Rafay Farooqui on the digitization, tokenization, and AI of private credit

Rafay Farooqui, Founder and CEO of SUBSCRIBE, a global fintech company that modernizes private fund investments for institutional investors, wealth managers, fund managers, and service providers, and previously a founder of CAIS, joins Private Capital Call to unpack the pivotal moments that shaped his approach to building companies and how each successive venture sharpened his instinct for identifying the right problem to solve. 

He walks through private markets’ three-phase evolution – democratization, rebuilding the underlying operating infrastructure, and the flywheel of scale  – and explains where SUBSCRIBE fits as it works to modernize what remains one of the last largely paper-based corners of the financial system. The conversation turns to where private credit and the broader alternatives ecosystem are headed, including how tokenization is poised to reshape access for a broader investor base. Rafay also offers a grounded take on AI, discussing its growing role and weighing whether the technology is better understood as a practical tool rather than an outright replacement. He closes with the most important lessons from his entrepreneurial journey.