Visa to Invest $100 Million in Generative Artificial Intelligence for Business and Payments

Visa has launched a new $100 million investment program in generative artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to invest in companies that focus on developing generative AI technologies and applications that will shape the future of business and payments. This program is built on Visa's long-standing use of AI in the payment field and its commitment to driving industry innovation, the global payment company said in a press release on Monday. Generative AI is an emerging subset of AI that utilizes large language models (LLMs) to generate text, images, and other content from massive existing data. "Although most generative AI currently focuses on tasks and content creation, this technology will soon not only change the way we live and work but also transform business in a meaningful way that we need to understand," said Jack Forestell, Visa's Chief Product and Strategy Officer, in the press release. Visa's generative AI investment program will be led by Visa Ventures, the company's global corporate investment division, the press release said. Since 2007, Visa Ventures has been investing in and partnering with companies that drive payment and business innovation. "As generative AI becomes one of the most transformative technologies of our time, we are excited to expand our focus and invest in some of the most innovative and disruptive startups supported by generative AI, business, and payment-focused venture capital," said David Rolf, Head of Visa Ventures, in the press release. According to PYMNTS, AI tools that go beyond isolated automation solutions are ushering in a new era for Chief Financial Officers (CFOs). These tools free employees from less meaningful work and enhance human-level analytical capabilities in ways that align with key business objectives. In one application of this technology, AI can help collect data and transform it into actionable intelligence to prevent fraud. Michael Jabbara, Vice President and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, told PYMNTS in an interview published in September that AI is "a superpower that allows us to detect obvious fraudulent behavior in the vast sea of legitimate interactions and then build the necessary automation to eliminate fraud while allowing genuine transactions to proceed."