Ep. 211: Building the AI-native orchestration layer for payments in gaming w/ Filip Michalsky from Soap Payments

Ep. 211: Building the AI-native orchestration layer for payments in gaming w/ Filip Michalsky from Soap Payments

Author: BettingStartups.com May 20, 2026 Duration: 26:17
Ep. 211 features Filip Michalsky from Soap Payments, an AI-native orchestration layer designed to simplify the complex payments stack for real-money gaming operators. Hear them discuss: Filip’s path from professional squash in the Czech Republic to Harvard AI data science and Fidelity Investments. The "iceberg" of payments: Navigating the hidden layers of issuing banks, acquiring banks, and convoluted funds movement. Using AI agents to slash payment onboarding times from months to a single week. How unified stablecoin rails enable "instant settlement," allowing operators to receive funds in five seconds. Protecting operators against "bad actors" with specialized defenses that maintain a 0.2% chargeback rate book-wide. The "vibe coding" vs. review approach: Scaling to 30+ customers with a lean, seven-person team. Moving beyond gaming: Early traction and expansion into the massive online health vertical. Strategic funding from Antler, AeroPay, and Astralis Capital ahead of an upcoming larger seed round. The five-year vision: Becoming a global payment orchestrator alongside category leaders like Stripe.   Listen to Business of Betting, the premier podcast covering the business of the sports betting industry featuring host Jeff Edelstein, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube   Catch the video version of this episode here.   Learn more 👇 ➡️ SOAP Payments website ➡️ Filip Michalsky on Linkedin   📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

Ever wonder what it's actually like to build a company in the fast-paced and often secretive world of sports betting and online gaming? The Betting Startups Podcast pulls back the curtain, offering a rare, unfiltered look at the people trying to reinvent this multi-billion dollar industry. Instead of just analyzing markets or trends, each episode sits down with the founders and CEOs themselves-the individuals navigating complex regulations, fierce competition, and rapidly changing technology to turn an idea into a viable business. You'll hear firsthand accounts of the early struggles, the pivotal moments of securing funding or launching a product, and the unique challenges of building trust in a sector where it’s paramount. This isn't about theoretical business advice; it's a series of real stories from the trenches of entrepreneurship in one of today's most dynamic digital landscapes. Presented by BettingStartups.com, the podcast provides a genuine narrative around innovation, capturing the human ambition and strategic thinking driving the next wave of companies in fantasy sports, iGaming, and beyond. Tune in for conversations that are as much about resilience and vision as they are about the specifics of the betting industry.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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