Strategy

Every fintech CTO faces the same question: should we build our own AI infrastructure or buy from vendors? The vendors sell platforms that promise to handle everything — training, deployment, monitoring, governance. The build advocates argue that AI is core to the product and should not be outsourced. Both sides have valid points. The answer depends on company stage, regulatory requirements, and the specific AI use case. This framework helps fintech leaders make the build vs buy decision systematically, based on data and experience from production deployments. ...

Every fintech founder faces the build versus buy decision. Should we build our own payment processor or integrate Stripe? Should we build our own KYC workflow or use Onfido? Should we build our own crypto custody solution or use Fireblocks? The answers are never clear. Building gives you control but costs engineering time. Buying gives you speed but creates dependency. The decision framework we use with our fintech clients separates the critical decisions from the reversible ones. ...