As financial technology continuously evolves in today’s AI era, a growing number of initiatives are dedicated to cultivating the next generation of AI talent. Now in its third year, the AFAC (short for Advanced Fintech AI Competition) is inviting university students and researchers worldwide to solve actual problems faced by the finance industry. The challenge is designed to strengthen cross-disciplinary innovation in AI, financial services, and broader industrial applications. As AI tools increasingly support investment and credit decisions, compressing complex logical reasoning chains without losing accuracy could improve both automation and explainability – an area where regulatory interest is growing worldwide. Advancing financial data utilizationWith increasing attention to data-driven finance, this theme invites startups to explore how AI can extract, summarize, or augment structured and unstructured financial data.