Finovate Alums Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

Finovate Alums Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

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FinTechCity unveiled its new FinTech50 Hall of Fame this week at the Money 20/20 event in Copenhagen, Denmark. Finovate alums took six out of the ten spots.

The “founding ten members” of TheFinTech50 Hall of Fame are companies that “have featured on our radar since the days when they could reasonably be called startups,” say FinTech50 founders Julie Lake and Nicky Cotter, writing in The FinTech50 2016 Yearbook. “In recognition of their pioneering spirit and competitive staying power, we felt they deserved their own special place within a list of remarkable game-changers,” the founders wrote.

FinTechCity also presented The FinTech50 2016, its roster of the fifty hottest FinTech businesses in Europe. Of the 50 companies selected by the panel of more than 30 industry experts who poured over more than 1,200 candidates, a full baker’s dozen were Finovate—or FinDEVr—alums.

Read the full list.

Lake and Cotter called this year’s competition “the most hotly contested FinTech50 in its four-year history.” The founders also highlighted differences from the 2015 list, with this year’s roster featuring more companies innovating in “security, compliance, and risk.”

Also noteworthy was the number of European fintech companies from the United Kingdom (more than 30 out of the 50). The founders credited this to the U.K.’s broader access to funding, as well as the region’s local talent, and “favorable regulatory environment.” Lake and Cotter also praised other emerging European fintech communities in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Stockholm.

In addition to The FinTech50 2016 and its new Hall of Fame, FinTechCity also announced its FinTech20 India and FinTech20 Hong Kong. Finovate alums were represented here with Demystdata (FinovateAsia 2012) earning a spot in the Hong Kong 20, and Bank Bazaar (FinovateAsia 2012) getting recognition in the India 20. Lastly, The FinTech50 shared “The Hot Ten,” a roster of companies on their watch list for 2016. Here, Finovate alum, Ormsby Street (FinovateFall 2015), was recognized on that list.

AlwaysOn’s OnFinance Top 100 Features 30 Finovate Alums

AlwaysOn’s OnFinance Top 100 Features 30 Finovate Alums

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More than a quarter of the companies recognized in AlwaysOn’s first OnFinance Top 100 roster are Finovate alums.

The OnFinance Top 100 is designed to recognize the Top 100 private companies in fintech. The list was chosen by the AlwaysOn editorial team, along with several venture capital firms and industry experts. The criteria included degree of innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and “media buzz.”

The list is divided into six categories, and Finovate alums are well represented in each. Category winners will be announced at Always On’s event at the NASDAQ OMX in New York City at the end of April 2015.

Banking and corporate finance

Big data and analytics

Capital markets and investing

Digital currencies

Payment platforms

Personal finance management

Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, AlwaysOn was founded in 2003 by Tony Perkins, founder and editor of Red Herring magazine. The company serves as a networking and social media platform for technology professionals in variety of fields, and has a membership of more than 5,000.

Alumni News– July 25, 2014

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFox Business News features Kabbage’s small business lending process.
  • Huffington Post describes how DemystData’s big data analytics help evaluate creditworthiness.
  • Cartera Commerce’s CFO Karen Cambray named a finalist in Boston Business Journal’s 2014 CFO of the Year Awards.
  • Bloomberg: BillGuard programmers code in bomb shelters.
  • Coinbase launches Coinbase Vault to Better Secure Your Bitcoins.
  • MoneyDesktop appoints Brandon Dewitt as its first ever CTO.
  • SecondMarket CEO Barry Silbert stepping down in order to refocus his attention solely on bitcoin.
  • InvestmentNews features roboadvisors Jemstep, FutureAdvisor, Wealthfront, and Personal Capital.
  • The Irish Times looks at Holvi’s move into Ireland.
  • CMS Wire: Actiance wants to help companies curb social media mistakes.
  • Karen Webster of Market Platform Dynamics interviews Zooz CEO Oren Levy.
  • eToro announces new version of OpenBook for iOS.
  • Mobile Entertainment talks with Adam Levene, SVP of Strategy at Monitise Create.
  • LendingTree launches personalization platform.
  • Pymnts takes a look at the partnership between Malauzai Software and Trusteer. See Malauzai at FinovateFall in September.
  • Fortune.com interviews Bill Siegel, interim CEO of SecondMarket.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alums Raise More than $600 Million for Second Quarter in a Row

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In the first quarter of 2014, 23 Finovate alums raised more than $592 million

And as the second quarter draws to a close, it’s clear that a comparable cohort of alums have kept the pace.

Over the course April, May, and June, 28 alums raised significant amounts of capital ranging from Gremln’s $100,000 to the $65 million raised by Lending Club. The quarterly total of $594 million is almost exactly the same as the previous quarter.

And given that some amounts are undisclosed (I’m talking about you, Holvi, RevolutionCredit, and Tuition.io), we’re confident that Finovate alums have notched their second $600 million fund-raising quarter in a row.
How does this compare with the less recent past? Very well, indeed. 
In the second quarter of 2013, 15 alums raised more than $200 million. This was a major improvement on the second quarter from 2012, which featured 14 companies raising more than $120 million. 
Total raised for Q2 2014 = $594 million
April — $217 million raised by 11 companies
May —  $226 million raised by 11 companies
June — $151 million raised by six companies

Note: Funding prior to becoming a Finovate alum not included. Questions? Comments? Email us at David@Finovate.com or Julie@Finovate.com

Finovate Alumni News– May 29, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgChina Loves Mambu: Microfinance Network Picks Cloud Banking Platform for SME Lending.
  • App Annie Acquires Distimo; raises $17 Million from Current Investors.
  • SumUp launches its own chip and PIN reader, PIN+, in Poland and Switzerland.
  • Credit Sesame launches mortgage rate marketplace.
  • DemystData brings in $5 Million for its Big Data API for financial institutions.
  • NHS Shared Business Services selects Tradeshift platform to enhance supply chain.
  • Actiance announces general availability of Alcatraz, a cloud-based, Context-Aware archive for email, social, and other communications.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

DemystData Brings in $5 Million for its Big Data API for Financial Institutions

DemystData Brings in $5 Million for its Big Data API for Financial Institutions
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For DemystData, big data is more than just a buzz word. The New York-based company focuses on improving financial institutions’ access to information to optimize interaction with customers.

The company announced today it raised $5 million in a Series A investment. Investors include:

    • Notion Capital
    • SingTel Innov8
    • Arbor Ventures
    • P2P Equity Partners
    • Errol Damelin (UK-based Wonga founder)

DemystData previously received two investments of undisclosed amounts.

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The company’s software aggregates data from multiple sources in real time to build customer profiles. Institutions use these profiles to make better decisions. DemystData is processing more than 30 million profiles for financial clients, which include some of the largest, global P2P lenders in the U.S. and U.K., as well as leading banks in AsiaPacific.

Using this new investment, DemystData plans to continue its global growth while expanding its team. Additionally, it hopes to further enhance its API.

To learn more about DemystData, check out its FinovateAsia 2012 demo video, where it debuted Credit-in-a-Box. Interested in this and other back-end systems for FIs? Pick up your ticket to FinDEVr to check out more.

Asia-Based Finovate Alumni Score More Than $200 Million in Financing

As we prepare to bring FinovateAsia to Singapore November 14, we researched the funding of six Asia-based companies who demoed at FinovateAsia last year. Combined, these companies raised more than $215 million from a variety of investors:

BankBazaar, a credit processing platform that allows banks to offer consumers 7-minute credit eApproval on retail credit products.

CustomerXPs creates technology that proactively senses cross-sell, attrition, customer engagement and fraud in real-time.
DemystData enables real-time analysis of big data from consumers and SMBs, allowing for improved interactions as a result of richer, more relevant information. 
    • Venture Round: undisclosed amount from VentureLab
    • Series A: undisclosed amount from Accion and Arbor Ventures
    • FinovateAsia 2012 demo
Heckyl provides real-time financial information, news analytics, trend matrix, and heat maps for coverage of markets, companies, and businesses. 
TradeHero, a virtual trading community where the system models trades and ranks trader performance by proven returns on investment.
Wipro, an information technology, consulting, and outsourcing company that delivers solutions to enable its clients to do business better.
    • Total of $205 million from cMango, Gallagher Financial Systems, Science Applications International Corp., and Promax Application Group
    • FinovateAsia 2012 demo

The funding for these companies comes from a diverse set of investors, many of whom are based in Asia. Janus recently published a piece outlining venture funding options available to Singapore companies. For the most part, Singapore’s equity financing scene is quite similar to the U.S., but there are a few significant differences:

    • The VC scene in Singapore is small compared to the U.S. and Europe
    • Singapore’s government actively pursues VC firms to invest in Singapore startups and entices them with tax and other monetary benefits
    • There are more than 100 VC firms in the city today
    • Many VC firms in Singapore focus on late-stage expansion financing, but some offer financing for early-stage startups
    • Types of VC firms in Singapore range from independent limited partnership to corporate-backed firms
    • Singapore VCs are attracted to services, manufacturing and the high-tech industry

At this year’s FinovateAsia, while not all demoing companies are looking for funding, each will show up to the MAX Atria @ Singapore Expo stage with their newest technology. Want to learn more? Check out FinovateAsia homepage or get your ticket here to be a part of the event.

Finovate Alumni News– January 23, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTemenos wins praise as “top advisor solution” from Aite Group.  Come see their demo at FinovateEurope in February!
  • Spredfast announces Bazaarvoice integration.
  • Pageonce reaches $1 million mark in daily mobile bill payments processed.
  • A look at TradeKing after the merger.
  • ACI Worldwide‘s Money Transfer System helps FIs with Dodd-Frank compliance.
  • EZBOB forms partnership with ChannelGrabber.  Watch EZBOB in action at FinovateEurope!
  • Monitise and CGI Logica form mobile FS alliance to target European retail banks.
  • Tradeshift partners with Intuit to bring its social invoicing platform to more than 5m QuickBooks users.
  • American Banker reports: Fiserv extends relationship with BofA. Come to FinovateEurope in London to see its live demo.
  • CNBC talks with Alexa Von Tobel, LearnVest CEO.
  • Bill.com and Expensify announce product integration.
  • GrowthBusiness profiles Holvi. Comes see Holvi’s new tech at FinovateEurope next month.
  • Fast Company reports you can now pay taxes in Iowa using Dwolla.
  • SimpleTuition reports 2012 success metrics for SmarterBucks program.
  • DemystData a finalist in AWS Global Startup Challenge. 
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

2012 Funding for Finovate Alumni– More than $450 Million Raised

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgHere is a list of all the funding Finovate alumni received over the course of 2012.  

After an impressive 2011, where more than $423 million was raised, 2012 was even better, with more than $450 raised.
A few stand-out metrics for the year:
  • A total of 44 companies received funding, some more than once in 2012
  • Combined, more than $450 million was raised
  • The best quarter for raising capital was the first quarter when more than $150 was raised
  • The biggest funding month this year was March, with more than $68 million raised by three companies
Here is a month-by-month breakdown of funding received.
January — $25 million raised by 3 companies
Currensee: $2 million — blog post
Finsphere: $11.3 million — blog post
HelloWallet: $12 million — blog post
February — $57 million raised by 5 companies
Capital Access Network: $30 million — blog post
Dwolla: $5 million — blog post
Jemstep: $6 million — blog post
Kabbage: undisclosed — blog post
Xero: $16.6 million — blog post
March — $68 million raised by 3 companies
Boku: $35 million — blog post
eToro: $15 million — blog post
ThreatMetrix: $18 million — blog post
April — $2.5 million raised by 1 company
miiCard: $2.5 million — blog post
May — $55.5 million raised by 5 companies
Kony: $15 million – blog post
Pindrop Security: $1 million — blog post
SecureKey: $30 million — blog post
SoMoLend: $1.17 million — blog post
Yodlee: $8.3 million — blog post
June — More than $62 million raised by 8 companies
Affinity Solutions: $14.5 million — blog post
Arroweye Solutions: $3 million — blog post
Cartera Commerce: $12.2 million — blog post
Credit Sesame: $12 million — blog post
Doughmain: undisclosed — blog post
Lending Club: $15 million — blog post
Nutmeg: $5.3 million — blog post
Planwise: $200,000 — blog post
July — $6 million raised by 2 companies
Continuity Control: $1 million — press release
SaveUp: $5 million — blog post
August — More than $49 million raised by 6 companies*
DemystData: undisclosed — blog post
FutureAdvisor: $5 million — blog post
FreeMonee: $34 million — blog post
The Currency Cloud: $3.1 million — blog post
CashStar: $5 million — blog post
Continuity Control: $2.25 million — blog post
September — More than $59 million raised by 5 companies
Banno: $2 million — press release
Betterment: $10 million — press release
Edo Interactive: $15 million — press release
Fuze Network: $2.5 million — press release
Kabbage: $30 million — blog post
October — $37 million raised by 2 companies
The Currency Cloud: $1.9 million — blog post
Braintree: $35 million — blog post
November — More than $23 raised by 4 com
panies
ActivePath: $10 million — blog post
Jingit: $7 million — blog post
Bazaarvoice: $6.7 million — blog post
Xero: $49 million — blog post
December — More than $16 million raised by 4 companies
Waspit: $3 million — blog post
Controlabill: $570,000 (A$600,000) — blog post
Zopa: undisclosed — blog post
ShopKeep POS: $10 million – blog post
Clover Networks: $3.3 million – blog post
*In addition to the companies listed for August, On Deck Capital raised $100 million in credit facility commitments.
Note: Funding that companies received before they demonstrated at Finovate was not counted. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at Julie@Finovate.com or David@Finovate.com.

Third Quarter 2012 Funding for Finovate Alumni: More Than $50 Million Raised

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August was the biggest funding month of the third quarter. Six companies raised more than $49 million, led by FreeMonee, which alone raised $34 million.

In addition to the eight companies listed below, On Deck Capital raised $100 million in credit facility commitments in late August. 

Here’s the Q3 summary for 2012:

July — $6 million raised by 2 companies

August — More than $49 million raised by 6 companies

Note: Funding that companies received before they demonstrated at Finovate was not counted. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at Julie@Finovate.com or David@Finovate.com.

DemystData’s Credit-in-a-Box Uses Big Data to Help FIs Make Better Lending Decisions

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Next, DemystData took the stage with its Credit-in-a-Box Suite:

“DemystData’s Credit-in-a-Box suite enables financial institutions to leverage the power of big data and machine learning to make better lending decisions. As customer information becomes available, the DemystData API provides for real time aggregation of thousands of publicly available attributes from sources including social networks and online searches and returns this data in a structured, easy to comprehend format. Transparent, modern day scores analyzing factors such as customer identity and behavior provide lenders with an additional mechanism of knowing who their customers are and measuring financial risk and customer value.”

Product Launch: November 2011
HQ: Hong Kong, China
Founded: June 2010
Metrics: Series A Investment
Twitter@demystdata
Finovate demo video: Demo videos will be posted next week
Introducing Mark Hookey (Founder) and Oliver Meyrick (Managing Director, Europe & Asia)

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Finovate Alumni News– October 29, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgDiversinet upgrades mobile health security platform.
  • Forbes reports: FreeMonee Makes Gift Incentives Pay.
  • Killer Startups interviews Nick Hungerford, Nutmeg CEO.
  • DemystData blogs about what it will show in Singapore at FinovateAsia next week. Come to see its latest tech on Nov. 6.
  • Crowdsourcing.org interviews Candace Klein, CEO of SoMoLend.
  • Business Insider reports: PayNearMe has beaten PayPal to the cash market.
  • ChartIQ integrates With StockTwits Unveiling First-of-Its-Kind Social Stock Charting iPad App.
  • Online mortgage applications continue to soar as Mortgagebot clients’ loan volume advances toward 1 million mark.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.