Finovate Alumni Raise $825 Million in 2013, Up 79%

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Cheers to a new year! After ringing in 2014, we wanted take a look back at the capital raised by Finovate alumni in 2013. It was quite a year, with alums pulling in $825 million, $365 million more than in 2012 for an increase of about 80%.
2013 funding summary:
    • 62 companies raised $825 million
    • Q4 had the most capital, with a total of $294 million raised by 17 companies (more than half by Xero, which landed $150 million). 
    • October was the busiest month, with $177 million raised (mostly Xero’s $150 million)
    • May was second highest with $91 million raised by 7 companies
2012 comparison
Last year Finovate alums took in almost twice as much as 2012, when 44 Finovate alums collectively raised $460 million. The chart below shows the quarter-by-quarter comparison for both years.
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Quarter 1 — blog post
More than $155 million raised by 14 companies
January — $57 million raised by 6 companies
February — $56 million raised by 5 companies

March — $42 million raised by 4 companies


Quarter 2 — blog post
More than $205 million raised by 15 companies
June — $81.7 million raised by 6 companies
May — $91.5 million raised by 7 companies
April — $32 million raised by 2 companies

Quarter 3 — blog post
More than $171 million raised by 22 companies

July — More than $63 million raised by 8 companies
August — More than $26 million raised by 6 companies
September — $82 million raised by 9 companies
Quarter 4
More than $294 million raised by 17 companies

October— $177 raised by 6 companies
November — More than $87 million raised by 7 companies
December — More than $30 million raised by 6 companies

Note: Funding that companies received before they first appeared at Finovate was not counted. Questions? Comments? Email us at julie@finovate.com or david@finovate.com.

ERN Global Raises Additional $1 Million in Seed Funding, Sets Sights on Asia Market

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After the flood of funding announcements last week,* ERN Global, creator of Looop targeted offers solution, just reported that it raised an additional $1 million in seed funding.

This latest installment, which comes from unnamed private investors, brings the company’s total funding to $5.6 million. The London-based company plans to use the funding to bolster its expansion efforts into the Asia market.

It also announced that it has added Brian Thom, ex-American Express Head of Global Marketing, as president of its Asia division.

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To learn more about ERN, check out its demo video from FinovateEurope 2013.

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*Last week on the Finovate blog, we covered 5 funding announcements: 1) Azimo 2) Leaf 3) Quantopian 4) CardFlight 5) Jemstep.

Third Quarter 2013 Funding for Finovate Alumni — More than $171 Million Raised

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The third quarter of 2013 revealed that even during the sleepy days of summer, the business of putting capital into the coffers of fintech innovators remained as busy as ever.

Finovate alumni were the beneficiaries of more than $171 million during July, August, and September. This brings the total year-to-date funding for Finovate alumni to at least $526 million (some of the funding amounts were undisclosed).

Here is the Q3 summary for 2013:

July — More than $63 million raised by eight companies
August — More than $26 million raised by six companies
September — $82 million raised by nine companies
Note: Fundings prior to a Finovate appearance not included. Questions? Comments? Email us at julie@finovate.com or david@finovate.com.

Finovate Alumni News– September 24, 2013

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  • Capital Access Network listed among Information Week’s top U.S. technology innovators in 2013.
  • FIS announces analytics programs for customers.
  • Swipely now managing $1 bil in annual sales, 1 yr. after entering payments market & launched Swipely Partner Network.
  • Cachet Financial Solutions announces Select Mobile Lending, a new mobile app.
  • MasterCard and Entrepreneurial Finance Labs join forces to promote SMB growth in developing nations.
  • TechCrunch reports PayPal, Stripe, & Braintree partner with Facebook to autofill billing info in mobile commerce apps.
  • ERN partners with FICO to embed FICO’s marketing solutions within its real-time Big Data analytics platform Looop.
  • Mountaineer Gas joins doxo to simplify bill delivery, payment, and record keeping for its 220,000 customers.
  • Digital Insight announces new CEO, John O’Malley.
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 Alumni News– August 6, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgERN raises another $1 million, acquires two UK companies.
  • Expensify announces additional approval modes.
  • TMC selects Interactions’ Virtual Assistant applications for a 2013 Speech Technology Excellence Award.
  • The Financial Brand looks at NeoBanks: Moven, Simple, GoBank.
  • Reuters article features Wealthfront as a platform of choice for how millenials manage money.
  • MasterCard partners with United Bank for Africa to provide Nigeria’s first personalized debit card.
  • BrightFunds announces that it is now an official contributor to Triple Pundit.
  • The Economist talks with TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus about technological innovation in Estonia.
  • Kabbage and On Deck Capital both featured in Fit Small Business column on raising money for an existing business.
  • Allied Payment Network partners with Access Softek to provide Picture Pay mobile bill pay technology.
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.

ERN Raises Another $1 Million, Acquires Two UK Companies

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Recently, the big data trend has been pulsing through fintech and beyond. To further prove this, data insights company and creator of looop, ERN, recently announced $1 million in funding and the acquisition of two companies.

This seed funding, combined with the $1.6 million it announced in July and the $2 million it received late last year, brings the London-based company’s total funding to $4.6 million. All investors are unnamed, high-net worth individuals.

ERN acquired two U.K.-based consulting companies that were both purchased with a combination of undisclosed fees and stock:

    1. Inspired Analytics
    2. Elucidata

ERN also mentioned in its news release that it is preparing to announce its first commercial customer.

To learn more about ERN, check out its FinovateEurope 2013 demo video.

Finovate Alumni News– July 12, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgMeniga raises $6.5 million (€5 million) to further develop PFM and online banking.
  • ERN Global raises $1.6 million in seed funding.
  • Lighter Capital extends revenue-based financing to Canadian small businesses. Come see Lighter Capital’s demo at FinovateFall.
  • Bank Innovation reports on the GoBank rollout.
  • Finect president Jennifer Openshaw sourced in USA Today column on SEC’s decision to end the ban on hedge fund advertising.
  • Tinkoff Credit Systems chooses DataSpace for data center facilities and services support. Meet Tinkoff Credit Systems at FinovateFall in New York.
  • Temenos launches SocialComply to help banks go social.
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.

ERN Global Raises $1.6 Million in Seed Funding

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Data analytics platform ERN Global announced that it has raised $1.6 million (€1.2 million) in seed funding.

This second round of seed funding, combined with the $2 million that the UK-based company received late last year, brings the company’s total funding up to $3.6 million.

The funding comes from “a number of high net worth individuals” and will be used to further develop ERN’s customized loyalty platform, Looop (pictured below), which it launched at FinovateEurope in February.

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To learn more about ERN and see Looop in action, watch its FinovateEurope 2013 demo.

ERN Launches Looop, a Transaction Analytics Engine

This post is a part of our live coverage of FinovateEurope 2013.

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ERN took the stage next to launch Looop, a platform that uses big data technology to leverage transactional data to send customers targeted offers:
“Looop is a unique, big data technology platform that brings together card payment and merchant data in real time to create value from every single transaction.
It provides transactional payment data analytics, insights, integrated and intelligent mCoupons, eReceipts and campaign management and tracking. All delivered through a smart phone app and cloud-based solution, to ensure rapid and secure global deployment across multiple jurisdictions.”
Product Launch: February 2013
HQ: London, UK
Founded: August 2011
Metrics: Funded by private high net worth individuals from the sector. 12 employees.
Website: ernglobal.com
Twitter: @ernltd
Presenting Dan Brassington (CEO), Andrew Rush (Head of Global Sales), and Anant Patel (Head of UK Sales)
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FinovateEurope 2013 Sneak Peek: Part 1

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For our first ever two day FinovateEurope conference, we’ve selected 64 of the most innovative companies in fintech to demo their newest technology to an audience packed full of banking executives, press, analysts, bloggers, and more.
Each company provided a sneak peek of what they’ll demo next month. Below is the first installment of these teasers. We’ll have more next week.
Don’t miss your chance to see the live demo from each company and be a part of our FinovateEurope conference at Old Billingsgate Market Hall in London on February 12 and 13. Get your ticket here.
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Mobile devices are rapidly taking place of credit cards and visits to the bank. How can you have confidence that the user on the other end of that high value transaction is who they say they are? TraitWareID
So why not learn more about a comprehensive authentication solution specifically configured for applications with mobile users that offers a versatile, single, integrated approach that does not require additional hardware?

Innovation type: Identity, payments, security

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Everyone knows the importance of social networks in the financial world. Millions publicly discuss their experiences with the different brands they interact with throughout the day. It also applies to the financial markets. Investors, large or small, share their views on the main market securities and how emerging news influences their trading. 
And of all the social networks, Twitter is probably the most widely used for this type of analysis. But, is there any chance to analyse the conversations about stocks and to obtain a sentiment? We will show you that is possible.

Innovation type: Online

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Biletu is the new way to organise events and share expenses between friends, family and colleagues.
Innovation type: Mobile, PFM, Rewards

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Cardlytics is a real-time marketing and analytics platform that enables over 350 banks globally to bring profitable, targeted rewards to their consumers. Cardlytics’ latest innovation is an integrated Facebook app, containing a rewards summary page showing a customer their available offers. Launching in 2013, this will allow banks to have a meaningful and valuable customer conversation in social. 
Watch as we demo creating the Facebook-to-Customer relationship, preserving customer privacy through our patent-pending OPS & OMS systems. Once the link is made we will demonstrate the targeted rewards and savings earned for a customer through the Facebook interface.

Innovation type: Mobile, online, rewards

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Comarch will showcase two solutions, which work together guiding customers from the interpretation of their transactions to suggestions of products and services that can really help them improve their financial standing. Comarch solutions use multiple motivation techniques to help customers achieve financial fitness through sound personal finance management.
Innovation type: Investing & asset management, mobile, PFM

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Dashlane, winner of Best of Show at FinovateFall in NYC 2012, will demo their core technology: a consumer app (desktop and mobile) that enables users to instantly checkout, login and fill forms in a flash universally on every website and every device, without the need for any site-side integration with merchants whatsoever. 
In addition to being a secure personal data management tool and the “point of payment choice” for users, Dashlane offers financial services and ecommerce partners a privileged seat next to the user during all their online transactions.
Innovation type: Payments, security

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Big Data. Pretty much the two words that are on everyone’s lips, but much harder to actually put into action… until now, that is. 
ERN will show you how our unique, big data technology platform brings together card payment and merchant data in real time. Using that data and insight, we’ll show you how (at last) you can intelligently target loyalty programs and marketing campaigns effectively. Better still, there’s even a smartphone app to deliver your customers eReceipts and mCoupons.
We look forward to showing you how you can close the loop on payment Big Data and create value from every single transaction.
Innovation type: Mobile, payments, rewards

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eyeOpen is launching the world’s first digital mortgage advisor. The digital mortgage advisor provides consumers with best-in-class mortgage advice. It provides banks and insurance companies with a leading user interface in conversions, advice algorithms and a management information dashboard on consumer behavior.
eyeOpen tested the digital mortgage advisor in The Netherlands with leading banks such as Rabobank, ING and ABN AMRO. The company sells the consumer advice software in Europe from its Amsterdam office and in the USA from its San Francisco office. 

Innovation type: Back office, banking, marketing

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EZBOB offers real-time financing for e-commerce businesses in the UK. The company has developed a web-based lending platform which gathers data, in real-time, allowing for instant lending decisions. 
An e-commerce business is analysed based on data pulled through API connections to data sources such as Amazon, eBay and PayPal, as well as strategic partners such as Channel Grabber, EKM and others. 
EZBOB’s proprietary algorithm allows the company to look beyond a traditional credit score. 
Innovation type: Banking, identity, lending, PFM, small business

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Learn how Financial Simplicity’s portfolio business management infrastructure enables wealth firms to operate thousands of individually tailored investment portfolios efficiently and compliantly. 
It will reveal how portfolio management can blend new world social relevance with operational excellence. Specifically, Financial Simplicity will demonstrate:
    1. Whole of firm portfolio mandate and compliance monitoring in a single screen
    2. On-demand portfolio analysis within a socially relevant context
    3. Investor-tailored portfolio modelling at the click of a button
    4. Implement pre-compliant portfolio decision-making across a Centralised Investment Proposition in a matter of seconds
Innovation type: Investing & asset management

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Story of My Finances is an entirely new approach in digital financial customer service. It takes online banking and PFM to the next level of mass retail financial planning and advice. 
Stories are customer-driven financial life processes, such as How to spend less, Prepare for a rainy day, Buy a home or Retirement planning. Stories help end-customers to get financially fit and to have a peace of mind. Stories are the missing link between everyday people and financial products. 
We believe that we can improve people’s financial life by licensing our white-label technology to financial institutions.
Innovation type: Online, PFM, sales

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You’re seated comfortably watching TV, and suddenly you’re notified that a bank deposit was made into your account. Good news! Simply click, and you can see the details.
The Home Shopping Network presents the set of cooking pans that you have had your eye on for ages. With the press of a button, the pans are on their way to your house!

Innovation type: Marketing, online, sales

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Kalixa believes that today, payments simply don’t meet the real needs of consumers and businesses. For businesses payments are expensive, fragmented and leave them exposed. 
Ed Chandler, CEO of Kalixa, will showcase how next-generation technology that underpins a total payment journey can transform payments from a source of cost, complexity and confusion into a sustainable competitive advantage that stimulates innovation and fuels business growth.

Innovation type: Cards, payments

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We truly believe that the financial industry needs a radical rethink and that innovative financial services offering fair prices, transparency and creating no systemic risk are more important than ever.
Based on these conclusions, we developed an alternative to traditional FX products and services offered by banks and brokers. Kantox is a marketplace where companies can look for and find others companies – their counterparties – to exchange foreign currencies spot and forward without the intermediation of banks.
Innovation type: Payments

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Luminous’ BankFiling loan origination solution enables financial institutions to increase lending to banking customers, while reducing risk.
Innovation type: Banking, lending, small business

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mBank & Efigence present the first European comprehensive Bank 3.0 revolution in a large bank with a full financial product portfolio. 
mBank, an online bank, has successfully leveraged the internet to organically become the third largest in Poland. Now, it’s re-inventing itself by bridging startup-grade innovation on a mass scale. It will implement a wave of next-gen services: transactional banking, transactional/real-time marketing, PFM, social, gamification, video banking, mobility and more. 
It will show its innovative transactional site and the first European implementation of transactional marketing, highlighting a creative take on Facebook, social platforms and real-time consumer gratification.
Innovation type: Banking, online, rewards

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Movenbank will be the first consumer banking experience centered around mobile and enabling a consumer’s everyday financial wellness. We combine mobile banking, mobile payments, and real time financial health and spending insight to help customers spend, save and live smarter. 
Consumers pay with their mobile phones and receive insight on their spending behaviors at the point of sale when it matters most. When was the last time your checking account did that?
Innovation type: Banking, payments, PFM

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Your customers want a mobile service that is as smart as their device. Are you delivering? When customers use your mobile service, they often require assistance beyond self-service to resolve their needs. Having them realize they now need to call your contact center and start from scratch with the IVR causes disappointment and frustration. 
NICE Mobile Reach complements mobile self-service to bridge it with assisted-service channels. It lets companies intelligently engage their mobile customers, seamlessly connect them to the right representative with full context transfer, and then powerfully collaborate with them during the interaction. That’s smart customer service that creates value!
Innovation type: Communications, mobile, sales

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The Open Bank Project (OBP) is an open source-powered API for banks that enables account holders to access their transaction data using a wider range of applications and services. 
The OBP API supports transparency options (enabling account holders to share configurable views of their transaction data with trusted individuals and even the public), data blurring (to preserve sensitive information) and data enrichment (enabling users to add tags, comments and images to transactions). The OBP App Store enables banks and developers to showcase supported apps.
Innovation type: Back office, communications

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The new, highly volatile market order that’s been prevailing for the last few years is raising the pressure on you to come up with asset allocations that are precisely fitted to your clients’ profile. Clients increasingly challenge the proposed investment strategies’ ability generate performance while preserving wealth. 
The BlackSwan Financial Platform lets you engage your clients in an interactive analysis of their risk. Explore investment options together with your clients and guide them through an informed process in selecting the most optimal asset allocation for their profile using clever quantitative finance algorithms.
Innovation type: Investing & asset management

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EdgeConnect is the industry’s most dynamic user experience platform (UXP). EdgeConnect provides a single, consistent platform that enables superior user experiences to be delivered across multiple distribution channels, for any product, any user, in any language and optimised for each device.
A major new editor within edgeConnect, LiveDesigner, is a game-changer in application design. It allows designers to change the look and feel, layout and behaviour while an application is executing, so that they can make changes and see the effects on dynamic application pages prior to live deployment.
Innovation type: Mobile, online, sales

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The Currency Cloud transforms the way businesses make international payments.
 
We inject cost savings, transparency and productivity enhancements into the payment process to deliver a service businesses deserve. Our platform connects to a host of exchange rate providers and payment networks to optimise the conversion, sending and receiving of international payments. 
Businesses access our service directly online, through our API, or via the multitude of firms such as banks, brokers, remittance agents, IFAs, and accounting solutions providers that extend our capabilities through their own services.
We will be showcasing the power of integrated international payments within treasury solutions.
Innovation type: Back office, payments

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Could the banks have avoided over $1 billion in fines for anti money laundering violations with this True Office game?
By playing the True Office | Thomson Reuters Anti Money Laundering desktop and mobile app, financial services employees are exposed to the regulatory risks they confront, and learn how to comply with anti money laundering laws and company policies. 
The data generated from this app provides financial services institutions with compliance analytics that help identify and reduce instances of anti money laundering risk.
Innovation type: Mobile, security

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TSYS Spend Controls puts control over card usage into the hands of the business owner or program administrator. It provides businesses a means to implement upfront transaction controls to ensure cardholder compliance with purchasing guidelines. 
Administrators manage parameters using a simple Web-based user interface, establishing guidelines according to business, department or individual needs. Each transaction is reviewed at the point of sale based on the pre-established parameters.
Innovation type: Banking, cards, marketing

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Virtual Piggy is the first e-commerce solution that enables kids to manage and spend money within a parent-controlled environment. 
We deliver online security platforms designed for the Under 18 age group in the global online market, and also enable online businesses the ability to function in a manner consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) and similar international children’s privacy laws.
Innovation type: Payments, PFM

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VoiceTrust inTalk increases customer convenience, reduces call times, and provides enhanced security at financial institutions’ call centers. It does this by verifying a customer’s identity through passive listening to the conversation between the agent and the customer. 
Independent of the language spoken or the words uttered, inTalk is able to compare the speaker’s voice against the account holder’s voiceprint and indicate whether the speaker is the account holder or an imposter. The agent is alerted with a graphical indicator on their monitor.
Innovation type: Identity, sales, security

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Yseop will present several intelligent text-generating financial solutions. We will demo a prep-to-meeting report written in two seconds, an automatically generated two-page financial executive summary based on the latest market data and a personalized retirement planning application. 
Yseop is artificial intelligence that writes (and speaks) non-repetitive intelligent text, just like a human being, but at a speed of thousands of pages per second. Yseop analyzes a company’s business data, dialogs intelligently with its customers to understand their goals and then generates written comments and recommendations following the best practices of the company’s top experts.
Innovation type: Communications, sales, marketing