Fintech inherently necessitates a continuous infusion of new vitality to fulfill its role of empowering entities and supporting industries. The deep integration we have witnessed between finance and the PC internet, followed by the mobile internet, is a direct testament to this. It's no exaggeration to state that the fusion of finance with emerging technologies and models allows it to cater to the evolving needs of industries and consumers, ultimately propelling its own growth. As the AI era surges forward, if fintech aims to sustain its previous growth trajectory, particularly in realizing its inherent functions and attributes, AI's injection of new vitality into fintech's development becomes inevitable.

Long before AI gained widespread popularity, particularly before it began to be extensively linked with various scenarios and industries, fintech had already embarked on exploring and practicing its integration with AI. The proliferation of emerging fintech concepts, such as intelligent risk control, smart finance, and digital finance, are clear indicators of this trend. However, despite fintech's early foray into AI integration, it has yet to undergo a fundamental transformation.

As AI matures, especially with its large-scale commercialization, fintech starts to evolve due to AI, genuinely discovering ways to forge new connections with numerous industries and scenarios already intertwined with AI. The vitality imparted to fintech by AI begins to clear the murkiness of the internet era, ushering in fresh, clear waters.

AI Seamlessly Integrates Fintech and Industry

Throughout the traditional financial era and the internet finance era, people have consistently explored and practiced methods to integrate finance with entities. Whether it's the people-centric approach of the traditional era or the internet-centric approach of the internet era, these are direct manifestations of this endeavor. However, despite numerous attempts, finance and industry seem perpetually unable to achieve a genuine fusion. The chaos prevalent during the internet finance era underscores this point.

One pivotal reason why fintech fails to truly integrate with industry is the absence of a genuine "fusion point" between them, relying instead on external forces to forcibly unite them. Unsurprisingly, such integrations are fleeting, superficial, and unsustainable. For fintech and industry to truly integrate, a long-term, foundational, and sustainable approach is imperative.

With the advent of the AI era, the integration of fintech and industry begins to present new possibilities. Leveraging the inherent connection between AI and industry, particularly the transformation of industry's internal elements and processes by AI, the gaps and disconnects between fintech and the real industry start to close, enabling an inside-out integration. In essence, this integration is profound, comprehensive, and bottom-up.

AI Authentically Integrates "Finance" and "Technology"

There has always been considerable debate about whether fintech belongs to "finance" or "technology." Ultimately, one of the primary reasons for these debates is the lack of true integration between the two elements. In many instances, finance remains finance, and technology remains technology. More specifically, financial players view fintech as finance, while technology players see it as technology.

These divergent perceptions of fintech ultimately hinder its presentation as a unified entity, instead viewing it as a concept with different connotations in different contexts. Clearly, such perceptions cannot foster the healthy development of fintech. For fintech to evolve, it is crucial to genuinely integrate the elements of "finance" and "technology," making them a cohesive unit.

With the gradual maturity of AI, particularly the deep integration between AI and finance, as well as AI and technology, finance and technology are no longer distinct entities but have become intertwined, achieving integration and deep fusion. Against this backdrop, fintech is no longer solely finance or technology but has evolved into a unified entity. When this state is attained, fintech's development commences a new phase.

AI Genuinely Transforms Fintech

Another significant reason why AI infuses new vitality into fintech is its ability to bring about transformative changes in fintech's development. More precisely, with the advent of the AI era, fintech is no longer synonymous with traditional finance or internet finance but has acquired new connotations and meanings.

Firstly, the elements of fintech undergo transformation. Whether under the mechanism of traditional finance or internet finance, the internal elements of fintech have remained largely unchanged, still rooted in the traditional era. However, with the AI era, these traditional, internet-based elements are being replaced by digital humans and large AI models, catalyzing new transformations in fintech.

Secondly, the operational processes of fintech are transforming. We have always emphasized that fintech should permeate every process and link within an industry, reaching every capillary. Yet, to date, fintech has primarily lingered at the industry's fringes. As the AI era arrives, especially with AI taking root in diverse industries and scenarios, coupled with its increasingly close connection with fintech, fintech's operational processes begin to permeate the entire industrial and supply chains, rather than being confined to the industry's fringes.

Conclusion

With the advent of the AI era, particularly as AI begins to take root in commercial scenarios, it imparts new life and vitality to various industry forms. Fintech is no exception.

AI is also catalyzing an inside-out transformation in fintech. For fintech, which has reached a pivotal juncture, the AI era serves as a rejuvenating force, consistently washing away the vestiges of the internet era.

As fintech embarks on this transformation, a new era has dawned.