Gal Krubiner on fintech
From Building a $B Fintech Company - Gal Krubiner (Pagaya) & Avi Zeevi · · Viola Group
“In fintech, you should not be afraid to go deeper into finance; technology is an enabler, but the industry requires risk-taking, balance sheet-heavy, and volume-based business models to unlock massive company growth.”
On , Gal Krubiner, Former CEO & Co-Founder at Pagaya, spoke about fintech during Building a $B Fintech Company - Gal Krubiner (Pagaya) & Avi Zeevi on Viola Group.
About Gal Krubiner
Gal Krubiner, former CEO and co-founder of Pagaya, has discussed the company's evolution from an AI-driven asset manager to a provider of AI infrastructure for lenders in the U.S., aiming to increase credit access. He stated that Pagaya reached $1 billion in revenues and profitability within eight years, and that going public was a strategy for transparency rather than an exit. Krubiner noted that the company's valuation peaked at $8.5 billion before declining to around $1.3 billion as of a 2023 interview. He described the U.S. institutional environment as critical for scaling a global fintech company and emphasized that Pagaya's model approves 20 more funded loans per lender using its systems. Krubiner has commented on consumer credit trends, observing that in 2023, consumers remained a strong part of the economy but faced reduced credit availability as lenders and mid-sized banks pulled back, leading to higher decline rates. He mentioned Pagaya's AI network includes over 25 lenders and has processed data on millions of active users and over 100 million users overall. Krubiner also discussed potential M&A, citing GreenSky as an appealing merchant network for point-of-sale lending, and noted that generative AI could further transform lending by managing emotional and planning aspects of repayment. He acknowledged that Pagaya has debated taking balance-sheet risk itself as it grows.