The Price of Rebranding: Why Tech Events Are Dressing Fintech in AI Clothes

Tech conferences have a reliable playbook: when an industry sector cools down, you rename it, mix it with whatever is currently inflating a valuation bubble, and build a new stage for it. This year, the organizers of TechCrunch Disrupt announced their new Smart Money Stage, a dedicated space focusing on fintech, payments, and artificial intelligence. The marketing materials suggest this is a natural evolution of currency. The balance sheets of the companies buying the sponsorships suggest something more urgent.

For the past three years