Fintech Matchmaking

In the constantly evolving world of fintech, not every technology is a perfect match with every financial institution. Some platforms get love at first sight: full integration, internal rollouts, and even spinouts. Others? Left on read.

In this newsletter, we take a bottom-up look at how leading financial institutions are navigating the fintech dating pool. From AI-powered operations to settlement systems backed by blockchain, we’d be breaking down who’s swiping right, who’s ghosting, and what all of this says about the future of financial technology.

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Featured:

• Apollo: focusing on white-labeled platforms over tokenization

• JPMorgan: building programmable money, cautiously testing crypto

• Manulife: AI for advisors and internal intelligence

• BlackRock: embracing blockchain, exiting robo-advisors

Apollo: Alternative Asset Management

In recent years, Apollo has focused its fintech strategy on tools that enhance accessibility and operational efficiency in private markets. It spun out Lyra in 2025, a platform built on its internal client service technology, offering automation for onboarding, servicing, and analytics, now used by other fund sponsors. That same year, it partnered with iCapital to launch Apollo Allocation Pro, a white-label tool helping advisors integrate Apollo’s strategies into client portfolios. While Apollo has explored blockchain through initiatives like Project Crescendo with JPMorgan, such tokenization efforts remain experimental. Similarly, its approach to AI record-keeping has been limited to internal compliance rather than adopting third-party solutions as a growth lever.

J.P. Morgan: Investment Banking

JPMorgan has approached fintech adoption as a way to modernize infrastructure and consolidate institutional dominance, rather than chase consumer-facing hype. It shuttered its neobank Finn in favor of digitally enhancing Chase, and remains cautious on retail-facing crypto despite recent Coinbase integrations. On the adoption side, JPM has doubled down on blockchain with its rebranded Kinexys platform, processing billions daily in tokenized FX and payments. Through JPM Coin and its new deposit token (JPMD), it is pioneering programmable money for cross-border liquidity. Meanwhile, it’s investing heavily in internal AI infrastructure, with tools like IndexGPT and its LLM Suite (2025 Innovation of the Year) streamlining everything from compliance to client service.

Manulife: Insurance

Manulife is leveraging multiple AI-driven technologies to enhance both advisor support and client service. The Conquest Planning platform, featuring the Strategic Advice Manager (SAM), enables advisors to deliver personalized, flexible financial plans efficiently using artificial intelligence. Manulife is also developing a generative AI-powered chatbot to provide potential clients with fast, accurate responses to product and policy inquiries. As a result, it boosts scalability, though potentially at the expense of personal interaction. Internally, Manulife uses uniFide to consolidate data from various sources and provide advisors with a unified view of client information, enabling more informed and tailored advice. Additionally, the company uses Coveo to unify its internal search capabilities and deliver AI-driven result recommendations, although its effectiveness depends on access to large datasets for training.

BlackRock: Asset Management

BlackRock has continued expanding its innovation footprint through initiatives such as its Aladdin Risk & Analytics Platform, which underpins portfolio management, risk analytics, and compliance for trillions in assets globally. The firm has embraced blockchain with its Tokenized Money-Market Fund, enabling on-chain transactions of U.S. Treasury-backed shares, and broadened investor access to digital assets via retail crypto ETF expansion. Earlier ventures like the FutureAdvisor retail robo-advisor signaled a push into mass-market digital investing, though BlackRock later exited that space to refocus on institutional strengths.

The Bottom Line

Across the fintech “dating pool,” institutions are making calculated choices — pursuing the technologies that align with their core strategies while passing on those that don’t move the needle. Apollo is doubling down on white-label platforms for private markets, JPMorgan is engineering programmable money and AI-powered infrastructure, Manulife is scaling advisor capabilities through AI, and BlackRock is leaning into blockchain while stepping back from retail robo-advice. The common thread? Leaders aren’t chasing every shiny object — they’re swiping right only when there’s a clear path to scale, profitability, and strategic fit. In fintech, as in dating, the best matches are built on long-term compatibility, not fleeting attraction.