Affirm’s founder on Apple’s big news, his friend Elon Musk, and AI safeguards

Affirm founder and CEO Max Levchin is one of the preeminent tech entrepreneurs of the past 25 years. He worked alongside Silicon Valley heavyweights Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman and Elon Musk to create PayPal and then take it public. Levchin has since invested in hundreds of startups and mentored many of the top tech executives now creating the revolutionary AI technology that is taking the world by storm. When he isn’t keeping his ears to the vibes in Silicon Valley, Levchin remains hard at work at buy now pay later fintech Affirm – which he founded several years ago with the mission of wanting to improve household personal finances. Affirm just had a major development that serves to validate its business model – a new tie up with Apple that will see Affirm be a payment option embedded into Apple Pay. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Editor Brian Sozzi chats with Levchin about his new relationship with Apple, his friend Elon Musk, and the importance of appealing ‘to both sides of the aisle’ in Silicon Valley. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. 00:00-Affirm CEO Max Levchin joins us on Opening Bid 00:41-Affirm and Apple's partnership 04:40-Affirm CEO on working with Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, Target and others 08:11-What does Affirm and Apple partnership mean for competitor, Klarna? 12:20-Affirm CEO's all things AI 20:25-What election season and politics mean for Silicon Valley Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Alexander Frangeskides and Rachael Lewis-Krisky. Max Levchin is the co-founder and CEO of Affirm Holdings, and known for co-founding the company that eventually became PayPal in 1998 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices