Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Aire, Betterment, Dwolla, ID Analytics, Klarna, Neener Analytics, PayPal, Persistent Systems, Taulia, Tavant

On Finovate.com

  • Aire Pulls in $5 Million, Lands Partnerships with Zopa and Toyota Financial Services.
  • New Investment Boosts Betterment Valuation to $800 Million.
  • Klarna Announces Strategic Investment from Permira.

Around the web

  • PayPal extends partnership with JP Morgan Chase, providing greater payment options for consumers.
  • Taulia joins European E-invoicing Service Providers Association.
  • Persistent Systems agrees to acquires Swiss firm Parx Werk in deal valued at $16 million.
  • ID Analytics partners with Acxiom to strengthen risk assessment and combat fraud.
  • Dwolla adds Multi-User Feature to the Access API Dashboard.
  • Neener Analytics joins Plug&Play fintech accelerator.
  • Tavant selected by Fairway Independent Mortgage To Transform Its Digital Lending Experience.

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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Truphone Added to List of Carriers for Apple SIM

Truphone Added to List of Carriers for Apple SIM
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Truphone

Truphone, a mobile operator without borders, is working to make the world a bit more flat. The company announced today that it is leveraging the Apple SIM card to offer data plans for iPad users in the U.K.

Founded in 2006, Truphone operates by patching together capacity from multiple carriers, enabling customers to use their voice and data allowances without incurring roaming charges. The company is able to do this by using eSIMs, software-based SIMs, rather than chip-based SIMs. The new arrangement covers roaming in 40 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Martinique, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, U.K., the U.S., Reunion Island, Vatican City.

The London-based company has previously launched iPad data plans for users in Hong Kong, the U.K., Spain, and Poland. By the end of 2017, Truphone hopes to introduce the same service for 30 countries, and anticipates that number will reach 50 by 2018. In addition to SIM-based data plans, Truphone also offers mobile plans for businesses and a mobile recording solution, which it showcased at FinovateEurope 2014. Truphone Mobile Recording enables businesses and banks to record, encrypt and store mobile communications securely, and without disrupting the user experience.

Truefone has 11 offices across the globe and employs 400 people. Ralph Steffens is CEO.

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HackerOne Powering Bug Bounty Program for Tor Browser

HackerOne Powering Bug Bounty Program for Tor Browser
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: HackerOne

Bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure platform HackerOne is powering a bug bounty program for the Tor Project, the company behind the anonymizing Tor browser.

Tor security team lead, Georg Koppen said the company selected HackerOne because, “HackerOne is well known by the security community, and we wanted to pick a trusted platform for open communication with independent experts.” This marks Tor’s first public bug bounty since it was founded in 2002. The company conducted a small, private bug bounty in 2016 but Koppen said he “knew going public would expand [its] relationships in the community and improve [its] results.” With support from the Open Technology Fund, the Tor Project said that it will pay out anywhere from $100 to $4,000, depending on the severity of the bug discovered.

HackerOne offers a platform that recruits security researchers and white hat hackers to identify security weaknesses for its clients, including Twitter, Airbnb, Uber, Yelp, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Since it was founded in 2012, HackerOne has run 852 programs, fixed 49,793 bugs, and facilitated $18.7 million in bug bounty payouts.

Michiel Prins, HackerOne Co-Founder presenting Tapping Hackers to Improve Security at FinDEVr London 2017

The San Francisco-based company has offices in London, Seattle, Los Angeles, North Carolina, and the Netherlands. HackerOne earned the Favorite FinDEVr Debut award for its presentation at FinDEVr New York this year and won the Crowd Favorite award at its FinDEVr London presentation last month. In a separate announcement today, the company announced the launch of HackerOne Response, a new product to help companies receive security vulnerability reports from the hacker community, their users, and customers.

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LendKey Raises $13 Million in Equity and Debt Financing

LendKey Raises $13 Million in Equity and Debt Financing
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, LendKey

Lending-as-a-service specialist LendKey raised $13 million in Series C funding this week. The round consisted of both equity and debt financing ($8 million of the former, $5 million of the latter) and was led by Portland, Maine-based North Atlantic Capital. Also participating in the investment were existing investors DFJ, Gotham Ventures, TTV Capital, and Updata Partners.

“Traditional financial institutions are now more than ever adapting to evolving customer needs to remain competitive and better reach millennials,” LendKey CEO and founder Vince Passione said, “LendKey empowers these institutions to compete in today’s lending market by digitizing their loan businesses.” This week’s investment boosts LendKey’s total capital to more than $27 million. Passione said the financing will help the company “meet the strong bank and credit union demand” for its services. LendKey plans to expand its regional office in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as add talent in account development and sales.

Pictured (left to right): CEO and founder Vince Passione and CPO Strati Papgeorge demonstrating LendKey Marketplace at FinovateSpring 2015.

North Atlantic Capital Managing Director Mark Morrissette praised LendKey’s “impressive industry knowledge and background” and the way its technology solved “a real need for banks and credit unions.” LendKey’s white-label, lending-as-a-service model enables banks, credit unions, and alternative lenders to digitize their lending operations with a solution that manages the entire loan cycle. This includes demand generation, online decisioning, loan origination, and customer service. The company’s solutions help lenders conduct programs in private student loans, student loan refinancing, auto loans, and home improvement loans.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in New York City, LendKey demonstrated its LendKey Marketplace at FinovateSpring 2015. With clients including Navy FCU, McGraw-Hill FCU, and WSFS Bank, LendKey has deployed more than $1.5 billion in capital to borrowers. This spring, LendKey presented its Student Loan Refinance Report, highlighting borrower trends in lending preferences and loan performance. Also this spring, LendKey earned a finalist spot in the 2017 Best of FinXTech Awards, along with fellow Finovate alums Roostify, Moven, and Green Dot.

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Coder, Broker, Music Producer: Hellenic Bank’s Natasha Kyprianides is Inspired by Constraints

Coder, Broker, Music Producer: Hellenic Bank’s Natasha Kyprianides is Inspired by Constraints
By finovate Posted on
Categories: Women in Fintech

This article was first published on FinTech Futures on May 3rd 2017.

Music producer, broker, coder, and a leading influencer within fintech, Natasha Kyprianides is not short of experiences and skills. Group Head of Digital Banking & Innovation at Hellenic Bank, she gives us a window into her fascinating path into fintech and some expert advice for other women in fintech paving their ways.

How did you start your career?

My first interactions with digital technology were through hard-disk recording for audio and music production in the late ’90s. I even built a professional recording-studio facility that I had briefly turned into a commercial one, but it was short-lived because I didn’t feel at the time that this was what I was looking for in a career.

I stumbled into banking 17 years ago, by accident. It was at a time when the stock market was booming in Cyprus, and I joined the banking sector as a broker. I then gradually started to unravel my resourcefulness in seeing things from a creative angle, and combined it with my passion for technology. I spent the early years of my career being more hands-on, by coding and building web interfaces of all sorts, as well as project managing in the digital space.

What sparked your interest in fintech?

In 2008, I was given the opportunity to set up the Electronic Banking department (a “dated” term as these days it’s been renamed to Digital Banking) from scratch, and acted as country product owner for the Cyprus subsidiary of the biggest bank in Greece (Piraeus Bank Group). That’s how I entered the world of innovation in banking!

I was able to blend three components that I’m mostly passionate about: Creativity, Technology and Entrepreneurship. This is also how my obsession began – about putting the customer experience first. I then went on to build an impressive portfolio of cutting-edge digital banking products.

The term “FinTech”, or financial technology, was not on the rise at the time.  It only started to gain real traction in 2015.  That was the year when I joined Hellenic Bank with a mandate towards the digital transformation roadmap.  The capacity of my current role enables me to fully harness the power of fintech to deliver fundamental innovations that disrupt and challenge the business model of a traditional financial institution.

What was your lightbulb moment?

My light bulb moment came in 2014. A year after the financial crisis had hit Cyprus and business was no longer as usual. I was starting to become rather restless, lacking motivation and enthusiasm. I had embarked on a journey to look for a new role and relocate (if necessary), somewhere where I could realize my vision of building impactful digital products to shape the future of payments, and thereby bring about social change.

What inspires you?

It’s probably a crazy answer, but I am inspired by constraints.  When there is less of a cushion between oneself and failure, innovation becomes a necessity.  I have come to discover that constraints can improve my agility and get my synapses firing at lightning speed.  Our perceived limitations may give us direction on where we might play, or want to play.

Why is the #WomenInTech movement important?

It’s tough to prove gender bias is real but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.  In fact, I have personally experienced it throughout my career but choose to brush it off.  I think of myself as a “person” and not a “woman” in tech or fintech.  I have observed reactions to my male peers at the workplace (who are not necessarily more capable) as being more authoritative and better-respected figures. That type of perception also affects differences in compensation and grade.

Overall, a diverse workplace is confirmed to get better results, more accurately reflects the customer/client base, and ensures a wider range of experiences.  Having said that, the best person should be hired for the job and not just to satisfy a statistic.

What piece of advice would you give women starting their careers in FinTech?

If you are passionate about leaving your mark and making an impact, a career in fintech will provide opportunities so that you can get in on the action.  These avenues have the potential to change your life and maybe even the world.  This alone, can motivate and inspire the right type of person (whether a woman or man) to choose this industry.

Throughout the year we will be profiling women in fintech, not simply to celebrate their success but also to hear what has worked for them during the course of their careers. Click here to read more inspirational stories from fintech’s leading women >>

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Top Five Trends in Customer Engagement Technology

Top Five Trends in Customer Engagement Technology
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Guest Post, SuiteBox

Guest post by Ian Dunbar, CEO of SuiteBox

—

Financial services businesses face many pressures – cost reduction, scalability, risk mitigation, compliance, and regulation. Technology is the solution, at least in part, to these pressures. However, technology adds to the friction or customer effort of engaging with the financial service. More effort = customer disengagement.

Cutting across fintech, there are rapid advances being made in technology that drives customer engagement. Here are some of the top themes in CETech – customer engagement technology – that are worth watching.

Social media delivering personalization (and profiling)

Social media, search history, and analytic tools leveraging our digital social footprint will become mainstream in building real time client profiles. This will enable financial services providers to engage with clients through highly-relevant personalized content and to leverage profiles to determine product suitability.

For example, being aware of changes in a client’s family situation (perhaps the death of a loved one or a divorce) may enable the proactive deployment of more effective financial strategies. Product designers can even leverage existing social media data to determine the risks associated with the delivery of a product or service. A life insurer can build an individual’s risk profile more accurately from social media data than from a questionnaire.

Artificial intelligence and cognitive learning

Conversational speech and facial expressions can be analyzed to determine customer emotions. Microsoft’s Emotion API, for example, can detect anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise from a voice stream and images.

Financial service providers can use cognitive tools to deliver their products in a more engaging manner. Meeting with a client in person, via video or on the telephone, can be analyzed in real time. Risk assessment for miss-selling, real timing adapting of what and how a product is presented, or even determining if client is misrepresenting information will all be possible.

The power of video

Most surveys continue to tell us that customers prefer meeting personally with their financial providers. However this can be costly and inconvenient. Do you or your clients want to spend time in traffic, battling for a parking spot, and suffering the stress of congested roads, for a personal meeting?

Of course not. So we use the phone as our primary non-physical meeting tool. But the problem with the phone is it doesn’t employ the power of sight. Eye contact is fundamental to human communication. We can tell a lot from a person’s eyes, what mood they are in, and their level of comfort. Avoiding eye contact with strangers is a common strategy to remain private, especially in situations of close proximity. Yet this is what we do in important telephone calls with our clients.

Biometrics gather momentum

Usernames and passwords are an enormous source of consumer frustration and customer effort. Fingerprint recognition of smartphones has led consumers to treat biometrics as mainstream. This will rapidly expand as biometrics allow a convergence between previously incompatible goals of enhanced security without customer effort.

Smarter virtual assistants

Natural language voice recognition combined with smart virtual assistants mean we will increasingly talk to our financial services websites or apps, rather than our fingers doing the work. Love or hate Siri, voice commands will be increasingly accepted as the norm.

Get ready

Embed customer effort reducing measures and customer-centric design into your digital strategies. Embed the customer experience into user journeys using the latest engagement technologies. Create your own “Customer Experience Lab” to test the experience. There is no better time to put your customer back into the centre of your IT strategy.

Ian Dunbar is the CEO of SuiteBox. SuiteBox enables a permanently open digital workspace to be established between a host and participants of a meeting, allowing participants to meet via video or physically, share and collaborate on documents between the parties, digitally sign documents, establish evidence of identify & record the meeting for future reference. Headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand and founded in 2013, the company demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2016.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Actiance, Darwinex, Dwolla, HackerOne, LendKey, PayPal, PaySimple, Ping Identity, Truephone

On Finovate.com

  • Top Five Trends in Customer Engagement Technology.
  • Coder, Broker, Music Producer: Hellenic Bank’s Natasha Kyprianides is Inspired by Constraints.
  • HackerOne Powering Bug Bounty Program for Tor Browser.
  • Truphone Added to List of Carriers for Apple SIM.
  • LendKey Raises $13 Million in Equity and Debt Financing.

Around the web

  • PaySimple and Ping Identity named on list of top ten startups developing in Denver, Colorado
  • Citigroup expands partnership with PayPal to allow card members to use rewards points for purchases at PayPal checkout in the U.S.
  • Darwinex wins spot in South Summit Startup Competition 2017.
  • TD Ameritrade TickerTape blog spotlights social sentiments app, LikeFolio.
  • Dwolla adds multi-user feature to its Access API Dashboard.

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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Karmic Labs Lands $17.2 Million to Grow Enterprise Payment Solutions

Karmic Labs Lands $17.2 Million to Grow Enterprise Payment Solutions
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Karmic Labs

Karmic Labs, the creator of Dash expense management platform, has received $17.2 million in Series B funding, bringing the company’s total funding to just under $25 million. Participating in the round were Alsop Louie Partners, Arbor Ventures, Greycroft, Marketplace Funds, Startup Capital Ventures, and others.

As part of the deal Wei Hopeman, Managing Partner at Arbor Ventures, and Jim Whims, Partner at Alsop-Louie Partners, have joined the San Francisco-based company’s board of directors. Karmic anticipates the funds will fuel the expansion of its enterprise-focused business. “This investment propels Karmic to the next stage of growth, and adding Wei and Jim’s expertise to our board will help us get there quicker,” said Mario Furgiuele, CEO of Karmic.

Founded in 2014, the company debuted the Dash Prepaid Mastercard at FinovateSpring 2015. The platform supplies employees with prepaid Mastercards and enables managers to view, approve, and control employee spending via the Dash mobile app. Karmic also offers co-branded and fully-customized card and mobile app products for a more seamless, branded experience.

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EquityZen Secures $3 Million in Round Led by Draper Associates

EquityZen Secures $3 Million in Round Led by Draper Associates
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: EquityZen, Funding

EquityZen, a secondary marketplace for trading pre-IPO shares, has taken in $3 million in funding this week. This Series A round brings the company’s total funding to $6.5 million. Draper Associates led the round, with WorldQuant Ventures also participating.

The EquityZen marketplace connects shareholders of private companies with its current pool of 20,000 accredited investors. The platform offers shareholders the ability to unlock liquidity tied up in privately-held shares of startups, while providing an alternative investment opportunity for investors, who can access the privately-held shares for a minimum of $20,000.

Since it was founded in 2013, New York-based EquityZen has closed more than 2,000 investments in more than 20 private companies. The company plans to use the new funds to expand its operations both within and outside of the U.S. and to make investments more accessible to qualified investors. Atish Davda, EquityZen CEO said, “We are excited to partner with [Draper Associates] as we expand investment access to tens of thousands more qualified investors who are tired of sitting on the sidelines watching a small number of Silicon Valley insiders profit from the private returns.”

Atish Davda, EquityZen CEO & Founder, and Ketan Bhalla, Product Lead debut EquityZen Institutional at FinovateSpring 2016

At FinovateSpring 2016, the company debuted EquityZen Institutional, which enables institutional investors to browse and access listings on behalf of multiple investment accounts. The institutional offering also has post-investment analytics to help advisors monitor risk and simplify reporting. Last summer, EquityZen’s Davda was featured on CNBC and earlier this year we featured the company in our review of top wealthtech players.

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Innovation Acceleration: Incubators and Innovation Labs Driving Development in Fintech

Innovation Acceleration: Incubators and Innovation Labs Driving Development in Fintech
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateFall 2017

 

Post updated to present Showcase sponsor, Fintech71 and latest Showcase addition, FinTech Innovation Lab.

—

To prepare for our expanded FinovateFall conference in September, we’re taking a look at some of the new additions during Discussion Days September 13 and 14. Today, we’re previewing our Showcase of Accelerators, Incubators, and Innovation Labs on the 14th.

FinovateFall 2017’s showcase on accelerators, incubators, and innovation labs features demos from startups representing each of our accelerators, with the audience selecting the most innovative startup based on “biggest impact in startup ecosystem.” Here is a sampling of the accelerators and incubators whose startups will be represented during our showcase.

Fintech71

We lead off with our Showcase sponsor, Fintech71. One of the newest fintech accelerators to emerge on the scene, Fintech71’s goal is to attract fintech startups to Ohio and grow the innovation pipeline for the state’s private sector stakeholders. Backed by companies such as KeyBank, Progressive, and Fifth Third, Fintech 71 provides innovative entrepreneurs with a $100,000 investment for up to 6% equity, daily 1-on-1 mentor support, as well as access to participating companies and  “millennial talent” thanks to nearby Ohio State University.

 

Fintech71 will begin its inaugural class on September 10. Up to 12 startups will participate in the 10-week program, which will be based in Columbus, Ohio. “Ohio’s ranking as a Top 5 Fortune 500 and Top 5 Fortune 1000 headquarter destination is not without reason,” Fintech71 executive director Matt Armstead said, adding, “We aim to leverage Ohio’s tech-savvy talent, attractive cost of doing business, and established industry strength to make Ohio a global hotspot for fintech innovation and growth.

Citi Ventures

Citi Ventures is the “innovation engine” of Citi. The division invests in startups, supports new technologies, and tests new products and services in its Innovation Labs and businesses. Citi Ventures made its first investment in July 2010, and saw its first portfolio company exit (Silver Tail acquired by EMC) two years later. Citi Ventures launched its first fintech accelerator in Tel Aviv in 2013.

  • Founded in 2010 by Debby Hopkins
  • Headquartered in Palo Alto, California
  • Notable Startups: Linkable Networks (FF12), Ayasdi (FF14), Feedzai (FE14), Betterment (FF11), Chain (FD15), BlueVine (FF14), Plaid (FD14), Pindrop Security (FF12)

In 2017, Citi Ventures began the year appointing a new chief, Vanessa Colella, who was also named Chief Innovation Officer of Citi. Citi Ventures launched its Citi University Partnerships in Discovery program in February and in May, the venture capital arm of Citi leveraged the technology from portfolio company (and Finovate alum) Chain, to launch Citi Connect for Blockchain integrated with Nasdaq Linq.

FinTech Innovation Lab

Fintech Innovation Lab specializes in early and growth-stage fintech companies, helping these startups get access to some of the biggest financial services companies in the world. With programs in New York, Hong Kong; Dublin, Ireland; and London, the Lab’s alums have raised $530 million in VC funding since graduating from the accelerator program – more than $460 million from the New York lab alone. FinTech Innovation Lab is sponsored by Partnership Fund for New York City and Accenture.

  • Founded in 2012 by Maria Gotsch and Robert Gach
  • Headquartered in New York City, New York
  • Notable Startups: AlphaPoint (FE15), Atsora (FE14), BehavioSec (FF15), Big Data Scoring (FF15), BillGuard (FS12), bondIT (FF16), Dashlane (FE13), DeMystData (FA12), EverSafe (FF14), ForwardLane (FS16), Logical Glue (FE16), MaxMyInterest (FF14), Modelshop (FD17), Narrative Science (FF13), PhotoPay (FE15), RevolutionCredit (FF13), True Office (FE13), Uniken (FF16)

Last month, FinTech Innovation Lab celebrated its seventh anniversary, as a new class of startups – including Finovate/FinDEVr alums BehavioSec, DemystData, and Modelshop – demonstrated their technologies at the Lab’s annual Demo Days event. The occasion encouraged FinTech Innovation Lab co-founder Robert Gach to note that many of the technologies that have been seen at the Lab have anticipated trends ranging from big data analytics to the blockchain. “We expect this year’s innovations will experience a similar trajectory,” Gach said.

Omidyar Network RegTech Accelerator

Omidyar Network is an active impact investor that provides both financial and human capital to entrepreneurs in five main focus areas: education, emerging technology, governance and citizen engagement, property rights, and financial inclusion. The firm, launched by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, has a special interest in “entrepreneurs who share our commitment to advancing social good at the pace and scale the world needs today.”

  • Founded in 2004 by Pierre and Pam Omidyar
  • Headquartered in Redwood City, California
  • Notable Startups: Digi.me, Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (FA12), Lenddo, Prosper (FS09), RevolutionCredit (FF13), Tandem Bank

Earlier this year, Omidyar Network teamed up with Finovate alum Twilio as the firm launched its Impact Fund to support social impact programs. In February, Omidyar Network invested $2.9 million in an initiative to support the development of civic technology platforms in Latin America. In total, Omidyar Network has committed more than $900 million in for-profit investments and non-profit grants since inception.

Startupbootcamp NY

With partners including Mastercard, Santander, and Route 66 Ventures, Startupbootcamp NY provides fintech startups with seed funding, professional mentorship, New York City office space, and access to a worldwide network of fintech investors and businesses. The program’s areas of focus includes advanced analytics, blockchain technology, financial inclusion, identity & authentication, investments & personal finance, mobile security, P2P lending, and payments.

  • Founded in 2o1o by Alex Farcet, Carsten Kolbeck, Patrick de Zeeuw, and Ruud Hendriks
  • Headquartered in London, U.K.
  • Notable Startups: BankGuard (FE17), bondIT (FF16), Dragon Wealth Asia (FA13), investUP (FE16), InvoiceSharing (FE17), iproov (FE17)

An accelerator network with a global reach, Startupbootcamp sponsors events in more than 100 cities every year. It has more than 460 startups in its portfolio, more than 70% of which received funding. Startupbootcamp was named Best Accelerator 2014 in the European Tech Startup Awards. In addition to its fintech accelerators in New York, London, Singapore, and Mumbai, Startupbootcamp also provides programs in e-commerce (Amsterdam), insurance (London), and IoT (Barcelona).

Techstars

Since its inception, Techstars has accelerated more than 1,000 companies, with an active or acquired rate of 90%. The firm has provided $3.7 billion in total funding to startups with a total market capitalization of more than $9 billion. “We fund technology oriented companies, typically web-based or other software companies,” Techstars explains in an FAQ, “but we’ve funded companies that don’t quite fit that mold as well.”

  • Founded in 2006 by David Cohen, Brad Feld, David Brown, and Jared Polis
  • Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado
  • Notable Alums: Remitly, DigitalOcean, ImpulseSave (FF12), Realty Mogul, Good April (FS13), Market IQ (FF13), Bitfusion, Zighra (FF13), Robinhood,

Techstars just celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Techstars Startup Weekend. Also this month, Techstars announced the addition of more than 100 companies to its Worldwide Network. In June, Techstars teamed up with GINCO to launch the Techstars Dubai Accelerator, which opens this month and will begin its first class in January. Techstars introduced a new accelerator in Paris in March, partnering with venture capital firm, Partech Ventures.

The upcoming Showcase of Accelerators, Incubators, and Innovation Labs at FinovateFall will feature demos from each of our featured accelerators. To be a part of our Discussion Days audience at FinovateFall, be sure to register and save your spot at the show today.

Image Designed by Freepik

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Avoka, Betterment, CrowdFlower, EquityZen, IBM, Karmic Labs, Mitek, NuCypher, Unison, Xignite, Xpenditure

On Finovate.com

  • EquityZen Secures $3 Million in Round Led by Draper Associates.
  • Karmic Labs Lands $17.2 Million to Grow Enterprise Payment Solutions.
  • Innovation Acceleration: Incubators and Incubation Labs Drive Development in Fintech.

Around the web

  • MoneYou integrates Mitek’s identity solutions for real-time digital onboarding.
  • Xignite launches the Xignite Channel Partner Program to offer partners integrated cloud-based market data solutions.
  • Betterment launches new Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Portfolio.
  • Forbes profiles Unison in look at the challenges facing homebuying millennials.
  • CrowdFlower adds former Amazon AI product specialist Robert Munro as VP of Machine Learning.
  • NuCypher introduces its decentralized key management system, NuCypher KMS.
  • AltFi talks about the role of “platformification” in supporting innovation in fintech with Avoka CEO Phil Copeland.
  • IDG Connect interviews Xpenditure CEO Boris Bogaert on current trends in banking including blockchain R&D.
  • IBM opens new data centers in London, U.K.; Sydney, Australia; and San Jose, California.

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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Flybits Raises $6.5 Million to Help Banks Put Data to Work

Flybits Raises $6.5 Million to Help Banks Put Data to Work
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Flybits, Funding

Consumer data contextualization company Flybits pulled in $6.5 million this week, bringing the Toronto-based company’s total funds to $14 million.

The Series B funding was led by Information Venture Partners. New investor Portag3 Ventures LP also participated along with existing investors Robert Bosch Venture and Trellis Capital. As a part of the agreement, Information Venture Partners’ co-founders Robert Antoniades and David Unsworth will join Flybits’ board of directors.

“This funding will allow us to ramp up our sales efforts in the United States and Europe, reinforce our existing global presence and expand our product and engineering teams to strengthen Flybits’ unique machine learning capabilities,” said Dr. Hossein Rahnama, Founder and CEO of Flybits. “Our product focus now is simplifying how our customers leverage their data ecosystem and drive customer engagement.”

Jordanne Pavao, Product Manager (left) and  Hossein Rahnama, CEO & Founder (right) demo Flybits Experience Studio at FinovateSpring 2017

Founded in 2013, Flybits helps banks convert big data into business intelligence to offer consumers personalized experiences, promotions, and product recommendations. Earlier this year, the company debuted its Flybits Experience Studio at FinovateSpring 2017. The Experience Studio helps banks create and deliver personalized, digital experiences for their clients at scale. This helps banks waste fewer resources on IT complexities such as machine learning, semantic processing, and data contextualization and instead focus on delivering an exceptional user experience.

Rahnama was recently named to Forbes’ Top 40 under 40 for 2017. In 2016, the company earned recognition as a cool vendor in Gartner’s Platform-as-a-Service report and in 2015 received Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Canada award as a “Company to Watch.” With offices in Toronto, the San Francisco Bay Area, London, and Singapore, Flybits not only serves the financial services industry, but also travel and hospitality, retail, and events.

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