PayPal has been ranked first globally for AI talent in the payments sector by Evident's AI Index, an independent benchmark that assesses AI maturity across financial services by analysing millions of public data points across four categories: Talent, Innovation, Leadership and Transparency. The company also placed second in Innovation across the payments industry.
The company said AI already underpins its fraud prevention, risk management and personalised services for consumers and merchants, with early investments now positioning it to deploy agentic commerce capabilities across its network.
What the ranking measures and why PayPal is citing it
Evident's index is designed to cut through self-reported AI capability claims by drawing on observable public signals rather than company disclosures. A first-place finish in Talent is a specific claim about the depth and quality of PayPal's AI workforce relative to the rest of the payments industry, not a general assertion about strategic intent.
For a company that processes hundreds of millions of transactions, the talent ranking has direct commercial relevance. Fraud detection and risk modelling are areas where marginal improvements in model quality translate into measurable financial outcomes at scale, and the ability to recruit and retain AI researchers affects how quickly those improvements compound.
The agentic commerce framing
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PayPal's chief technology officer Srini Venkatesan used the announcement to signal where the company sees the next phase of AI application. "As commerce becomes increasingly intelligent and agentic, PayPal is building the infrastructure that will enable safe, open, and trusted AI-driven experiences at global scale," he said.
The agentic framing is notable. Agentic commerce, where AI systems execute purchases and financial decisions on behalf of users with limited human intervention, requires the kind of trust infrastructure that an established payments network is better placed to provide than a new entrant. PayPal is making an implicit argument that its AI talent ranking and its existing network position are mutually reinforcing assets rather than separate achievements.
The recap
- PayPal named global leader in AI talent by Evident index
- Placed first in Talent and second in Innovation categories
- Company says it will enable AI-driven experiences at global scale
