a16z partner: my 2016 wallet-platform thesis is finally happening, thanks to AI
arampell · x · 2026-10-01
a16z partner Alex Rampell revisits his 2016 TechCrunch piece "Why Your Wallet is Becoming the Next Platform," saying that "with AI, it's really going to happen," and that some opportunities still remain.
The original thesis: the wallet evolved from a leather case into the master pointer — a payment type is just a pointer to a source of money, while the wallet opens and closes transactions and chooses which sub-pointer to assign. Because intercepting the payment unlocks a whole downstream treasure of services, digital wallets are becoming the origination point for consumer spending and thus THE platform for downstream financial services — an opportunity for startups and a problem for incumbents.
More from AGI Musings
- Designer with years of AI experience: nobody has it figured out yet, you're not late — oykun · 2026-10-02
- David Pearce's "phenomenal binding" argument: why machine consciousness may not arrive — danfaggella · 2026-10-02
- Mathematician Kevin Buzzard: math community is 'grieving' through five stages over AI — littmath · 2026-10-02
- AI runs DeepMind's consciousness calculator on itself: scores swing 0.10–0.72 by theory — izzycognita · 2026-10-02
- Economist argues academics who teach writing shouldn't write in an AI voice — paulnovosad · 2026-10-02
- LeCun has 'zero concerns' about AI extinction, calls Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei 'deluded' — fortune · 2026-10-02