Visa Plans $100 Million Investment in Generative AI Companies
Visa Plans $100 Million Investment in Generative AI Companies
Summary
Visa plans to invest $100 million in companies developing generative AI technologies and applications affecting commerce and payments, through Visa Ventures.
Generative AI can create content such as text and images, and is expected to significantly impact commerce in the future. Visa Ventures' David Rolf noted that investment amounts could range from millions of dollars to larger amounts depending on the opportunity. Visa is interested in supporting companies that use generative AI to solve real problems in commerce, payments, and fintech. Visa's head of fintech, Marie-Elise Droga, frequently collaborates with Visa Ventures and serves as a scout for investments.
Visa announced today that it plans to invest $100 million in companies developing generative AI technologies and applications that will affect future commerce and payments.
These investments will be made through Visa Ventures, the card giant's global corporate venture arm with a 16-year history.
Visa claims to have been a "pioneer" in the use of AI in payments since 1993. For those unfamiliar, generative AI is a new subset of AI trained on large amounts of existing data to generate text, images, or other content based on given text prompts.
"While much of generative AI to date has focused on task and content creation, this technology will soon meaningfully transform commerce in ways that we need to understand — not just how we live and work," Jack Forestell, Visa's chief product and strategy officer, said in a written statement.
David Rolf, head of Visa Ventures, said generative AI has the potential to be "one of the most transformative technologies of our time."
He told TechCrunch via email that Visa Ventures is "very flexible" regarding how much it invests from the new fund and average check size.
"Given where the industry is in its early stages, we expect to make smaller investments in the millions of dollars range," Rolf said. "However, we have the ability to make larger investments when there's a strong conviction."
On criteria, he noted specifically that Visa is interested in supporting "companies applying GenAI to solve real problems in commerce, payments, and fintech."
"This includes B2B processes related to payments, as well as infrastructure that meaningfully impacts commerce. We are interested in companies across multiple levels of the stack — from GenAI data orchestration to user experiences at work and in personal lives," Rolf added. "Visa can be a valuable enabler for companies solving the next challenges to further unlock commerce, and this is how we connect with these startups. One of the key considerations is whether these companies are using AI responsibly in accordance with Visa's principles."
In August, TechCrunch spoke with Marie-Elise Droga, who was appointed as Visa's new head of fintech late last year. At the time, she said her team "frequently" works in "collaboration" with the Visa Ventures team, serving as a scout engine for Visa's venture arm.
Editor's note: This article was updated after publication to add additional comments from Visa Ventures.
Mary Ann Azevedo @bayareawriter
Looking for AI training and consulting?
Learn about WARP training programs and consulting services in our materials.
It All Started with a Journey — Revitalizing Regions and Japanese Industry Through IESAUNA: Vanwaves Inc.
A van trip that enriched my life
I've loved travel since childhood. It started when I was five — my cousin Kinoshita and I took a train to the next station. From there we kept going farther, traveling domestically and abroad with backpacks. What I particularly loved was slightly modifying my own car and doing van camping trips.
The reason I love road travel is that there are no restrictions on time or place — I can move wherever my curiosity takes me. I discovered new things I love, and could spend time that was truly my own.
On my travels, eating delicious food was great too — but above all, I found real joy in meeting and talking with people from each place. I hadn't thought of myself as someone who particularly likes communication, but I discovered an unexpected side of myself.
The excitement of making acquaintances and friends all across Japan — and the feeling of having my own "place" in each region — felt like very precious time that enriches one's life.
So, out of a desire to someday make "a life lived like travel" my work, I started a camper van leasing and rental business.
The attitude I still cherish, after overcoming great hardship
When we started the business, the hardest thing was cash flow. Looking back, there were probably costs we didn't need — but honestly, at the beginning we didn't know what we didn't know.
Since the sauna products were manufactured in lots (minimum order quantities), we needed a certain amount of cash for upfront costs. So Kinoshita and I started helping out a friend's coating business.
It was the middle of the COVID era then, so antibacterial sprays were selling very well. We procured antibacterial agents and liquid bottles, made our own logos and ingredient labels, filled the liquid, applied stickers, and sold them as products.
We worked desperately, barely sleeping, and at times had family help too. Honestly it was extremely hard — but by knowing the struggle of creating a product and generating value ourselves, I felt the reality of how businesses are built. Back then, I deliberately set short deadlines and developed customers, putting pressure on myself.
On the cash flow front — actually, we placed the sauna product order before the loan had been approved. We knew that waiting for the loan would mean missing the "Sauna Day" launch on March 7th, so we moved ahead. When I thought through the business plan, I was convinced "this will absolutely work." We ultimately did get the loan — but if it hadn't come through, we wouldn't be where we are today.
As the business has been growing little by little, we now spend our days making choices and decisions repeatedly. In advancing the business, the attitude of thinking things through until I have conviction that it "will absolutely work" — that hasn't changed from those early days.
Not stopping at "a great sauna experience" — we want to revitalize Japanese industry
Most IESAUNA users are individual customers, but over the past year or so we've also been expanding to corporate customers. That's because to deliver a great sauna experience to our customers, I felt we needed to borrow the power of others.
A sauna experience changes dramatically depending on the combination of sauna, cold bath, and outdoor relaxation — and the design of the surrounding environment. When I thought about how the goodness of a sauna is made up of many constituent elements, I realized, for example, that collaborating with a housing company that handles exteriors would allow us to build the experience around the sauna too. So for areas we can't cover ourselves, I want to borrow the power of those around us and broaden the range of our proposals.
The "IESAUNA IRORI" — which allows you to enjoy indoor sauna safely and securely with electricity rather than fire — was also developed in response to customer needs, but that's not the only reason.
Our director Kinoshita used to live in Ota Ward, and through that connection we built relationships with small factories in Ota Ward. There are about 3,500 small factories in Ota Ward, and many people there understand and support venture businesses. At the same time, I felt the challenge that the number of manufacturing companies and factories was declining. We thought: by creating uniquely Japanese sauna products, we could help solve the challenges those small factories face, and contribute even a little to the revival of Japanese manufacturing.
When I was stationed in Indonesia during my salaryman days, the local people still trusted "Made In Japan" quality and after-sales support. Being told "Japanese products are just different" has always stayed in my heart — I thought it was something to be proud of. The feeling I had back then, I wanted to give it form through our own business. Now is the moment to revitalize Japanese industry, I decided, and that's why we developed it.
Now is the time — challenging regional revitalization through saunas
Going forward, we want not just product development, but to actually open facilities. In fact, in July 2026, we purchased approximately 3,000 square meters of land in Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture. We are currently developing a private sauna facility.
On the grounds, we want to be able to use products like "IESAUNA IRORI" in a showroom format, and create saunas using Kimitsu City's high-quality timber — then spread that local production, local consumption model across the country. We also want to add an RV park so camper vans can stay overnight.
By expanding our areas of strength — saunas and camper vans — to the people and places we've encountered through travel, we also want to contribute to regional revitalization. With online work normalized and the environment for working from anywhere now in place, now is the time to expand as a business.
(Note: A "lot" refers to the minimum unit of manufacturing or shipping quantity for products manufactured under the same conditions.)
This interview article was produced by TIMEWELL online assistant service.
Writer: Miho Kawabe
TIMEWELL AI Implementation Support
TIMEWELL is a professional team helping businesses transform in the AI agent era.
Services
- ZEROCK: A high-security AI agent running on domestic servers
- TIMEWELL Base: An AI-native event management platform
- WARP: An AI adoption and talent development program
In 2026, AI is evolving from a tool you use to a partner you work with. Let's build your AI strategy together.