Curt Sigfstead is an established San Francisco Bay Area investment banker who leads west coast technology investment banking for a major financial services firm. Forward focused, Curt Sigfstead has a strong interest in mobile technologies, as well as machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions.
A recent article in CNBC examined China’s AI-enabled ambitions in the technology sphere, with the country overseeing nationally funded efforts to rapidly implement AI as a foundation of systems underpinning facial recognition, self-driving vehicles, medical diagnoses, and smart cities. With the United States still considered to be in the lead when it comes to research and development, China is also making major global investments in AI-informed areas of fintech. Accenture figures point to fintech venture investments increasing twofold in 2018 to more than $55 billion, with China making up 46 percent of that amount. At the forefront are companies such as Ant Financial, an Alibaba affiliate that operates the Alipay mobile payments app. The company offers “superapps” that have begun providing wealth management services and micro-loans that enable Chinese users to largely bypass the country's traditional banking system. With these technologies often surpassing the ability of regulators to maintain controls, a foundation is blockchain technology, as well as next-generation 5G mobile networks developed by companies such as Huawei. It remains to be seen whether the United States and other countries across the globe will respond to the competitive gauntlet laid down by China, and whether stricter regulations will hamper adoption of next generation fintech instruments.
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AuthorA longtime resident of the San Francisco area, Curt Sigfstead contributes to numerous charitable and nonprofit institutions throughout the country. Archives
December 2019
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