Neo Ventures, Tokenized Assets & the Future of Wholesale Banking

AI isn’t a campaign. It’s a core banking reset.

In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we’re joined by Amith Rajan, CEO of Neo Ventures and Head of Digital Wholesale Banking at Mashreq, for a candid conversation on how AI, tokenization, and infrastructure transformation are reshaping the banking stack from the inside out.

We unpack:
- Why "rip and replace" is a myth and what real legacy evolution looks like
-How Mashreq is deploying AI across KYC, onboarding, and customer insights
-The role of tokenized assets, CBDCs, and smart contracts in wholesale banking
- How Neo Ventures is exporting IP and scaling infrastructure beyond capital
- Why culture,  not technology, is the biggest barrier to digital transformation


🎧 Full episode now streaming on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
🎧 Watch now and subscribe for more conversations on the future of finance.

Couchonomics with Arjun Season 04 is brought to you by our partners:
Adyen https://www.adyen.com/
Thunes https://thunes.com/
Mastercard https://mastercard.com/
E& https://www.eand.com/
Digit9 https://www.digitnine.com/
SC Ventures https://scventures.io/
Hala https://hala.com/


Chapters:
00:00 Episode Highlights
00:43 Welcome to Couchonomics
01:48 Aligning Dual Roles in Banking
04:11 Challenges in Wholesale Banking
06:51 The Role of AI in Banking
11:14 FinTech and Digital Assets
25:14 The Future of Tokenization
27:04 CBDCs and Stablecoins: A Comparative Analysis
29:14 Exploring Digital Assets in the Lab
29:47 Introduction to New Ventures
30:49 Venture Building and Investment Strategies
35:45 Scouting and Partnerships with Fintechs
39:08 Challenges and Opportunities in the VC Landscape
46:17 Advice for Institutions Entering the CVC Space
48:34 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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