Vertalo is an Austin-based fintech that operates an SEC-registered digital transfer agent and tokenization platform connecting the digital asset ecosystem. Since 2018 it has helped issuers, fund managers, broker-dealers and custodians move private securities on-chain - handling digital cap tables, investor onboarding, compliance and settlement across multiple blockchains. More recently it has pivoted toward 'agentic' infrastructure, exposing its regulated transfer-agency operations through APIs and an MCP server so AI agents can issue, record and transfer securities.
Matt Watson is the co-founder and CEO of Origin, a Boston-based fintech that in September 2025 launched what it calls the first SEC-regulated AI financial advisor. A former Citigroup high-yield credit trader who previously co-founded Indio Technologies (acquired by Applied Systems in 2019), Watson has raised more than $75 million for Origin from Founders Fund, Felicis, General Catalyst and 01A to make certified-financial-planner-quality advice available to people who normally can't afford it.
Stirlingshire is a New York-based financial services company building an advisor-first investment platform. Operating through SEC-registered, FINRA-member subsidiaries Stirlingshire RIA LLC and Stirlingshire BD LLC, it offers a full-service broker-dealer and advisory model with a sharp twist: advisors keep 100% of their asset-management fees and commissions with zero firm expenses and permanent work-from-home flexibility, while clients can self-direct at zero commission and call on a professional advisor only when they want one. Founded in 2020 by Steven Woods, the firm pitches a 'third way' between fully managed portfolios and pure DIY investing.
dub is America's first regulated copy-trading platform, letting everyday investors mirror the portfolios of top traders, hedge-fund managers, and even politicians with a single tap. Founded by 23-year-old Harvard dropout Steven Wang and headquartered in New York, the SEC-registered, FINRA-member, SIPC-insured app has surpassed 1 million downloads and raised $47M total, including a $30M Series A in May 2025 co-led by Notable Capital and Neo.

Steven Woods is the founder and CEO of Stirlingshire Investments, a New York based, SEC-registered, FINRA-member broker-dealer trying to rewire how financial advisors get paid. He started at 26 with a GED, cold-calling for $500 a day, and grew into an advisor producing millions before walking away to build a 'Hybrid Broker-Dealer' that lets advisors keep 100% of their fees and commissions with zero expenses. His 'advice on demand' model gives clients three choices: trade free, pay only when recommendations make money, or hand over full management. He frames the whole project around one question: 'How do we make this better?'