Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

David Vélez - Building Nubank and the Future of Global Banking - [Invest Like the Best, EP.495]

335 snips
Oct 13, 2026
Guest
David Vélez
David Vélez, Colombian entrepreneur and Nubank founder and CEO, discusses reinventing banking for the AI era. He explores why traditional finance remains stuck in its “Blockbuster era,” how AI could create self-driving money and personal financial intelligence, and Nubank’s expansion into the U.S. The conversation also covers fintech moats, stablecoins, organizational redesign, leadership, and the ambition to reach 100 countries.
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INSIGHT

Open Finance Turns AI Into A Financial Optimizer

  • Open banking combined with AI can identify waste across accounts and proactively move customers toward cheaper financing.
  • Nubank already warns 15 million Brazilian customers about expensive bills and offers lower-cost refinancing.
INSIGHT

Data And Licenses Become AI Era Moats

  • AI-native startups gain speed, but regulated banks retain licenses, trust, scale, and proprietary data.
  • Nubank’s 140 million customers generate 20,000–30,000 data points each, supporting its own financial-services foundation model.
ANECDOTE

Nubank Built Its Own Credit Foundation Model

  • Nubank began using machine learning in 2013 to price Brazilian credit risk, then acquired Hyperplane to build a proprietary foundation model.
  • The model now supports credit and fraud decisions across Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and new markets.
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