Inside the $13T Mortgage Machine

The $13T U.S. mortgage market serves 50M homeowners but still runs on decades-old software.

In this episode, a16z GP Angela Strange hosts Tim Mayopoulos (ex-CEO of Fannie Mae and ex-president of Blend), Mike Yu (co-founder and CEO of Vesta), and Andrew Wang (co-founder and CEO of Valon) to unpack why standardization and regulation slow change, and how modern loan-origination and servicing platforms, cleaner data, and AI can cut costs, boost transparency, and reduce errors. They also discuss policy levers that could speed innovation and what a true one-tap mortgage could look like.

Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction

00:59 The Scale and Structure of the US Mortgage Market

01:33 Why Mortgage Tech is Slow to Change

02:00 Challenges of Standardization and Regulation

03:41 The Human Side of Home Buying

07:43 Old Software and Its Impact on Homeowners

11:16 Data Transparency and Capital Markets

13:17 Building New Mortgage Infrastructure: LOS and Servicing

16:22 Operational Challenges and Opportunities in Servicing

22:04 Driving Digital Adoption at Fannie Mae

25:15 Modernizing Data and Appraisals

28:27 Core Replacement vs. Wrappers: Tech Strategies

35:29 AI in Mortgage: Today and Tomorrow

40:42 AI, Regulation, and the Future of Compliance

43:54 Advice for Lenders Preparing for an AI Future

47:49 Visions for the Future of Mortgages

Resources:

Find Angela on X: https://x.com/astrange

Find Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-j-mayopoulos-56972a45/

Find Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wangandrewd/

Find Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeyu1/

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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.