Jillian Williams grew up in a fintech family with both parents running Williams Capital investment bank, giving her deep intuitive understanding of financial services infrastructure that helps her back complex fintech companies others might find too niche or technical. She co-founded Field Ventures after building her track record at Anthemis and Cowboy Ventures, and actively builds diversity infrastructure in venture capital by co-heading the NYC chapter of BLCK VC and creating fellowships that move Black professionals from finance into VC roles.

• A dominant focus on the intersection of financial technology and artificial intelligence, often referred to as Fintech x AI. This interest is substantial enough that she co-hosts a podcast series dedicated to the topic, interviewing founders and experts about how AI is reshaping sectors like payments, compliance, and financial infrastructure.
• Active search for innovations in fraud prevention, risk management, and cybersecurity. She frequently discusses the rising costs of fraud and has explicitly invited founders building infrastructure to combat phishing and identity theft to connect with her, noting that the industry is still in the early stages of solving these problems.
• Enthusiasm for modernizing legacy industries and back-office operations, often described as unsexy tech. She has highlighted opportunities for applying artificial intelligence to traditional sectors like manufacturing and government services, specifically looking for solutions that handle compliance, accounting, and vertical-specific hurdles.
• Investment thesis centered on the evolution of software markets, moving from traditional vertical SaaS to what she terms Service-as-a-Software or agentic commerce. She explores how this shift allows software to act as a copilot or autonomous agent for merchants and consumers, rather than just a passive tool.
• Interest in the aging and longevity technology market, which she views as a massive but underserved economic segment. She has pointed out the disparity between the wealth controlled by the over-sixty-five demographic and the lack of innovation targeting their needs, such as long-term care coverage and home care solutions.