How does a company as massive as Mastercard decide where to deploy AI? Instead of centralizing every AI initiative, Mastercard operates under a “hub and spoke” model — balancing centralized AI leadership with decentralized innovation across business units. In this episode, a16z Partner Marc Andrusko chats with Mastercard’s Chief AI and Data Officer Greg Ulrich about Mastercard’s long history of using AI, the opportunities (and potential risks) associated with integrating generative AI into fraud detection, determining what tech to employ based on use cases, and the best advice he’s ever gotten. “In the Vault” is a podcast series by the a16z Fintech team, where we sit down with the most influential figures in financial services to explore key trends impacting the industry and the innovations that will shape our future. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 00:28 – Greg Ulrich Background 02:49 – Distinction between AI and generative AI 05:22 – AI opportunities at Mastercard 06:24 – Handling fraud, making the commerce ecosystem smarter and more personal 10:02 – Digital Assistant to allow customer integration 10:59 – Safe guarding customer data 12:50 – Criteria for resource allocation and early stage partnerships 15:11 – How AI decisions are made 18:37 – Measuring ROI and KPIs 21:03 – Staying up-to-date on AI technology 23:35 – AI adoption and concerns 25:51 – AI forecast in the coming year Resources Find “In The Vault” on a16z.com: https://a16z.com/podcasts/in-the-vault/ Find more about a16z’s vision for the future of fintech: https://a16z.com/banking-on-ai/ Find Marc Andrusko on X: https://x.com/mandrusko1 Find Greg Ulrich on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregu/ Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z