Stronger Together: Fintechs, Techs, and FIs Collaborating on CyberSecurity

Stronger Together: Fintechs, Techs, and FIs Collaborating on CyberSecurity

Image Designed by Freepik

Ready for some good news on the cybersecurity front?

Most of the time cybersecurity appears in the headlines, it is a report of a breach that just occurred or a new threat to guard against in the future. Caught between the hack that caught us unaware and the certainty that it won’t be the last, we can lose sight of the fact that there are hundreds of cybersecurity firms with thousands of security professionals that are working around the clock to make our lives online a lot safer. And many of these companies are Finovate alums specializing in service to the financial industry and its customers.

Ted Ross, founder and CEO of SpyCloud, demonstrating the company’s Best of Show-winning platform at FinovateFall 2017.

Importantly, not only are these companies working 24/7/365 to fight cybercrime, but also many of them are teaming up and partnering with financial institutions, retailers, and each other to test their technologies, make key improvements and enhancements, and ultimately get their fraud-fighting solutions to market.

With that in mind – and in line with our October focus on cybersecurity – here’s a look at the partnerships, agreements, and collaborations forged by our cybersecurity-related alums so far in 2017.

October

Fintech-to-Tech

  • Mitek partners with handwriting-based biometric authentication service Asignio to deliver IDaaS solution.
  • Avoka extends strategic partnership with Mitek for digital identity verification solutions.
  • ThreatMetrix and ID.me partner to deliver ID verification for government and commercial digital services.
  • Ledger partners with Intel to boost blockchain app security.
  • BioCatch to power behavioral biometrics for Samsung SDS America. 
  • SecureKey collaborates with Intel to enable consumers to access its blockchain-based digital identity technology via traditional web browsers.
  • Zighra launches flagship continuous authentication product.
  • Kony to launch digital banking solution leveraging Daon biometrics. 
  • iSignthis to integrate its Paydentity UBO Service with Web Shield’s InvestiGate platform.
  • TASCET teams with Secured2 to launch Algo5 data security offering.

Fintech-to-FI

  • Latvian Bank Citadele secures mobile and online banking with VASCO’s DIGIPASS for Apps and CRONTO.
  • National Bank of Canada joins SecureKey’s digital identity network.

Fintech-to-ECommerce

  • HooYu to provide ID confirmation for U.K.’s Cars-as-a-Service easyCar Club.

Multiple Best of Show winner EyeVerify demonstrating its Eyeprint ID technology at FinovateEurope 2017 with partner YapiKredi Bank.

September

Fintech-to-Tech

  • Vera to provide data security services for GE.
  • BioCatch to power fraud prevention solutions for HoneyTek Systems.

Fintech-to-FI

  • DefenseStorm to bolster cybersecurity operations for Genesee Regional Bank ($551 million in assets).
  • Open Banking selects Ping Identity to provide the identity and access management to underpin the U.K.’s open banking framework.

Fintech-to-Ecommerce

  • Signifyd guarantees fraud protection for Magento Commerce Merchants.
  • Infosys Finacle partners with ToneTag to leverage sound wave technology to drive contactless authentications and transactions.

August

Fintech-to-Tech

  • Jumio partners with Plynk to bring instant verification to Europe’s first money messaging app.
  • FIS and Equifax partner to offer new identity verification solution, OnlyID.
  • Biometric Signature ID partners with National Fingerprint to provide virtual ID proofing and verification services.
  • BioCatch partners with LexisNexis to leverage data and analytics for better risk management.

Fintech-to-FI

  • Samsung to power biometric authentication pilot for Bank of America.
  • Mexican payment processor chooses fraud fighting technology from Featurespace.

Fintech-to-ECommerce

  • HooYu brings identity confirmation technology to BCRemit.

July

Fintech-to-Tech

  • ID Analytics partners with Acxiom to strengthen risk assessment and combat fraud.
  • HackerOne Powering bug bounty program for Tor browser.

Fintech-to-FI

  • MoneYou integrates Mitek’s identity solutions for real-time digital onboarding.
  • DefenseStorm to serve as cybersecurity partner for Bank of Jackson Hole to enhance security.

Fintech-to-ECommerce

  • International Air Transport Association chooses fraud prevention technology from Featurespace.
  • Signifyd brings its Guaranteed Fraud Protection solution to Authorize.Net’s U.S.-based e-commerce merchants.

Behavioral biometric innovator BehavioSec, shown here demonstrating BehavioSec on Demand at FinovateFall 2015, has won three Best of Show awards.

June

Fintech-to-Tech

  • Daon adds EyePrint ID to IdentityX platform courtesy of new partnership with EyeVerify.
  • IdentityMind Global to offer Confirm.io’s document authentication technology to its financial services customers.
  • Jumio partners with Monzo for strong identity verification.
  • iovation to integrate its device-based authentication technology with PingFederate from Ping Identity.
  • TSYS partners with Featurespace to deliver real-time decision capabilities.

Fintech-to-FI

  • Leumi Card to use Feedzai’s artificial intelligence platform to fight fraud.
  • Ghana-based Premium Bank selects NetGuardians’ anti-fraud solution – FraudGuardian.

May

Fintech-to-Tech

  • Cisco and IBM team up on security.
  • BehavioSec partners with Kount.
  • Trulioo partners with Mitek to add facial recognition functionality to its ID verification platform.
  • Daon to integrate IdentityX platform with Experian’s fraud and identity platform, CrossCore.

Fintech-to-FI

  • Australia-based forex broker Pepperstone to deploy Paydentity verification services from iSignthis.

April

Fintech-to-Tech

  • Fraud prevention innovator Featurespace partners with U.K. digital family banking solution, goHenry.
  • Payment solutions provider Buckaroo chooses AML solution from Fiserv.

Fintech-to-FI

  • Global financial services firm chooses Mobile Verify and Mobile Fill from Mitek.

Fintech-to-ECommerce

  • Braspag announces integration of e-commerce and anti-fraud technology from ACI Worldwide.

A FinDEVr favorite, HackerOne and its bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure platform leverage white hat hackers to find critical security gaps before criminals do.

March

Fintech-to-Tech

  • Mastercard adds to authentication arsenal with acquisition of NuData Security.
  • Swiss financial sector infrastructure operator SIX partners with IBM Watson to build cyber-security hub.

Fintech-to-FI

  • Daon brings mobile biometric authentication to UnionBank.
  • Co-op Financial Services to leverage machine learning-based fraud fighting technology from Feedzai.
  • Pindrop to mitigate call center fraud for credit union service organization PSCU.

Fintech-to-ECommerce

  • Saltrex to use Jumio’s Netverify Trusted-Identity-as-a-Service.
  • Featurespace to provide machine learning fraud and risk management solution to CashFlows.

February

Fintech-to-Tech

  • BioCatch brings continuous online and mobile authentication to Nuance Communications’ Security Suite solution.
  • Icon Solutions joins forces with Featurespace to bring anti-fraud protection to instant payments.

Fintech-to-FI

  • Affinity CU becomes “trusted sign-in” partner in SecureKey Concierge.
  • First national private bank of Turkey, Yapi Kredi to deploy Eyeprint ID from EyeVerify for mobile logins.

Fintech-to-ECommerce

  • Feedzai and Merchant Risk Council (MRC) team up to leverage AI and machine learning to fight fraud.
  • MoneyGram using Mobile Verify from Mitek to meet AML requirements.

January

Fintech-to-Tech

  • Arxan Technologies partners with Cisco as to protect connected medical devices.
  • WISeKey and Stratumn partner to provide enterprise-grade process security software based on blockchain technologies.
  • FICO and Ethoca partner to improve card acceptance rates, fight CNP fraud, and reduce disputes.

Fintech-to-FI

  • ACI Worldwide to provide fraud protection for Kuwait’s Shared Electronic Banking Services Company (KNET).
  • NetGuardians brings real-time fraud protection to Nigeria’s Keystone Bank.

 

Feedzai Secures $50 Million in New Funding

Feedzai Secures $50 Million in New Funding

In a round led by an undisclosed investor, real-time, AI-enabled risk and fraud management platform Feedzai has raised $50 million in Series C funding. The financing, which takes Feedzai’s total capital to $82 million, also featured participation from existing investor Sapphire Ventures.

“We’ve made major headway on our vision in the last year, and this new round of funding will help us accelerate our growth as we continue to invest in the top people, as well as the most advanced data science and machine learning technology, to make banking and commerce safe across the globe,” Feedzai CEO and co-founder Nuno Sebastiao said. The company plans to grow its workforce to 300 by the end of 2017, and highlighted the hiring of former Box SVP Jim Priestly as its new Chief Revenue Officer as an example of the kind of year Feedzai has enjoyed.

Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Feedzai demonstrated its Feedzai Fraud Prevention platform at FinovateEurope 2014. The company leverages artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning to provide fraud prevention solutions for banks, payment providers, and merchants. Securing online account opening, payments, and e-commerce are among the ways that Feedzai’s omnichannel fraud prevention solutions have been deployed since the company’s founding in 2008. “Feedzai’s proprietary platform puts the power back in the hands of merchants, issuers, and payment networks to manage risk while improving topline revenue,” Sapphire Ventures partner Anders Ranum said.

This summer Israel-based consumer credit card service provider Leumi Card announced that it would use Feedzai’s platform to detect and fight fraud. A member of Planet Compliance’s RegTech 100, Feedzai partnered with Co-op Financial Services in March and teamed up with the Merchant Risk Council (MRC) in February. We featured Feedzai in our January look at AI in fintech, A Fintech Filter for Artificial Intelligence in 2017.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • BankBazaar Receives $30 Million in Funding Round Led by Experian.
  • Feedzai Secures $50 Million in New Funding.
  • BlueVine Lands $130 Million in Debt Financing.
  • Sensibill Brings Receipt Management to Royal Bank of Scotland’s Business Banking Customers.

Around the web

  • Entersekt hires Sherif Samy as SVP for North American operations.
  • Visa and Billtrust team up to streamline B2B payment reconciliation and support automation of virtual card payments.
  • PayPal announces Vemno is now payment option at more than two million U.S. retailers.
  • Narrative Science wins Microsoft Office 2017 App Award for Best Business Value.
  • TransCard partners with ExpenseAnywhere to Deliver Automated Payment Process Management Solutions.

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

On Finovate.com

  • SumUp Goes Beyond mPOS with New Online Payments Suite.
  • Hot Takes! Fierce Debate! Finovate Presents the Battle of the Fintech Analysts.

Around the web

  • Ixaris appoints WorldPay co-founder and former Skrill/Paysafe Group CEO David Sear as Chairman
  • Leumi Card to use Feedzai’s Artificial Intelligence platform to fight fraud.
  • PYMNTS takes a look at Modo’s COIN technology.
  • iSignthis deploys its Payidentity service to Borgun.

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 Populate RegTech Top 100 Power List

Finovate Alums Populate RegTech Top 100 Power List

RegTech_image

Call it them the Finovate Fifth.

Nearly 20 of the companies highlighted in Planet Compliance’s new RegTech Top 100 Power list – and five of the top ten – are Finovate and/or FinDEVr alums. To measure “power”, Planet Compliance used an algorithm that measured a company’s activity in the media, as well as online and in social media including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Wikipedia.

Interestingly, Planet Compliance says it has added a “secret ingredient” to the ranking system. It is also worth noting that their definition of RegTech is broad enough to include not just ID verification/authentications specialists, but biometric security innovators, as well.

So let’s take a look at how Finovate/FinDEVr alums stacked up.

(1) Temenos (FE15, FD15)

  • Founded 1993. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Market capitalization of $5.63 billion.

Temenos_stage_FD15

Pictured: Aaron Phethean, Marketplace Director for Temenos B2B Financial Services Marketplace, during his FinDEVr Silicon Valley presentation.

(3) Trulioo (FF16, FD14)

  • Founded in 2011. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Raised $23 million in funding.

(5) Qumram (FF16)

  • Founded in 2011. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Raised $4.5 million in funding.

(8) Socure (FF15)

  • Founded in 2012. Headquartered in New York, New York. Raised $18 million in funding.

(10) Feedzai (FE14)

  • Founded in 2009. Headquartered in San Mateo, California. Raised $26 million in funding.

(11) Ayasdi (FF14)

  • Founded in 2008. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Raised $106 million in funding.

(18) NetGuardians SA (FA16)

  • Founded in 2007. Headquartered in Vaud, Switzerland. Raised $5.5 million in funding.

NetGuardians_stage_FA16

Pictured: Mine Fornerod, Net Guardians Digital Marketing Manager, demonstrating FraudGuardian at FinovateAsia 2016.

(19) BioCatch (FF14)

  • Founded in 2011. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Raised $11.6 million in funding.

(34) Investglass (FA16)

  • Founded in 2014. Headquartered in Plan-les-ouates, Geneva, Switzerland. Raised $100,000 in funding.

(38) Mitek (FE17, FD15)

  • Founded in 1985. Headquartered in San Diego, California. Market capitalization of $218 million.

Mitek_stage_FE17

Pictured: Sarah Clark (General Manager, Identity, Mitek) demonstrating Mobile Verify at FinovateEurope 2017.

(39) nCino (FE17)

  • Founded in 2012. Headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. Raised $64.7 million in funding.

(45) SecureKey (FF12)

  • Founded in 2008. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Raised $89 million in funding.

(48) Rippleshot (FF14)

  • Founded in 2012. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Raised $4.6 million in funding.

(63) Trunomi (FE15)

  • Founded in 2014. Headquartered in San Jose, California. Raised $6 million in funding.

(66) BehavioSec (FF15, FD15)

  • Founded in 2007. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Raised $8.2 million in funding.

BehavioSec_stage_FF15

Pictured: Olov Renberg, BehavioSec COO, demonstrating BehavioSec On Demand at FinovateFall 2015.

(76) DemystData (FA12)

  • Founded in 2010. Headquartered in Singapore. Raised $12 million in funding.

(77) Fenergo (FE12)

  • Founded in 2009. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Raised $80 million in funding.

(84) Trustev (FE14)

  • Founded in 2013. Headquartered in Cork, Ireland. Acquired by TransUnion.

(96) Global Debt Registry (FF14)

  • Founded in 2005. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. Raised $7 million in funding.

Stay tuned for more coverage of RegTech and other growing industries within fintech as we begin previewing the presenters of FinovateSpring 2017. Finovate returns to San Jose on April 26 and 27 for our annual spring conference. Visit our registration page today to save your spot.

Designed by Freepik

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Daon Brings Mobile Biometric Authentication to UnionBank.
  • A Look at the Savings Tech Horizon: Standalone, Automated Savings with Dyme and Digit.
  • A Look at the Savings Tech Horizon: Gen-Z Targeted with Worldline and FamZoo.

Around the web

  • TradeShift announces new AI-powered interface for B2B commerce, Tradeshift Ada.
  • MasterCard introduces new fraud detection solution, Decision Intelligence.
  • Co-op Financial Services to leverage machine learning-based fraud fighting technology from Feedzai.
  • TickSmith partners with DataBP to bring integrated financial data solutions to exchanges.

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

On Finovate.com

  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence.
  • Alexa, Tell Me About D3 Banking’s New Voice Banking Skill.
  • Finie Gets Funding: AI Innovator Clinc Closes $6 Million Series A.

On FinDEVr.com

Around the web

  • Zopa named Best Personal Loan Provider and Best Alternative Finance Provider at British Bank Awards
  • 7-Eleven names InComm Vendor of the Year.
  • ProfitStars introduces Gladiator Incident Alert for complex risk monitoring and management.
  • D3 Banking unveils Amazon Alexa-based intelligent banking service.
  • FinDEVr veteran Hyperwallet adds former SecureNet Payments EVP, Mark Engels, as Chief Revenue Officer.
  • Fiserv recognized among “world’s most admired companies” for fourth year in a row.
  • Best of Show winner AutoGravity forges new partnership with Westlake Financial Services to expand financing options for car shoppers.
  • Feedzai and Merchant Risk Council (MRC) team up to leverage AI and machine learning to fight fraud.
  • Klarna adds to payment options for omni-channel commerce technology innovator, Radial.
  • The Paypers interviews Nicole Mantow, General Manager of EVO Payments, parent company of FinDEVr veteran, EVO Snap.

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.

A Fintech Filter for Artificial Intelligence in 2017

A Fintech Filter for Artificial Intelligence in 2017

In what The New York Times is calling The Great AI Awakening and Forbes has dubbed The Year of AI, 2017 is shaping up to be obsessively focused on artificial intelligence, a field that has been around for awhile (remember playing checkers against a computer?) but has finally matured to the point of usefulness.

Because the technology has finally reached its tipping point, AI, and its close relative machine learning, have taken a variety of industries by storm, bringing self-driving Ubers to the streets of San Francisco (and then carting them away); robotic vacuum cleaners to dirty household floors; and natural language processing to chat bots and IVR communications. With AI already embedded into these industries, it’s easy to find examples of how the technology is shaping fintech.

Below are eight areas of fintech into which AI has made inroads. Each area is ranked and rated (out of 5 stars) based on how it is currently influenced by AI and based on AI’s potential to add value.

Robo advisory

  • Fintech example: Robo advisors are built on AI technology, which is used to augment portfolio management and rebalancing decisions typically made by a (sometimes biased) human. To see tens of dozens of these examples, check out our post on B2C wealth tech.
  • Current AI application: 4 stars
  • Potential AI application: 5 stars

AI is already a standard tool in robo advisory. Because the very nature of robo advisors is to replace humans, the potential application of AI in this space is huge, especially when enhanced with machine learning and held accountable using blockchain.

Advisory tools

  • Fintech example: Similar to B2C robo advisory platforms that leverage AI to automatically manage and rebalance users’ portfolios, advisors can automate their clients’ portfolios to minimize human error while still offering a personal touch. Kensho (FEU14) introduced Warren to helps advisors perform quantitative analyses on market data. ForwardLane (FS16) uses AI powered by IBM Watson to offer financial advisors access to quantitative modeling and highly personalized investment advice generally only available to ultra high net worth individuals.
  • Current AI application: 4 stars
  • Potential AI application: 5 stars

Just as AI is already standard in direct-to-consumer robo advisory, so is it with advisory tools, since many were built on the premise of AI.

Fraud detection

  • Fintech example: Multiple card issuers use AI to detect unusual spending activity. Feedzai (FEU14) uses AI combined with machine learning to analyze sets of big data created during a user’s online sessions to mitigate fraud associated with online account opening, payments, and ecommerce.
  • Current AI application: 4 stars
  • Potential AI application: 5 stars

AI is already heavily leveraged for use in fraud detection. Combining it with the blockchain, which can provide an un-editable ledger of events, paired with AI’s ability to analyze large data sets in real time makes it even more powerful.

Underwriting

  • Fintech example: AI can help underwriters create a uniform metric that accurately identifies risk across borrowers. Aire.io (FEU15) leverages the power of AI to create and assign credit scores to thin credit file individuals.
  • Current AI application: 4 stars
  • Potential AI application: 5 stars

The lending industry has already transformed its underwriting practices from relying on large databases to now using AI to analyze large amounts of scattered, unstructured data. Because AI can analyze these data sets in real time, there’s great potential for both borrowers and lenders to benefit.

Regulatory compliance

  • Fintech example: Banks can use AI to quickly scan legal and regulatory text for compliance issues, and do so at scale. IpSoft’s Amelia is a customer service bot that helps banks maintain compliance in conversations with customers.
  • Current AI application: 3
  • Potential AI application: 5

Relying on AI to scan for compliance issues instead of a team of employees helps avoid human error and allows financial institutions to quickly analyze multiple documents and practices. Because it removes human biases and error, AI has great potential in regulatory compliance.

Marketing

  • Fintech example: Marketers can better up-sell or cross-sell banking and finance products by using AI to identify and anticipate client needs. SBDA Group (FEU 16) helps banks leverage their data using algorithms and machine learning to create targeted marketing campaigns for individual customers.
  • Current AI application: 3 stars
  • Potential AI application: 4 stars

Fintech companies have been using AI to draw conclusions from bank data for a few years now, but marketing is an area in which human input still adds a lot of value.

Customer service

  • Fintech example: Firms can leverage AI to identify which clients are at most risk of leaving a bank or advisor. FinovateAsia 2016 Best of Show-winner, Finn.ai (FA16), offers a white-labeled chat bot that integrates into existing messaging platforms such as Line, Facebook Messenger, Alexa, and even the bank’s web chat interface.
  • Current AI application: 2 stars
  • Potential AI application: 5 stars

Banks have been hesitant to adopt chat bots and other AI-based customer service products because the technologies are not quite smart enough. Finn.ai overcomes this challenge by offering a Talk to a Human button at the bottom of the chat interface. This technique, combined with the implementation of machine learning and advanced natural language recognition, makes this space prime for growth in 2017.

Reporting tools

  • Fintech example: Advancements in natural language, along with AI’s ability to analyze large data sets, have made it possible for banks to rely on software to automatically create and distribute reports. Narrative Science (FF13), for example, automates the creation of anti-money laundering reports and allows the bank to adjust for the tone of the writing.
  • Current AI application: 2
  • Potential AI application: 4

We’ve seen AI used to generate reports, both in written and video form, in the wealth management and compliance sectors. However, there is still room for natural language reporting to extend to other forms (such as inside of a chat interface) as well as to other sectors of fintech.


In addition to these eight areas of fintech, there is a miscellaneous category that comprises technology such as ColletAI, which automates debt collection. Check out CollectAI, Comarch, and MoneyHub, along with other AI-based fintech at FinovateEurope next month.

While AI is widespread in many areas of fintech, it is still far from others, such as tax and estate planning, which require complex inputs and decision making. However, bolstering AI in these difficult areas using machine learning, the blockchain, and human intervention offers some potential for growth in 2017.

Since AI is pervasive throughout many sectors of fintech, it may not be too early for your company to begin searching for a Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer.

H2 Ventures and KPMG Unveil 2016 Fintech 100

H2 Ventures and KPMG Unveil 2016 Fintech 100

h2_kpmg_2016fintech100

H2 Ventures and KPMG have released their Fintech 100 roster for 2016. Divided equally between 50 “industry leaders” and 50 “emerging stars,” the roster features 17 Finovate/FinDEVr alums in the first category, and 10 in the second. Calling its roster a “celebration” of the most compelling innovators in this “bold new space,” the H2 Ventures/KPMG 2016 Fintech 100 covers a variety of different shades of fintech:

  • Lending (32 companies)
  • Payments (18 companies)
  • Insurance (12 companies)
  • RegTech (9 companies)
  • Data & analytics (7 companies)
  • Wealth management (6 companies)
  • Blockchain (5 companies)
  • Digital currency (5 companies)
  • Capital markets (3 companies)
  • Crowdfunding (2 companies)
  • Accounting (1 company)

And here is a look at how Finovate/FinDEVr alums fared. Earning recognition among the companies in the Leading 50 group are:

Also noteworthy in the Leading 50 are Ant Financial, which acquired Best of Show-winning EyeVerify in September 2016, and Avant, which acquired Finovate alum ReadyForZero in the spring of 2015.

Additionally, Finovate/FinDEVr alums earning spots in the Fintech 100’s 50 Emerging Stars roster were:

The H2 Ventures/KPMG report includes a geographic breakdown of the 2016 Fintech 100, as well as a set of key takeaways such as increased geographic diversification, the return of lending, the continued ascent of Insurtech, and the appearance of RegTech. The report also notes that China now has four out of the top five companies in the report’s top 10, and eight companies in the top 50. The report says funding for fintech “continues to rise,” and its authors cite more than $14 billion in capital was raised by the Fintech 100 in the past year.

Finovate Alums Make Tech Tour’s 50 High Growth European Companies

Finovate Alums Make Tech Tour’s 50 High Growth European Companies

TechTourGrowth50_2016Tech Tour recognized seven Finovate alums in its 2016 Tech Tour Growth 50 (TTG50), a roster of the fastest-growing technology companies in Europe. Making this year’s cut were:

Managing Director of The Tech Tour William Stevens said that recognizing these companies was important in a world otherwise focused on “the billion-dollar unicorn successes.” He pointed out that the Tech Tour Growth 50 companies had “created more than 8,000 high-tech jobs, attracted $3.5 billion of investment, and have an estimated combined valuation of $14.2 billion.”

“This is a clear demonstration of Europe’s strength, potential and competitiveness in scaling-up tech businesses,” Stevens said.

A few additional metrics on the companies of the 2016 Tech Tour Growth 50:

  • 90%: percent founded in the last 10 years.
  • 22 months: the average time from formation to first funding
  • 66%: percent with at least one U.S. investor

This year’s list was chosen by a selection committee chaired by Jean-Michel Deligny, managing director of Silverpeak Investment Bank. Serving on the committee were representatives of:

  • Accel Partners
  • Amadeus Capital Partners
  • Bank of America Merrill Lynch
  • DN Capital
  • Earlybird
  • Highland Capital Partners Europe
  • Idinvest Partners
  • The World Economic Forum.

Companies for the TTTG50 were chosen based on “innovation potential, management team, and pedigree,” as well as factors such as sales growth. Candidates were required to have a minimum of €10 million in revenue, €20 million in total funding, and a valuation of at least €100 million but less than €1 billion.

The Tech Tour was founded in 1998 and is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate Debuts: InvestGlass Built a Robo-Adviser for Advisers”
  • “Intuit Developer Group Drops Financial Data APIs; Partners with Finicity to Ease Transition”
  • “Qumram Raises $2.5 Million to Bring Website Recording to North America & U.K.”

Around the web

  • Ripple opens new office in London.
  • Markit and IHS announce $13 billion merger agreement.
  • Quantopian to launch in Australia.
  • Vibrant Credit Union converts to DNA account-processing platform from Fiserv.
  • Finextra interviews James Redfern, eWise’s global head of sales.
  • PayPal’s Dan Schulman travels to Cuba to see how it can work with the country’s small businesses.
  • Kony updates Kony Visualizer 7.0, releases free starter edition.
  • StreetShares announces SEC approval for Regulation A+ deal.
  • The Evening Show with Simon Rose interviews Trustly’s Chief Commercial Officer.
  • Blackhawk Network’s CEO Talbott Roche receives PYMNTS Innovator Award for “Women Driving Innovation in Payments.”
  • VICE’s Motherboard features ZeroDB. See them live at FinDEVr 2016 on March 29 and 30.
  • Jumio sells assets to Facebook co-founder and early backer, Eduardo Saverin.
  • The Paypers interviews Nuno Sebastiao of Feedzai.

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

On Finovate.com

  • “CBANC Launches New Features to Further Engage Network of Professionals”

On FinDEVr.com

Around the web

  • MX inks multi-year data-aggregation deal with USAA.
  • Feedzai opens new offices in the U.K.; hires new head of international operations.
  • Payoneer buys Armor Payments.
  • Micronotes leverages AI and machine learning with new suite of cross-sell solutions for banks.
  • TransferWise teams up with Pay Gate to bring its money-transfer service to South Korea.
  • Insuritas to deploy turnkey insurance agency at Sun Community FCU ($358 million in assets).
  • Genworth Mortgage Insurance to use technology from Roostify to streamline home-buying process.
  • Former Check CEO Guy Goldstein’s Next Insurance announces $13 million seed-round led by Zeev Ventures, TLV Partners, and Ribbit Capital.
  • Patch of Land rolls out mid-term loans of two to five years.
  • In the U.K., PayPal Here SDK reveals first eight business partners.
  • CustomerXPs featured on Nasscom’s Indian Analytics Products Landscape.

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.