In April we reported on Renaud Laplanche’s new venture called Upgrade. While we gained some insight into Upgrade from the launch, the company has been keeping a low profile. That is about to change as Renaud Laplanche joins Lang Di Fintech as a keynote speaker in China. Lang Di, LendIt’s Chinese event, is the largest fintech conference in China and will be held on July 15-16 in Shanghai.

Renaud Laplanche is a giant in the fintech sector having founded Lending Club in 2006. His new venture Upgrade focuses on what he calls “online lending 2.0”. Laplanche will discuss this concept and how new technologies such as blockchain are incorporated into a fintech company’s technology architecture.

As part of the press release, Laplanche stated:

I look forward to speaking at the Lang Di Fintech conference, and exchanging ideas with the technology, business and government leaders of China. LendIt is a special conference for me as I often gave the opening keynote at LendIt conferences in the USA and I have always been impressed by the high quality of their events and the participants.

I am anxious to hear what Renaud Laplanche has to say. He built one of the leading platforms in the US and successfully took it public in 2014. He has taken what he learned at Lending Club and has started a new company from scratch in the same vertical. With Upgrade, he raised $60 million, bringing many big names from Lending Club with him. Without having made a loan, the company was reportedly valued at $168 million which shows just how confident investors are in Laplanche’s ability to execute.

At Lang Di 2017 we are expecting over 2,000 attendees. Laplanche will be joined by other western speakers including Max Baucus, former U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China as well as some of the biggest names in fintech in China. Other topics will include artificial intelligence, machine learning, identity verification through biometrics, the blockchain’s impact on capital markets, the emergence of insurtech, financial inclusion, financial wellness, wealth management for the mass affluent, innovation in real estate technology, applying alternative data to credit underwriting and decisioning, the emergence of digital banking, fintech cooperation with banks and more. If you’re interested in attending the event or joining us on the LendIt China Executive Tour you can learn more on the LendIt website.