WEBVTT - Crypto-Based Lender Figure Joins IPO Frenzy 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:12.920 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. Bloomberg Tech is live 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:16.759 from coast to coast with Caroline Hide in New York 0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:19.520 and Vla low in sentrances. 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:25.079 Go, this is Bloomberg Tech coming up hot week for IPOs. 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:29.120 After fintech company Klana yesterday, we look today to blockchain 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:32.000 lender Figure will be joined by its executive chairman. 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:35.960 Plus, Apple sentiment sours again with more analyst downgrades, the 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:37.040 lowest of five years. 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:41.000 We talk the stock price and iPhone price, and. 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:43.520 We speak with box CEO Aaron Levy, is the company 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:47.000 of bails new AI products at its annual Boxworks conference. 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:49.680 Let's check in on these markets because as we anticipate 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:52.280 in conversation on AI with Aaron Levy, we think about 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:55.040 how much AI stocks are supporting this market rally. We 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.600 are up for a seventh straight day on the Nazak 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.480 one hundred. We're in a new record high five tenths 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:03.320 of a percent. But you get underneath the index ed 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:05.119 and show us the individual's stocks to look at. 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:08.120 Yeah, some of the technology stories today are stock stories. 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:10.680 So mikecron got its price target raised at City. There 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:13.479 are other names in the streets saying Micron has earning 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:16.480 September twenty third. We talk a little bit about Oracle 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:19.280 and the momentum in the hyperscale as well memory Chip's 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:21.679 key to the data center. They see upside for that 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:24.759 Oracle had its best day since nineteen ninety two yesterday. 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:27.759 It is now giving back some of those gains down 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:29.880 a little bit. And then there's Klaner, a company that 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:32.319 iPod yesterday at forty. 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:32.920 Opened at fifty two. 0:01:32.959 --> 0:01:35.400 I think I'm right in saying session high fifty seven 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.839 closed around forty five. Where we at we're at forty 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:41.200 five there or thereabouts. There's a lot more to discuss 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:42.920 on that IPO momentum, though correct. 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:44.360 No, it isn't this a perfect person to do it with. 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:47.320 Bloomberg's Aishagani joins us you cover Klan I have done 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:49.760 for years, spoken a lot with the AI version of 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:51.280 the CEO and the CEO himself. 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:51.720 I share. 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:54.560 I'm just interested as to what you deem as the 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:57.400 success story of yesterday's listing in the performance today. 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:04.400 Absolutely just to set the scene. With Sequoia, who have 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.600 of course invested in Kana for a long time, they 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:11.200 made a two point seven billion dollar windfall and over 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:14.040 the years, they had invested around five hundred million, which 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:18.040 kind of indicates that when Karna popped yesterday, a lot 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:21.639 of investors were quite happy. Others had held on to 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:26.040 their onto their shares while others sold so it was 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:30.639 extremely successful day, but we yet to see how things 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:31.720 will pan out. 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:35.200 One of the things that we discussed with the company 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:38.520 CEO yesterday on the program was the idea that this 0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:41.200 isn't just a buy now, pay later name. They want 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.240 to be this kind of everything app and when a 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:45.840 company IPOs, it's not always about raising money, like you 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:48.640 just pointed out, it's about getting the name out there. 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.160 Do you get a sense I show that that story 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:54.440 is resonating that Klana is so much more than buy now, 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:54.960 pay later. 0:02:56.840 --> 0:02:59.959 I'm sure as many of your viewers would have seen 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.360 yesterday across Ford Street and of Macy's, they would have 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:11.359 seen the Kana banner draping many of New York's hotspots. 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.920 But I suppose what's been fascinating about their story is 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:18.679 this is a European fintech and it is now global. 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:22.799 Their largest market is in the US, and a lot 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:26.200 of people will be quite familiar with Klana at checkout 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:31.600 when they're shopping, and of course now Klana is going 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:34.960 into banking and that's basically the next big push in 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:36.920 order to keep those customers. 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:37.320 On the app for longer. 0:03:37.760 --> 0:03:41.520 Look, it is a success story for European VC, for 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:46.000 European tech, and all eyes on Revolute now the UK 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:48.120 success story, it has a much bigger evaluation in the 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:48.840 private market. 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.640 I'm glad you raised Revolue. 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:53.480 Last week. 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:59.480 I was reporting that Revlue is now engaging its staff 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:03.480 in a semi twenty five billion dollar share sale and 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:07.120 which is absolutely staggering when you think about it. But 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:10.440 of course Klana has been private for twenty years now, 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:15.640 so it's an indication of where private firms like Revolute 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:19.640 and Klana are thinking in terms of next steps. Will 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:20.800 definitely be eyeing this. 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:22.720 Of course, Klana. 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:26.320 Has iPod on the New York Stock Exchange and a 0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:29.120 lot of these firms are still deciding where to go. 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:31.159 But I'm sure a lots of them will be looking 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:36.159 at the Klana CEO Sebastian Simikowski and the sort of 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:40.160 media attention that he had received and also the investor 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:43.280 sentiment as well, and would be hoping that they could 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:46.000 capture some of that too Bloomberg. 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:48.599 Zai Shighani, thank you very much. So let's bring Anna 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:51.560 Rathburn on broader tech market. She's the CEO and founder 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:54.240 of wealth management firm Grenadilla Advisory. 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:55.920 And you heard what I had to say, right. 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:59.040 You know, it's been several consecutive weeks and months of 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:02.599 interesting ipo, many of them fintech related. Is there a 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:06.800 broader signal that you've taken in the investor response to 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:07.599 those IPOs? 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:12.080 Anna, Yeah, good morning. I think it's nice to see 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:16.040 fintech IPOs, and I think it's also nice to see 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:20.040 tech stories that are not necessarily AI related. These are 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:24.720 fintech companies that are coming in the line to actually 0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:29.520 directly interact with the consumers. And if we pay attention 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:33.240 to what the CEO said yesterday, it was really about 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:38.320 revolutionizing the way people actually fund their purchases. And I 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:40.560 think some of this is very refreshing. I think we're 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:43.520 going to have to have a lot of creative ideas 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:47.240 like that one in order for investors to get excited, 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:50.119 because right now all the attention seems to be on AI. 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:54.400 And a specific to Klana is the discussion about going 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:57.640 public versus staying private, like some of their peers did, 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:01.679 and we discussed on the program the merits of staying private, 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:04.400 what it does for some of Clona's peers, like Revolute. 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:07.200 But on the other side of the table, what kind 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.360 of a signal is it that a company is choosing 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:11.480 to go public in this environment? What does it tell 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:14.800 you about the health of public markets for technology in America. 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:19.400 Yeah, I think it's okay for companies to stay private, 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:21.719 And frankly, this has been a trend for a very 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:26.719 long time. This isn't anything new and it's okay because, frankly, 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:29.559 a lot of the innovation, especially on the AI front, 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:33.599 that is taking place, it's so new and so experimental 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.800 that if you have those companies ipo too early, we 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:41.000 may have something like the nineteen nineties tech bubble, where 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:43.839 you know, the cash flow isn't a steady it's not 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:46.600 as stable, and then you have a crash, right and 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:50.400 everything is done on hope. So I actually don't mind companies, 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:54.160 especially tech companies that are innovating and doing something very new, 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.720 staying private for longer, and then after they have stabilized 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:01.040 and have they're big enough to enter the io market. 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:04.520 For the health of the retail investors, especially. 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.760 What's fascinating is going back to the nineties. Yesterday Oracle 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:12.040 had its biggest chev move in the night sense the nineties, 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:15.320 and we saw significant value accretion not just for the 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.120 shareholders but the main owner of those shares, who is 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:21.720 the co founder, Larry Ellison, now the world's wealthiest ana. 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:24.360 What do you make of the love being shown for 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:27.000 the companies that can add to the infrastructure build out here? 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:32.000 Yeah, and this has to do with the things that 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:35.400 everybody is concerned about, which is a concentration. 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:36.119 In the S and P five hundred. 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:41.320 It is made up of mega, mega tech stacks and frankly, 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:44.679 if you think about what it takes to build infrastructure, 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:47.760 to build the picks and shovels, it takes a very 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:51.800 very big check. And these aren't things that venture companies 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:54.360 can do. These aren't things that small companies can do 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:57.120 and put on their balance sheet. These are things that big, 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:01.040 big companies can do. So I think invest are pouring 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:03.680 out their love for all these big companies that are 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:07.400 building the infrastructure because down the line, we don't know when, 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:11.160 but down the line the timeline we're expecting to see 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:15.200 the software companies really innovate and develop and bring out 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:19.680 more than proof of concept and utilize these hardware and infrastructure. 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:22.040 I mean, we need to see that because salesfills down 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:24.120 on the year, Adobe has been suffering, and we've got 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:25.320 the earnings after the Ballana. 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.520 Yeah, we do need to see it, and I think 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:32.320 the investors need to sort of fine tune their expectations 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:36.400 and maybe start with dividing out hardware from software. Hardware 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:39.600 we already know, we're very, very excited software. I think 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:42.040 investors need to be a little bit more patient. What 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:44.960 I see down the line potentially is, and really down 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:48.280 the line, is that some of these venture companies will 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:52.800 be successful in innovating and bringing out software that actually 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:57.520 works and is reliable, and probably companies like Salesforce will 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:01.120 end up acquiring them to incorporate them into their infrastructure. 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:04.280 I know we're jumping around a bit with you, but 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:05.040 we're enjoying it. 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:07.800 You have a great command of everything across hardware and software, 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:09.760 and is that not the world of technology? 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:11.280 So I'm going to ask you about Micron. 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:15.200 The market has a lot of enthusiasm for Micron, and 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:18.720 they're just extrapolating from everything that's happened so far. Micron 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:22.200 reports earnings on September twenty third. It's a memory chip maker, 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:24.920 and the market's logic seems to be, well, if every 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.760 other part of the data center story is booming, micro 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.400 must be experiencing the same. Is that a typical behavior 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.360 in markets that you see that kind of logic? 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:35.400 You know? 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:38.640 I think it is because it's sort of the tie 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:42.520 that lifts all boats, type of a mentality. It's not 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:45.199 unlike to, oh, interest rates are falling, the FED is 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:48.480 going to cut rates, Let's buy everything. And so I 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.560 think in tech, as long as AI is still a 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:55.080 little bit nebulous in terms of what we're expecting, I 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:56.320 think you can expect that. 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:57.160 And that's why this. 0:09:57.120 --> 0:10:00.720 AI train and tech train is a really hard thing 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:04.679 to stop, even going into the fall in what historically 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:07.800 is a difficult year, difficult time for stock market. 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:12.920 What happens next? This is my favorite question to end 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:15.800 a segment quickly. Balance of the year in tech? 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:21.920 Yeah, I think rates cutting, Yeah, it's great for markets, 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:24.319 but tech is going to go up anyway. I think 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:27.000 the AI story is very very strong. I do think 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:29.440 that there is a risk still that we're not talking 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:32.440 about necessarily because It's been a while since China and 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:36.000 the negotiations on tariffs have been on the docket for discussion. 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:39.040 It's been very, very quiet and in the background. Now, 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:41.880 what happens in November with the Supreme Court, I think 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.160 could be a risk. It's a binary risk, but I 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.679 think I don't think the tech market is without its 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:50.680 hurtles going into the end. 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:51.000 Of the year. 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:53.640 Anna Rathman, I've gone into the advisory It's so great 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:55.319 to have you back on the show. We appreciate it. 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:58.160 And coming up another day with an upsized typo. We're 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:00.000 going to be talking with Mike Cagney, co found running 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.720 exective chairman of blockchain based lender Figure as a company 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:04.840 goes public as a. 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:05.679 Bloomberg tech. 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:20.559 The ipo market is proving strong this year. Take a 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:22.360 look at some of the largest IPOs of twenty twenty 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:25.680 five so far. Blockchain based Figure is next up and 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:28.400 the company and investors raise seven hundred and eighty seven 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:30.640 point five million dollars it shares the set to begin 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:34.960 trading today. Figure co founder and executive chairman Mike Cagney 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.360 joins US from the Nasdaq. We've also got Tim Senovik 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:42.240 with US, host of Bloomberg Crypto as well, Mike, where 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:45.040 we stand shares indicated to open at thirty four dollars. 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.960 You price the IPO at twenty five. But there's intense 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:51.559 interest in figure for two reasons, you've elected to go public, 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:54.680 so we want to understand the rationale. But there's also 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:57.520 this mechanism where you, as a founder or co founder 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.120 retain a lot of control to explain the logic behind 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:01.920 those two points. 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:04.840 Sure, I think starting with the latter point, you know, 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.040 obviously there's a lot of empirical research that shows that 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:10.560 founder leg companies outperform, and it's important to keep that 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.160 founder DNA within the business. You know, I'm fortunate to 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:15.199 have a partner with Mike tan Obama CEO, where we've 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:17.680 worked together before and we have a huge amount of synergy. 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:20.640 But you know, obviously being able to drive product direction 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.360 and innovation for Figures is very important for me and 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:25.959 something I can continue to add value for I think, 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:28.320 you know, as it relates to the IPO. You know, 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:30.760 what we've done in a very different way is used 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:33.800 real world access or real world assets within blockchain. So 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.640 we started originating loans on blockchain in twenty eighteen. We 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:38.839 were on the first entities to do that. We've done 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:42.160 over seventeen billion dollars of loan origination on public chain, 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:45.240 over fifty five billion dollars of transactions, and we've been 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:49.079 able to build a very profitable, rapidly growing company in 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:51.559 the last four years, which have been incredibly difficult from 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.959 a regulatory standpoint. So going public now in a situation 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:57.000 where the public market is now opening up to the 0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:59.880 opportunity at blockchain, you know, I view it and now 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:02.440 so there's a magnificent seven and Web two point zero, 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:04.280 I think there's going to be the equivalent in Web 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:06.760 three point zero. I think we're one of those companies, 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:09.040 and so we're very excited to be going in public today. 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:12.480 At the NASDAC and the NASDAK itself, Mike is pushing 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:16.880 towards those tokenized real world assets in the form of equities. 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:19.000 How much of a tailwind is that going to be 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:20.760 to the business, So how much you want to actually 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:21.640 own that space? 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:24.599 Yeah, I think equities is the next big area we 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:26.800 want to lean in on. So obviously we've done an 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:28.960 enormous amount of work in the private credit space and 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:32.200 brought the benefits of blockchain into that ecosystem through liquidity 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:35.280 and financing capabilities. But equities are the next thing we 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:37.360 want to lean in to do. And I think one 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:39.480 of the things that we're exploring is the ability for 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:42.640 figure to do a second fast follow issuance of stock, 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:45.880 but do it native to blockchain, not as a DTCC security, 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:49.880 and that introduces some efficiencies and introduces some liquidity benefits, 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:52.400 but I think most importantly for the buyside, it introduces 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:55.400 the ability to control your stock for stock loan, and 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:57.480 I think that's a huge differentiator over the way that 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:58.599 we do things historically. 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:00.400 And Mike, how do you want to be the owners 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.080 either the token ised sequities or in the equity more broadly, 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:05.360 have you looking to the real retail community or is 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:06.959 this much more about institutional holding. 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:10.040 Look, one of the things I really like about blockchain 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:12.680 is it's a great leveling force. It's a democratization of 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.920 financial services. And so, you know, we gave retail one 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:18.000 of the largest allocations of the IPO. I think that 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:20.960 maybe anyone's ever done because of how important retail is 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.760 to us, and so you know, we view that as 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:26.120 an integral part of the ecosystem that we're building out 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:28.680 That doesn't mean that the institutions aren't equally important. We 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:30.600 have over one hundred and seventy partners that use our 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.120 tech to originate assets on chain, and they're critical to 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:36.480 our growth and success. But retail is very much right 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:38.920 down the center of the area of focus for us. 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:41.600 Mike, considering the success that you've had with on chain 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:47.200 loan origination and using AI to quickly approve these loans digitally, 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:51.520 what's going to stop a traditional financial institution coming in 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:53.720 and doing the same thing. What's your mode here? 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:56.400 Yeah, I think the biggest mode is the liquity that 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.119 we've been able to build within the ecosystem, the marketplace 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.680 that we have we call it Figure Connect, and for 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:04.480 the first time, we're allowing originators to be able to 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:08.160 directly access capital outside of the GSS, outside of Fanny 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:11.000 and Freddie, where they can sell forward production, guarantee pricing, 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:14.400 guarantee liquidity. That's a huge moat. I think that's going 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:17.760 to become very pressing as the Stable Coin Act begins 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:21.360 to take effect and you start to see deposit flight 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.720 out of banks into coin. Banks are going to be 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:25.600 stressed in the liability side. They're not going to have 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:27.960 their balance sheet the way they historically have, and I 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.840 think that's where blockchain and in particular decentralized finance can 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:33.520 step in and fill that void. And so I don't 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:35.800 see so much people trying to replicate the model, but 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:38.520 leverage the economy of scale that's there and actually lean 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:39.360 in and be part of it. 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:43.120 No question, crypto assets have absolutely had a moment over 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:45.480 the last year. A big part of that has to 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.840 do with this administration. But crypto winter is not too 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:52.760 far into recent memory. What happens to figure during the 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:55.240 next crypto winter? What do investors need to know about 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:56.440 how you sustain. 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.720 Yeah, Look, crypto is obviously integral to the workings of 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:03.080 book blockchains. It allows for the decentralization of the networks. 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:05.800 We are very much a blockchain company, and so what 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:10.080 we're doing is bring the transactional efficiency, liquidity and financing 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:13.680 benefits of blockchain into every asset. So we're somewhat immune 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:16.160 from the volatility of the price of crypto and bitcoin 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:19.320 in particular. You know, obviously we're involved in those markets, 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:21.320 but we're a little more insulated and a little more 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:25.080 exposed to traditional finance. But on a web three construct. 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:29.040 Mike You've obviously created a liquidity moment for you for employees. 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:32.840 You're also raising funds potentially to make acquisitions where would 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:33.720 be a useful addition. 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:38.480 Certainly, the blockchain space, in the crypto space is generally subscale, 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:42.040 so there's an enormous amount of consolidation. I like to 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.920 view the raising of this capital analogous to a last company. 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:48.240 I raised a billion dollars of capital, was the largest 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.160 private raise ever done. I raised it from SoftBank, and 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:53.720 it ended up being an enormous competitive advantage for us 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:55.360 in the balance sheet in terms of our ability to 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:58.200 take risks that our competitors couldn't. I viewed that analogous 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:00.680 here as well. It's really having that balance sheet to 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.080 lean in and do some really disruptive work in blockchain 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:04.560 and crypto over the next several years. 0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:07.240 You said you want to do a second fast follow. 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:09.080 You also said in the S one that you plan 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:13.120 to use some of the proceeds from this IPO for acquisitions. Specifically, 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:13.720 what are those. 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:16.960 We don't have any specific acquisition and in line right now, 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:20.040 we're looking at the market. We're always open to those conversations. Again, 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.240 it's a subscale space, so there's an enormous amount of 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:25.000 opportunity out there, but you know, we're very focused on 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:26.280 just core execution right now. 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:30.000 Mike Cagney, so good to have you co founder executive 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:32.280 chair for Figure along with our own Timsteentivic. 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:34.480 Thank you. And then you've got some breaking news. 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:38.400 Yeah, we do have some breaking news crossing the Bloomberg terminal. 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:42.880 Hyundai has decided to delay the construction of a battery 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:47.000 plant in Georgia following a raid by the United States, 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:49.800 which was part of a broader effort you'll remember, to 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:54.560 crack down on undocumented workers. Hyundai has communicated its decision 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:57.080 to delay the construction of that Georgia plant in an 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:02.040 interview with Bloomberg, which was with the CEO Josimonnos. He's 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.960 basically saying that there is a plan still for the 0:18:05.040 --> 0:18:07.879 JV which is between Hyundai and LG, to resume in 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:10.440 two to three months, and that the plant will need 0:18:10.560 --> 0:18:13.720 new workers to resume construction. But for now, that is 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:17.000 the breaking news headline from Bloomberg. The Hyundai in a 0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:20.760 JV with LG has decided to delay construction in Georgia 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:25.200 following that US raid, which was on September the eighth, 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:26.400 you'll remember Kroen. 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:28.320 Such an important geopolitical story. 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:38.080 D Apple getting hit with a pair of downgrades today 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.960 at DA Davidson and Philip Security is the latest sign 0:18:41.000 --> 0:18:44.080 a bit of caution toward the iPhone maker, which has 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:47.480 sharply underperformed it's large cap tech piers this year. It's 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:49.520 off the back of its new iPhone lineup launch earlier 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:52.960 this week. Bloomberg's consumer tech managing editor Mark German is 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:56.159 back and joins us for more. There's so much analysis 0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:58.240 that needs to be done on the line up of 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:02.840 the iPhone seventeen. It's technological capabilities, but also it's price points. 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:05.000 And in your latest. 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:08.359 You write simply that this might be Apple getting us 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:11.840 ready for the idea of a two thousand dollars handset, 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:14.720 which you just explained the reporting and argument you're making. 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:18.560 Of course, so for the first time in the US, 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:22.280 Apple's offering a two thousand dollars tier of the iPhone. 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:26.040 It's a niche device, it's the iPhone seventeen promacs with 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:29.919 two terabytes of storage. But the point I'm really making, 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:32.040 beyond the fact that there is now a two thousand 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:35.120 dollars tier, is that we are getting towards the era 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:38.560 of two thousand dollars phones. Anyways, look at the pricing 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:41.080 for this year's models. They did not raise the prices. 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:44.399 I think two reasons. One Samsung and Google didn't, so 0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:46.239 it would be really hard for Apple to do so 0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:49.119 in a meaningful way. Two of the tariffs really haven't 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:50.919 kicked in for Apple yet, so it would be a 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:53.679 bad look for them to raise prices two to tariffs 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:55.400 when the tariffs haven't even started. 0:19:55.800 --> 0:19:58.040 The reality is these phone tariffs will kick in. 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:01.000 At some point, and so I'm not room Apple raising 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:04.520 prices later when the prices actually have to be adjusted 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:07.119 for Apple to retain its margins, and that is probably 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:09.200 going to bring the phone up a couple hundred bucks, right, 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:12.080 And then you look at next year. Next year they're 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:16.000 going to release their first foldable. Samsung's foldable already costs 0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:19.240 over two thousand dollars. The iPhone Air, which is essentially 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:23.280 as the foldable, maybe less, that costs one thousand dollars. 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:26.640