Adyen processes payments for a billion shoppers worldwide. Its market cap is over $46 billion.
In a great talk at the All-In Summit, Co-CEO Ingo Uytdehaage tells the besties what it’s like to expand internationally and how AI is revolutionizing payments.
Boosting Profits with AI
“Where’s the real world business impact of AI?” I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this. Hopefully Ingo’s interview puts this question to rest.
Ingo explains that Adyen has saved customers 20% on debit transactions by routing their payments to cheaper rails. Since Adyen processes over $1 trillion a year in payments, this is a massive savings.
Ingo is also saving Adyen money by integrating AI into its support function. This is a common use for generative AI, and every company can benefit from it.
No wonder Adyen is incredibly profitable, pulling in over $700 million a year in net income. Yum yum!
Expanding Abroad
It’s not lost on Ingo that his company is one of the very few success stories for tech in Europe. That comes with advantages, but also big challenges.
The Netherlands, where Adyen is based, is small. So they had to go international from day one.
But serving foreign markets from Amsterdam just doesn’t work. So Ingo has hired teams in the US and around the world, close to customers.
This is very smart.
I might want to sell in Japan, for example. But I don’t really know what Japanese companies want to buy or how their sales culture works. And while I speak some Japanese, a native speaker will be a much more effective salesman than I.
Recruiting the Best
The one bright side of being a big fish in a small pond for Adyen is that in Europe, recruiting is easy. There aren’t many other options!
But in America, they’re competing with Google, Facebook, you name it. And here, Adyen is not that well known.
That has made recruiting a challenge. But the size of the market makes the struggle well worth it.
The US is Adyen’s fastest growing market and represents a third of revenues. And from what I know about business cultures, I’m guessing the American customers are a lot more direct and decisive.
What’s Going on in Amsterdam?
I find it interesting that one of Europe’s most successful tech companies is based not in one of the biggest cities, like London, Paris or Rome, but in Amsterdam. ASML and Prosus, two of the largest tech companies in Europe, are also based in the Netherlands.
In all, 3 out of the top 5 largest European tech companies by market cap are based in tiny Holland. Something’s going on over there…
Indeed, I’m finalizing an investment in a Dutch startup now. I’m going to keep scouring this area looking for prospects.
I’ll tell you what I find.
Wrap-Up
Adyen shows us that Europe can produce first rate tech companies. And if you had any doubt that AI was going to make a huge impact, just look at Adyen’s juicy bottom line.
What did you think of Ingo’s talk?
This concludes our series on talks from the All-In Summit.
What a fantastic bunch of speakers! I hope to attend in person in the future and see them live!
More from the All-In Summit:
Ukraine, China and the Deep State: Mearsheimer and Sachs at the All-In Summit
Flying Cars Are on the Way: Joby, Archer and Wisk at the All-In Summit
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