Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

OurCrowd Opens Office in Spain, Lays Down Roots with Strategic Partnership

OurCrowd Opens Office in Spain, Lays Down Roots with Strategic Partnership
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: OurCrowd

Equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has furthered its global expansion by opening an office in Spain this week. The company’s founder and CEO Jon Medved has identified Spain and the Iberian region as one of OurCrowd’s “priority markets,” considering Madrid is in the “heart of Europe” and a “gateway into South America.”

The Jerusalem-based company has established a new office in Madrid’s financial district. With this expansion, OurCrowd now has offices in six countries– Israel, the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Singapore; and has plans in place for an office expansion to a seventh– the U.K.

David Hatchwell, a leader of the Jewish community in Spain, will be the Chairman of OurCrowd Iberia— the company’s new Madrid office. “OurCrowd presents the Spanish market with a significant opportunity to taste what is happening in one of the most advanced markets in the world of tech: Israel, as well as offer other global startup investment opportunities,” Hatchwell said. “OurCrowd Spain will operate with strong local partners active in building significant companies, and as we consolidate, we will invest in Spanish tech companies seeking to bring additional leaders from the local ecosystem onto the OurCrowd platform.”

As a part of the recent expansion, OurCrowd has formed a strategic partnership with Cardumen Capital, a Spanish/Israel venture fund focused on “Deep Technologies.” The aim of the partnership is to offer Spanish investors “the opportunity to focus on investing in Israeli companies, building ties between Israeli and Spanish technologies.”

Cardumen’s cofounder and managing general partner, Gonzalo Martinez de Azagra said, “Together with OurCrowd, we are building a global community with an experienced team led by leading venture capitalists.” He added, “Our bilateral fund will invest in pure high tech companies, as we did at Samsung Ventures, and give access to institutional and corporate investors to these unique opportunities.”

OurCrowd’s Shai Ben-Tovim, Chief Product Officer, and Oshrat Kfir, VP of Engineering showcase at FinovateSpring 2016

Founded in 2013, the OurCrowd platform has more than 20,000 members from 112 countries. In aggregate, investors have funded more than $450 million into 120 portfolio companies and funds. At FinovateSpring 2016, the company’s Shai Ben-Tovim, Chief Product Officer, and Oshrat Kfir, VP of Engineering, debuted the OurCrowd mobile app. In June, the company partnered with National Bank of Australia (NAB) to provide NAB clients with direct access to OurCrowd startup investments. Last December, we named the company in our roundup of top direct-to-consumer wealth tech plays.

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Luxoft Acquires UNAFORTIS to Broaden Client Base within Financial Services

Luxoft Acquires UNAFORTIS to Broaden Client Base within Financial Services
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Luxoft, Mergers & Acquisitions

Software development services company Luxoft has bolstered its skillset recently. The Switzerland-based firm announced last week it acquired fellow Swiss company UNAFORTIS, a wealth management consultancy.

UNAFORTIS is a leading implementation provider of Avaloq, a popular software package that offers fully integrated banking software for the back, middle, and front office. This addition is expected to deepen Luxoft’s proficiency in standardized software as well as broaden the client base for the company’s financial services arm, DXC Luxoft. Luxoft aims to add clients within the wealth management, private, and universal banking sectors across the globe.

In fact, the company plans to build a team of 150 to 200 engineers to better combine its existing DXC Luxoft product, as well as recently-acquired derivIT, into its core capabilities offered across the globe. “We are looking forward to UNAFORTIS joining our growing Luxoft team. It is a strategically important acquisition, helping us diversify financial services business outside of our core investment banking and capital markets presence,” said Dmitry Loschinin, President and CEO of Luxoft. “Its client base complements our own, creating mid-term cross-selling opportunities that can be scaled significantly through our delivery network,” he said. “This will add another valuable premium services layer to our core application development and maintenance offering.”

Founded in 2000, Luxoft is a publicly-traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:LXFT). Last month, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals recognized the company as a “world leading” IT service provider for the sixth year in a row and in August, Luxoft expanded its geographical presence by opening a distribution office in Russia and expanding its offices in Germany. At FinovateFall 2014, the company debuted Horizon, a visualization framework.

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Blooom Surpasses $1 Billion in Assets Under Management

Blooom Surpasses $1 Billion in Assets Under Management
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: blooom

Wealth tech company Blooom announced this week that it has surpassed the $1 billion assets under management milestone.

The Kansas-based company manages employer-sponsored 401(k) and 403bs for “thousands of clients” across the U.S. This comes just 16 months after the company announced it surpassed the $300 million assets under management milestone.

In a blog post, Blooom’s CEO Chris Costello made a point to express the speed at which the company arrived at this milestone. “We also take pride that this Kansas-based company reached the milestone faster than both Betterment or Weathfront – while doing so on a fraction of the capital,” Costello said. He added that he uses these competitors’ achievements to benchmark the company’s own.

Chris Costello, along with the company’s CTO and co-founderRandy AufDerHeide, demoed Blooom at FinovateFall 2014. The company differentiates itself by sticking to its three principles: no more jargon; transparent and fair pricing; and stability and values. The company has raised a total of $13.2 million in funding and was recently featured as one of 10 Kansas City startups to watch in 2017.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: blooom, Finovera, Lending Club, Signifyd, TrueAccord

On Finovate.com

  • Blooom Surpasses $1 Billion in Assets Under Management.

Around the web

  • Yelp Partners with TrueAccord to Deliver Digital Collections and Streamline Data Loop for Customer Engagement.
  • Lending Club Closes Second Self-Sponsored Securitization to Further Expand Investor Access.
  • Finovera and Payveris partner to launch Payveris BillManager.
  • Signifyd Guarantees Fraud Protection for Magento Commerce Merchants.

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.

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Vera to Provide Data Security Services for GE

Vera to Provide Data Security Services for GE
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Vera

Data security specialist Vera announced a massive new client today. The California-based company will offer its data security services to help General Electric (GE) protect product designs, intellectual property, and proprietary data.

Specifically, Vera is responsible for helping GE automatically secure intellectual property and control how third parties use and access sensitive documents. Vera will also use its frictionless, scalable experience to help GE protect confidential data and email, prevent unwanted sharing, and dynamically revoke access to content when necessary.

Nasrin Rezai, VP and global CIO and product security officer at GE, described the company’s data as “critical” to its competitive advantage. Rezai explained, “When product designs and specifications are shared without continuous protection as part of our supply chain collaboration and technical processes, they’re susceptible to theft or illegitimate use in today’s digital economy. Vera addresses this problem because we know even when shared externally, these files are protected at the source.”

Ajay Arora, CEO and co-founder of Vera said it is an “honor” to help GE protect its intellectual property. Arora continued, “GE continues to be one of the most respected companies in the world making it an unbelievable privilege to win the support of one of the bedrocks of industry of the last two centuries. With GE fully embracing a data-centric approach to cybersecurity, we’ve entered a new and exciting era where the old paradigm of perimeter-based security is no longer the unquestioned norm.”

Vera’s CEO & Co-Founder, Ajay Arora and Sr. Director of Product Marketing,Grant Shirk demoing at FinovateSpring 2016

Founded in 2014, Vera showcased its security solution at FinovateSpring 2016. Since that time, the company has unveiled Vera for Mail, received $15 million in funding, and most recently received the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Award for Enterprise Encryption Solution of the Year. The company has raised a total of $50 million.

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Stockpile Raises $30 Million to Boost Millennial Stock Ownership

Stockpile Raises $30 Million to Boost Millennial Stock Ownership
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Stockpile

Millennial-focused brokerage firm Stockpile has pulled in $30 million this week in a Series B funding round led by Fidelity. Mayfield, Arbor Ventures, Hanna Ventures, Wang Ventures, and others also participated.

This investment boosts the California-based company’s total raised to $45 million. Avi Lele, Stockpile’s founder and CEO said the company will use the funds to “bring stock investing to more millennial customers and expand its unique features.”

David Milstein of Eight Roads, who is joining Stockpile’s board as a part of the investment said, “Stockpile has had tremendous success in attracting the next generation of investors.” He adds, “Their innovative approach takes the mystery out of stock investing and opens up access to all. They have put the stock market on a gift card.”

Stockpile launched in 2015 and sells its gift cards directly to consumers online and on store shelves via a partnership with Blackhawk Network. The company has also partnered with a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Verizon and FIS, who offer Stockpile gift cards as employee and/or customer incentives.

“We’re on a mission to make it simple for everyone – especially young, first-time investors – to save and invest for their future,” said Lele. “Fractional shares make market investing fun, easy, and personal. Even someone with only a few dollars can buy a piece of a favorite brand like Amazon or Alphabet, which are currently trading close to $1000 a share.”

Earlier this year Stockpile made a move to boost its client base with former Loyal3 customers and in 2016 the company acquired SparkGift, transferring SparkGift’s customer base to its own brokerage platform for free. Founded in 2010, by Avi Lele and Sanj Kulkarni, Stockpile launched at FinovateSpring 2014 in a demo that won Best of Show.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CardFlight, Entrust Datacard, Infosys, Meniga, NYMBUS, Revolut, Stockpile, Vera

On Finovate.com

  • Stockpile Raises $30 Million to Boost Millennial Stock Ownership.
  • Vera to Provide Data Security Services for GE

Around the web

  • Meniga expands global footprint with new office opening in Poland
  • Mediterranean Bank Goes Live With Infosys Finacle Lending Solution
  • Revolut expands services with cell phone insurance in the U.K.
  • Entrust Datacard joins the Industrial Internet Consortium
  • NYMBUS Introduces Next-Generation Digital Platform For Internet And Mobile Banking
  • CardFlight partners with Dynamics Payments to help businesses affected by Hurricane Maria by waiving monthly and setup fees for SwipeSimple.

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.

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Ayondo Remains a Private Company after Reverse Takeover Bid Lapses

Ayondo Remains a Private Company after Reverse Takeover Bid Lapses
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: ayondo

Social trading company ayondo may no longer be the first fintech company to go public on the Singapore stock exchange (SGX).

That’s because the reverse takeover (RTO) bid offer from Singapore-based property developer, Starland Holdings, lapsed on Monday. The RTO bid, initiated in June of 2016, was for $117 million (S$158 million) and would have placed ayondo on the SGX, making it the third technology company and the first fintech company to IPO on the SGX.

Frankfurt-based ayondo stated last year that it had originally opted for a reverse takeover because of “volatility in financial markets.” The RTO would have given Starland a majority stake in ayondo. According to a company update, ayondo still plans to complete the RTO later this year.

ayondo appears to be holding its own as a privately-held entity. The company reported that its U.K. arm, ayondo Markets Limited, grew revenues 95% from $9.8 million to $19 over the course of 2015 to 2016. THe company’s assets under management also grew, rising from $19 million to $35.8 million over the same timeframe.

ayondo was founded in 2008 with a mission to revolutionize retail trading. The company’s brokerage platform lets users copy the moves of top traders to optimize returns. At FinovateEurope 2013, ayondo unveiled the newest version of its service, its London brokerage, and a trader career training curriculum. Last month, the company brought on Rick Fulton as CFO.

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Ripple Selects Singapore for New Asia Office

Ripple Selects Singapore for New Asia Office
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Ripple

Blockchain solutions company Ripple is bolstering its presence in Asia this week with the launch of an office in Singapore.

In a blog post, Ripple said that it selected Singapore to support its growing Asia Pacific customers, including Standard Chartered. The company also notes it favored Singapore because of its “publicly stated ambitions to be the world’s leading fintech and innovation hub,” adding that it is “one of the biggest and busiest global trade centers with many large, multinational companies basing their regional treasury offices in the country.”

Dilip Rao, managing director for Ripple APAC said, “As a leading trade and fintech hub, Singapore offers Ripple leverage in the region as we expand our global footprint.” And in fact the company said that it is already experiencing “huge” demand for its blockchain payments solution from local banks and payment providers across the broader region.

This announcement comes weeks after the San Francisco-based company opened an office in Mumbai, India and adds to Ripple’s list of offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Sydney, and Luxembourg.

Last fall, the company appointed Brad Garlinghouse as CEO, who filled the seat of co-founder Chris Larsen. Larsen debuted Ripple (originally known as OpenCoin) at FinovateSpring 2013. In addition to making headlines for its rapid growth during the first half of this year, Ripple also made the news this spring when it partnered with BBVA to complete an international money transfer using RippleNet. In July, Ripple expanded its suite of offerings that support its digital currency, XRP. The company has raised more than $93 million.

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Your Sneak Peek into FinovateAsia Discussions and Demo Days

Your Sneak Peek into FinovateAsia Discussions and Demo Days
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateAsia 2017, FinovateAsia 2017 Sneak Peek

FinovateAsia will take place November 7 through 8 at the JW Marriott in Hong Kong. Register today to save your spot.

After a successful inaugural launch of FinovateAsia in Hong Kong, we’re ready for more– and based on your feedback, you are too. First, we’re doubling the conference to two days; adding keynote speakers, panel discussions, and a showcase of cutting-edge accelerators. The best part– it’s all focused on fintech local to the Asia Pacific region. We’ll even take a deep-dive into Hong Kong’s fintech scene.

Get a Sneak Peek into the demos

To help you prepare, we’re launching our Sneak Peek blog series, where we’ll offer an inside look into the new technology each company will showcase on the FinovateAsia stage. Be on the lookout next week for our first post of the series.

A first look at the agenda

And here’s another Sneak Peek– we’re unveiling the FinovateAsia agenda. In addition to the demos, here are some of the highlights:

  • Payments – The Gateway to Financial Inclusion
  • Ling Kong, CTO of Dianrong, discusses P2P Lending in China
  • A Glimpse into Hong Kong’s Fintech Scene
  • Leading Accelerators and Incubators in Asia Showcase
  • The Origins and Learnings from a Fintech Unicorn

All of this, plus we’ll have multiple panel discussions that will cover topics such as peer-to-peer lending, mobile banking, insurtech, wealth management, peer-to-peer payments, artificial intelligence, and the blockchain.

For a closer look, check out the agenda, view our list of presenting companies, and read a quick summary of each company’s description.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AutoGravity, InComm, INETCO Systems, nCino, Ripple, WorkFusion, WorldPay

On Finovate.com

  • Ripple Selects Singapore for New Asia Office.
  • ayondo Remains a Private Company after Reverse Takeover Bid Lapses.

Around the web

  • nCino opens office in London, positioning itself for continued international growth.
  • Inetco adds data access options.
  • WorkFusion teams with Virtusa to Launch AI-Powered Bank Sanction Screening Solution.
  • InComm Continues Nationwide Expansion of Tolling and Transit Program.
  • In the face of consumer skepticism, Worldpay develops SDK for IoT shopping.
  • AutoGravity Surpasses $1 Billion USD In Finance Amount Requested, Launches Real-Time Dealership Inventory Nationwide.

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.

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Braintree Powers RFID Payments for Eventbrite Attendees

Braintree Powers RFID Payments for Eventbrite Attendees
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Braintree, PayPal

One of the best ways to get consumers to spend more money is to make it easy for them to pay. That’s exactly what PayPal subsidiary Braintree and Eventbrite are banking on. This week, the duo announced they have teamed up to give festival-goers and event attendees a new way to pay.

This new capability enables attendees to make payments using their RFID-enabled event wristband that generally serves as their admission ticket. This creates a cashless way for patrons to pay in person for food, beverages, and merchandise by leveraging the payment credentials they used when paying for their ticket online.

After conducting a study testing the use of the new technology at an event earlier this year, Braintree found that attendees who used their wristbands as a cashless payment method spent 2x more per day than cash payers did. Using Braintree’s Commerce Infrastructure tools, the festival organizer was able to share attendees’ tokenized payment credentials with its vendors, who all run on separate payment systems. According to Braintree’s blog, the “vast majority of attendees who used cashless said it improved their overall experience (84%) and would use it again (89%).”

Braintree’s Contextual Commerce tools enable businesses to create a seamless purchasing experience for consumers

Eventbrite has leveraged Braintree’s Contextual Commerce tools in its partnerships with Bandsintown and Facebook to streamline the ticket purchasing experience for customers. Offering a native purchasing experience results in fewer abandoned carts and, in Facebook’s case, resulted in twice as many tickets sold.

PayPal acquired Braintree in 2013 for $800 million. Braintree most recently showcased Venmo Touch at FinovateSpring 2013. Last month, Braintree enabled Android and Apple Pay support in Australia. Earlier this summer, the California-based company surpassed one billion transactions per quarter. Braintree supports merchants in more than 40 countries and more than 130 currencies. The company has more than 500 employees who work in 7 office locations across the globe.

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