial intelligence is on everyone’s mind, and that’s because regardless of how the hype bubble plays out, there is real change already happening. We’ll share some in-depth AI coverage, led by a 10-part “Field Notes” you won’t want to miss. We’ve also got some ancient Rome meets fintech and a list of 50 fresh SaaS companies we think are poised for success.

This edition of BCV Insights was edited by?Richard Feloni? and? Jessica Lawson .

BCV partner?Matt Harris ’ fintech bona fides are as good as they get — and he’s also a history buff. It only makes sense then, to combine the two.

Generative AI Is the Attila the Hun That’s Going to End the Banking System as We Know It

“Attila the Hun never set foot in Rome, and yet caused the end of the Roman Empire as surely as if he’d crossed the Po river himself. Attila and his armies were like the pebble that caused the avalanche ... Like Rome, the banking industry in the US as it currently exists, with its thousands of local and regional small banks, will face its calamitous end as a result of dislodged inertia. The dislodging force, the Attila if you will, will be the combination of generative AI with other enabling technologies, such as open banking and faster payment rails.”

In another post, Matt compares the big banks to the ancient Roman Empire, and fintech startups to a horde of barbarians.

Lessons from Ancient Rome: How Banks Can Learn to Love Startups

Our partner?Sarah Hinkfuss ?has a follow-up to her in-depth analysis on fintech and generative AI from earlier this year, and this time she brought a whole squad with her:?Christina Melas-Kyriazi ,?Kevin Zhang ,?Alysaa Co ,?Tina Dimitrova ,?Campbell Howe ?and?Matt Harris .

Sharing Our Field Notes: The State of Generative AI in Financial Services

It’s full of original charts, a market map and some AI-generated art for good measure. One of the team’s core takeaways provides a way of understanding generative AI in financial services:

You’ll want to spend some time with this — it’s a long one, but we’ve made it something you can jump around easily, so go ahead and bookmark it.

There’s been plenty of debate over how disruptive generative AI will be to jobs across industries, and coding is an obvious task in tech set up for disruption. BCV partners?Slater Stich ?and?Saanya Ojha ?gathered a group of engineers in the Bay Area who are early adopters of AI-assisted code generation, and captured their roundtable takeaways in a blog you’ll want to share with your engineering teams.

The Next Generation: How Engineering Leaders Are Adopting AI Code Generation

And to round out this edition, BCV principal?Zeeza Cole ?teamed up with Headline VP Taylor Brandt to create the Vertical SaaS 50, a list based on months of research. As they write: “These companies have a combination of strong markets with durable tailwinds, founders with deep domain expertise and compelling signs of early traction.”

These Are the Top Emerging Vertical SaaS Companies

Thank you for reading! Let us know what you think, and if you have suggestions for what you’d like to see in future editions. And if you like what you've read, please share it in your feed and follow the investors mentioned on LinkedIn: Matt Harris , Sarah Hinkfuss , Christina Melas-Kyriazi , Kevin Zhang , Alysaa Co , Tina Dimitrova , Campbell Howe , Slater Stich , Saanya Ojha and Zeeza Cole .