Michael Dirla is a vice president at Edison Partners, a leading growth equity firm.

The fintech sector has entered a period of recalibration. The end of zero interest rate policy (ZIRP), tighter capital markets and the ripple effects of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse have forced both founders and investors to rethink what growth really means.

Subscribe to the FR

This shift marks the end of the “growth at all costs” mindset and the rise of a new mandate: scale with discipline. Capital is now flowing toward companies that prioritize capital-efficient expansion and operational sustainability. Durable growth is the new benchmark for success.

Durable growth: data-driven insights

Durable growth isn’t a buzzword, it’s a data-driven framework. Edison Partners defines it as the ability to drive strong revenue growth while maintaining capital efficiency and profitability.

Our 2025 Growth Index, based on over 7,000 performance data points across 12 quarters, highlights what this looks like in practice. Among the top performers, we saw 42% year-over-year revenue growth with less than 10% net burn. These companies averaged a Rule of 54%, signaling their ability to balance growth with profitability for multiple quarters.

A key differentiator? Smarter operating expenses. Durable growers are roughly 50% more efficient in sales and marketing as a percentage of revenue. They also spend more effectively in product development and run leaner G&A operations.

Another driver is customer-funded expansion. Companies that leverage prepaid contracts or upfront billing embed scalability into their models. These businesses are 5x more likely to deliver outsized returns than peers with weaker working capital dynamics. This creates a compounding flywheel, especially critical in a market where capital is more expensive across debt and equity.

At its core, durable growth is the intersection of ambition and discipline. Rather than chasing vanity metrics, these companies scale smarter by deploying capital with purpose.

The hidden value of fintech infrastructure

While consumer-facing apps once captured fintech’s excitement, real momentum today is in infrastructure. This reflects the capital intensity of B2C models. Infrastructure players, like compliance automation tools, underwriting APIs or embedded payments, now represent some of the strongest investment opportunities.

These companies, often referred to as fintech’s “picks and shovels,” are building systems that enable the broader ecosystem to scale. As fintech’s total addressable market expands, demand for these foundational players is accelerating.

According to PitchBook, enterprise-focused fintech startups account for nearly 75% of all fintech VC deal value in 2025, a notable move toward B2B platforms with strong unit economics and defensible value propositions.

Infrastructure players typically offer recurring revenue, higher integration stickiness and lower customer churn. Edison’s Growth Index reinforces this, showing infrastructure-driven fintechs demonstrate stronger customer retention.

Solutions by Text (SBT), one of Edison’s portfolio companies, is a prime example. As a conversational commerce platform, SBT powers compliant text messaging between financial institutions and customers. Recently, the company embedded payments into its platform and transitioned to a subscription model. These shifts demonstrate infrastructure-led, customer-funded growth in action. In 2024, SBT grew revenue 60% year-over-year and surpassed the “Rule of 40” benchmark for the third consecutive year.

MoneyLion: A case study in durable growth

Edison’s long-term partnership with MoneyLion also exemplifies durable growth. We were the company’s first institutional investor in 2016, and since then, MoneyLion scaled its membership by 700% to 20 million customers, went public and expanded into embedded finance and e-commerce integrations.

Its growth wasn’t about hyperscaling. It was grounded in building customer value and diversifying revenue streams. MoneyLion’s acquisition by Gen Digital this year marked one of Edison's top capital returns, a testament to the payoff of durable growth.

AI’s next chapter

Artificial intelligence will be a defining force in fintech’s next chapter, but the winners won’t chase the hype. Success lies in embedding AI into operational workflows to boost efficiency.

From automating underwriting to streamlining compliance, AI is already expanding margins. PitchBook reports that AI-enabled fintechs are commanding a 242% valuation premium over their non-AI peers and represent 54% of all fintech VC deal value in 2025. More than 80% of recent AI-focused fintech rounds in the U.S. are enterprise-oriented, underscoring where the real value lies.

For durable growers, AI isn’t just a feature. AI will be a catalyst for better margins and premium valuations.

Why the broader market is listening

As capital markets continue to demand discipline, fintech investors are reshaping their playbooks. According to CB Insights, fintech funding has modestly rebounded in 2025 with a notable shift in capital. Nearly 60% of new fintech funding is going to B2B infrastructure models.

The path forward

Enjoying your read? Sign up here

Durable growers won’t just continue to outperform in private markets. They’ll lead the next wave of IPOs. The next era of fintech leaders will combine smart unit economics with customer-driven innovation. That’s the formula investors will reward with premium valuations.

That’s where Edison is focused and where we believe the future of fintech is headed.