In 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a buzzword — it’s reshaping the venture capital (VC) landscape. AI is now a driving force in how VCs discover, evaluate, and scale startup investments. From automating due diligence to identifying promising founders through predictive analytics, AI is bringing speed, accuracy, and intelligence to every stage of the VC process.

Venture Capital Meets AI How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Startup Investing By Evan Vitale

By Evan Vitale — Financial Advisor to Private Equity, Venture Capital, and Hedge Funds

In today’s investment landscape, the lines between private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) can appear blurred — especially to new fund managers, investors or those navigating alternative investments for the first time. Yet as we move through 2025, the distinctions between these two powerful sectors have not only remained, but in many ways, grown more defined.

Private Equity vs Venture Capital in 2025 Evan Vitale Explains the Key Differences Fund Managers Must Know

On today's episode, we are joined by Aled Phillips, Co-Managing Director at ⁠Niche Private Clients,⁠ who helps us take an in-depth look at the ⁠Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)⁠ and ⁠Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)⁠, their similarities, differences, and when they might be right for your investment strategy.
It's a fascinating discussion that we hope you enjoy. Please do leave a comment or question and we'll do our best to reply.


SEIS or EIS? It shouldn’t be a question of one over the other...

Episode overview:
In this conversation, Verto co-founder and CEO Ola Oyetayo shares the journey of building a cross-border payments platform that tackles the unique challenges African businesses face when making international transactions. 

Since graduating from Y Combinator in 2019, Verto has established itself as what Oyetayo describes as a profitable and cashflow positive fintech serving multiple African markets. Incidentally, the company recently made headlines after winning the prestigious $1 million Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech.

He discusses his team's pragmatic approach to addressing payment barriers in emerging markets, why traditional financial institutions have failed to serve these regions effectively, and how technology can disrupt traditional banking networks that have historically excluded certain markets.

Andile Masuku engages Oyetayo on the evolution of fintech in Africa, the role of privilege and networks in business success, and the future potential of stablecoins to revolutionise cross-border payments in ways that might prove more transformative for emerging markets than developed ones.

Key topics:
- Verto's position in the cross-border payments landscape
- The strategic decision to focus on B2B rather than consumer payments
- The untapped $286 billion trade flow between Africa and China
- Why 96-97% of business cross-border payments still go through traditional banks
- The innovator's dilemma Verto faces with the rise of stablecoins

Notable points:
1. In 2018, Oyetayo launched Verto's business model alongside his co-founder Anthony Oduu after spotting a solutions gap for African businesses making international payments outside of traditional banks
2. Verto has been profitable and cash flow positive for approximately 18 months
3. How a chance meeting with legendary VC Vinod Khosla at YC in 2019 first turned him on to the stablecoin investment opportunity—years before they became mainstream
4. The company operates in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and the Francophone region
5. Despite previous experience in institutional finance, Oyetayo admits "ignorance is bliss" helped him tackle a problem others saw as too risky
6. The potential of stablecoins to solve liquidity, volatility and capital control challenges in emerging markets

Listen out for Oyetayo's take on Paystack's B2C play Zap, the fintech ecosystem implications of Moniepoint's "unicornification," and his contrarian insight that stablecoins will revolutionise emerging markets while having minimal impact in developed economies: "This is not a popular opinion... There's just no case for stablecoins in developed markets. People talk about, oh, it's going to disrupt Visa and MasterCard... I don't see that coming anytime soon." 

Image credit: Verto

Ola Oyetayo of Verto: Building a Profitable Cross-Border Fintech for Emerging Markets

A surprise email bestows Tim and Ted with the honor of a lifetime. Also, Ted's death leads to a new beginning for him, Tim and the podcast. Plus, free advice for Joni Mitchell and Jesus.

Support Tep Talk: www.Patreon.com/TechTalkPod

179. The Top 60 Two Dads Podcast Awards

Middle East AI News Minute - an artificial intelligence news roundup by Carrington Malin - brought to you by Presight  - a leading global big data analytics company powered by AI. In this podcast: PIF considers IPO for SITE; Algeria forms national venture studio;  Finals of ADNOC's Future of AI Schools Challenge.


Sign-up for the weekly email news digest here:
https://www.middleeastainews.com

#MiddleEastAINews


PIF considers IPO for SITE

Episode 383: Rob Biederman - Managing Partner, Asymmetric Capital Partners

Middle East AI News Minute - an artificial intelligence news roundup by Carrington Malin - brought to you by Presight  - a leading global big data analytics company powered by AI. In this podcast: UAE-US AI campus details yet to be finalised; MENA venture funding for AI remains limited; Morocco appoints new head of national digital agency.


Sign-up for the weekly email news digest here:
https://www.middleeastainews.com

#MiddleEastAINews



UAE-US AI campus details yet to be finalised

Episode 384 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Thomas “TK” Kinsella, Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer of Tines.

The success of Tines is not based on luck. The company’s co-founders experienced a major problem that wasn’t being being solved by existing platforms and after talking to peers who were also dealing with the same problem, they decided to do something about it.  

But, it wasn’t just an idea that got them to where they are today. This team was uniquely qualified to build the next generation solution based on TK’s and his Co-Founder & CEO, Eoin Hinchy’s many years of experience in the cybersecurity industry, plus a history of working together for something like 15+ years at Deloitte, eBay, and DocuSign.

Tines empowers teams to build, run, and monitor their most mission-critical and sophisticated workflows. The company recently announced a $125M round of funding at a $1.125B valuation and is co-headquartered in Dublin and Boston.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like:

* A discussion about the cybersecurity industry and the platform shift to AI.
* TK’s background story growing up in Dublin and some mutual geeking out on rugby.
* Starting his career in cybersecurity at Deloitte where he met Eoin, plus lots of details about what they worked on at eBay and DocuSign.
* Getting Tines started from the early days and all the details about the platform today.
* Why they hired a top designer as one of the first employees in the company and the importance of making products that are easy to use.
* Details on the latest round of funding and what’s next.
* And so much more.

Episode Sponsor:

As a longtime champion of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank supports innovative companies with the solutions and financing they need through every stage of growth. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors, and $42B in loans as of Q2 2024 – SVB delivers the right people, service and resources to support your entire financial journey. Learn more at SVB.com.

Episode 384: Thomas "TK" Kinsella - Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer, Tines

Produced by Foundersuite (for startups: www.foundersuite.com) and Fundingstack (for VCs: www.fundingstack.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital.

This episode is with with Marlon Nichols of MaC Venture Capital, a a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in technology startups leveraging shifts in cultural trends and behaviors. Learn more at https://macventurecapital.com/

In this episode, we discuss Marlon's path to becoming a VC, details of raising his previous fund Cross Culture with Troy Carter, lessons learned from the Kauffman Fellows program, how he tapped mentors such as Freada Kapor and Jason Green to learn the VC trade, why it's so important to "do what you say you will do" when building relationships with LPs, tips for cold outreach and much more. 

How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $21 Billion since 2016.

If you are a startup, create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.

If you are a VC, venture studio or investment banker, check out our new platform, www.fundingstack.com

Ep. 301 How I Raised It with Marlon Nichols of MaC Venture Capital

The Middle East AI News Minute gives you a daily one-minute daily briefing on the top AI-related stories coming out of the Middle East. If you are a busy technology, business or government leader who want to get a quick update, then this is the podcast for you.

Evan Vitale was born and raised in Marlboro, New Jersey. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting and Business Law from the University of Miami. Evan is currently a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Evan currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada where he is the CFO of a private equity fund. Prior to becoming CFO, Evan was a Vice President at SoftBank. Prior to SoftBank, Evan was a Vice President within the Alternative Investment Services group of BNY Mellon and provided accounting services to hedge funds and private equity funds. Prior to becoming a Vice President Evan was a Manager and previously an Accountant at BNY Mellon. In his spare time, Evan participates in many athletic activities and is a very avid hockey and baseball player and fan.

Evan Vitale is committed to quality and client satisfaction. His professional services are designed to provide reliable, cost-effective solutions to the challenges facing your business. If you’re looking for a friendly accountant with a dedication to client satisfaction, contact Evan today.

In terms of public accounting, Evan will attest to the quality and necessity of your disclosures and ensure your financial statements are free from errors and conform to generally accepted accounting principles. Evan is also an excellent and prompt communicator.  Working with him is like having your own private part-time CFO.  You’ll be ready should you ever be audited, and Evan can represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service.

Angel Insights takes you inside the world of angel investing. Join our host Tom Britton as he chats with the world's most successful investors, to understand their investment strategy, approach to due diligence, and tips that can dramatically improve your approach to investing. 

Angel Insights is created by SyndicateRoom:
https://www.syndicateroom.com

Africa-focused technology, digital and innovation ecosystem insight and commentary.

The VentureFizz Podcast is the flagship podcast of VentureFizz.com, the leading authority for jobs & careers in tech. In this podcast, VentureFizz Founder Keith Cline interviews the top founders and investors in the tech industry.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, makers of the leading software stack for raising capital: Investor CRM + VC/Angel database + Pitch Deck Hosting + Investor Update tools. Used by startups to raise > $2.5 Billion.

A tech podcast hosted by Tech Tim & Tech Ted, two regular dads who just happen to be experts in the world of tech! Each week, the guys give tips and tricks for fellow tech heads (and tech dads!) and explore exciting news, rumors and even gossip from the world of tech!

New tracks tagged #venture capital