▼ Summary
– Rex Salisbury fell in love with fintech in 2015 while working at a mortgage startup, inspired by scaling companies like Stripe and Lending Club.
– Despite fintech’s perceived decline, Salisbury believes only 1% of global financial services revenues have been captured by fintech, leaving vast opportunities.
– Salisbury’s first $20M fund at Cambrian Ventures saw 50% of its 33 startups secure Series A funding, far exceeding the industry average of 15.4%.
– Salisbury’s background includes founding a fintech community, launching a popular newsletter, and investing in Deel during his time at Andreessen Horowitz.
– His second $20M fund continues his strategy of backing strong founders, now leveraging AI to build multi-product companies like Every, which integrates diverse financial services.
While many investors have cooled on fintech, Rex Salisbury’s Cambrian Ventures is doubling down with a fresh $20 million fund, proving innovation in financial technology is far from over. The solo general partner remains bullish on the sector, arguing that fintech has barely scratched the surface of global financial services revenue.
Salisbury’s conviction stems from firsthand experience. Back in 2015, while working at a mortgage startup, he witnessed fintech’s early disruptors, Stripe, Plaid, and Credit Karma, begin their ascent. The sector’s explosive growth peaked in 2021 before slowing as interest rates climbed. Yet where others see stagnation, Salisbury spots untapped potential. “Specialists know the real opportunity lies beyond the obvious,” he says, estimating fintech has captured just 1% of the market.
His track record supports the optimism. From Cambrian’s first $20 million fund, Salisbury backed 33 early-stage startups, with nearly half advancing to Series A, far exceeding the industry’s typical 15% success rate. Standouts include Simple Closures, streamlining startup shutdowns, and Keep, a Canadian payments platform. Salisbury attributes this performance to identifying founders who execute relentlessly on their vision.
Now, with a second $20 million fund secured, Cambrian defies broader trends. Emerging venture managers faced their toughest fundraising climate in a decade during early 2025, yet Salisbury’s reputation and network proved resilient. Before launching Cambrian, he shaped Andreessen Horowitz’s fintech strategy and invested in Deel, now a payroll powerhouse. His deep roots in the ecosystem, through founder meetups, a 20,000-subscriber newsletter, and an 1,800-member Slack group, helped attract high-profile backers. Limited partners from NerdWallet, Plaid, and Betterment returned for Fund II, joined by institutional investors like a bank and an insurance firm.
The strategy stays consistent: hunt for exceptional founders with bold ideas. But AI changes the game. “Startups can now build multi-product companies from day one,” Salisbury notes, pointing to portfolio company Every, which consolidates banking, accounting, HR, and tax services into a single AI-powered platform. For Cambrian, fintech’s next wave isn’t about reinventing the wheel, it’s about leveraging technology to do more, faster.
(Source: TechCrunch)
