Ankur Jain (Bilt) on the AI Commerce Race, Celebrity Rent Day Collabs and Neighborhood Concierge

Ankur Jain (Bilt) on the AI Commerce Race, Celebrity Rent Day Collabs and Neighborhood Concierge

August 18, 2026 · 56 min

About this episode

Ankur Jain discusses the evolution of Bilt from a rewards card for rent to a major player in AI-powered commerce.

Last year, $100 billion in housing payments flowed through Bilt's platform, and one in four apartment buildings in the US now runs on its system. So how did a rewards card for rent turn into one of the biggest players in AI-powered commerce? This week, Sammi welcomes back Bilt founder and CEO Ankur Jain to unpack how the company has evolved from a direct-to-consumer card product into a full ecosystem connecting apartment buildings, local merchants and now AI agents. Ankur explains why the card now represents a small fraction of the business, how Bilt responded when a portion of customers started gaming the rewards system, and why listening to customer feedback in real time reshaped the recent Card 2.0 rollout. Then, Ankur breaks down Bilt's viral Rent Day celebrity collaborations with stars like Madonna and A$AP Rocky, the strategy behind its unbranded scripted series "Roomies," and why the company is investing in original entertainment instead of traditional advertising. Later, he makes the case for why Bilt, Google and Anthropic are the only companies positioned to power agentic commerce in the physical world, and how its new Neighborhood Concierge tool can plan your night out…

People in this episode

Host: Sammi Cohen

Guest: Ankur Jain

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Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bilt, Google, Anthropic

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