Fintech, Agentic AI & the Future of Financial Services | Apis Partners: Uday Goyal & Matteo Stefanel | Episode #78

Episode notes

Ross Butler speaks with Matteo Stefanel and Udayan (“Uday”) Goyal , Co-Founders and Managing Partners of Apis Partners , one of the world’s leading growth-equity investors in financial technology. Founded in 2014, Apis Partners has built a global fintech franchise by applying M&A discipline to private equity: identify the likely acquirers first, then build the company to fit their strategic blueprint. In this conversation, Matteo and Uday explain how they turned two decades of deal-making experience, from DLJ and Deutsche Bank to advising on Visa, Mastercard, and Worldpay into one of the most distinctive investment models in growth capital. They discuss: How Apis built credibility as a first-time fund manager , raising $290m at launch and scaling to a multi-fund global platform. The importance of the network as an asset, relationships forged over 20 years now drive sourcing, diligence, talent, and exits. “Exit-first” investing, designing portfolio companies around known strategic buyers and building to a defined market demand. Why 2025 marks the most disruptive moment in financial services history , as stablecoins, micropayments, and decentralised rails reshape how money moves.

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