Entrepreneurs Showcase Cutting-Edge Financial Technology Solutions at New York’s 2013 FinTech Innovation Lab “Demo Day”
FinTech Lab’s Goal of Job Creation and Expansion of FinTech Industry in New York City Continues to be Achieved.
A select group of innovative technology companies demonstrated their products and services to dozens of top executives in financial services, venture capital and technology today at the third annual FinTech Innovation Lab “Demo Day” in New York. The Lab is a program for entrepreneurs currently developing innovative technologies targeted to the financial services sector, particularly in the areas of data analytics, technology infrastructure, payments, and security.
The goal of the Lab – established in 2010 by Accenture and the Partnership Fund for New York City – is to enhance New York’s role as a leading hub for technology innovation in a variety of sectors, including the financial-services industry; to spur job creation in New York; and to give entrepreneurs an accelerated path to growing their business within financial services. This year’s Demo Day was held at the Credit Suisse headquarters in Manhattan.
The graduates from this year’s Lab – Centripetal Networks, Dashlane, Inktank, Narrative Science, OpenFin and ScrollMotion – were selected to participate from among more than 100 early- and growth-stage companies that applied. The six companies, chosen in March by the chief technology officers and other senior technology executives from leading financial services institutions, have spent the last 12 weeks receiving product feedback and mentorship from executives at the world’s biggest banks, leading technology entrepreneurs and venture capital firms.
The 2013 FinTech Innovation Lab graduates are:
Centripetal Networks – which has created a highly scalable and advanced cyber security solution, including a network-based security appliance and other applications and services. The company partners with leading university research centers, network scientists, mathematicians and government agencies to build the underlying components and algorithms.
Dashlane – whose self-named Dashlane product is a secure digital wallet and password manager for nearly every device. It uses advanced real-time semantic analysis to autofill forms on virtually any webpage, enabling keyboard-less checkouts, registrations and logins. The digital wallet stores nearly any payment type and can be used on any website with any major operating system with no merchant integration required.
Inktank – which provides data storage solutions based on the emerging open-source storage platform Ceph. Launched by some of Ceph’s leading developers, Inktank helps organizations leverage Ceph to lower storage costs by freeing them from restrictive and expensive proprietary storage systems.
Narrative Science– a business-intelligence company whose patented artificial intelligence engine automatically analyzes data and produces narratives that can be easily read and understood. The technology can be applied to rapidly generate texts based on vast data for things like compliance reports, portfolio summaries and market recaps.
OpenFin – whose software enables financial services firms to use the latest HTML standards to deploy high-performance, interactive trading applications. The company’s patent-pending software enables Web applications to run outside-the-browser and is tailored to meet the strict security and compliance requirements of financial institutions.
ScrollMotion – an enterprise mobile software company noted for its ScrollMotion Enterprise Platform, whose Web-based drag-and-drop interface lets customers create and build engaging applications for the iPad and other tablets, distribute the apps in real-time and measure their use – all without the need for advanced programming skills.
Through the mentorship program the six companies developed relationships with key decision-makers at leading banks and gained in-depth knowledge about their customers’ needs, helping them more quickly develop their products and services. The Lab featured workshops on topics such as navigating bank procurement processes, integrating with bank technology systems and running successful pilot programs at financial institutions.
“The FinTech Innovation Lab allows inspiring entrepreneurs far more effective product development and feedback from the upper echelons of their target market, accelerating company growth and job creation,” said Maria Gotsch, President and CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City. “By growing the FinTech industry in New York City, we will further cement New York’s reputation as the leader of innovation in the financial services sector, as well as reinforce our newfound reputation as a hub of technology development and talent.”
“In the three years since its creation, the FinTech Innovation Lab has provided early- and growth-stage technology companies with direct access to leading global financial institutions based in New York,” said Bob Gach, a global managing director in Accenture’s Capital Markets Practice. “This year’s class showcased innovative products that are likely to have a significant impact in the marketplace, and we expect these companies to continue to create jobs in the technology and financial services sectors.”
Financial-services firms that support the Lab include: American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, State Street Corporation and UBS. Ally Financial and New York Life joined the Lab for the first time in September 2012. Supporting venture-capital firms include Bain Capital Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, Rho Ventures, RRE Ventures and Warburg Pincus.
“At Ally, we are committed to embracing leading technology solutions for our customers and employees. The FinTech Innovation Lab has been an important partner in this process, and we are excited about the outcome of this year’s program,” said Michael Baresich, Chief Information Officer at Ally Financial Inc.
“Emerging technology companies often need assistance marketing their solutions to corporate clients,” said David Reilly, Managing Director, Technology Infrastructure at Bank of America. “Through the FinTech Innovation Lab, we advise them how to navigate large companies and showcase their products to specific IT organizations and people of influence. We’ve found these companies value our assistance, and it’s beneficial for us to engage with new IT talent and be exposed to groundbreaking products and services.”
“The FinTech Innovation Lab provides a venue for us to work hand-in-hand with entrepreneurs to develop promising new technologies for our industry,” said Monique Shivanandan, Capital One’s senior vice president and chief technology officer. “As our customers continue to demand new, more convenient ways to bank, technology will be the key to delivering differentiated products and services.”
“Deutsche Bank has been a proud FinTech Innovation Lab partner since its start. Being a part of the program provides a valuable window into new technology trends that have yet to find an application in financial services and allows us to foster the growth of technology companies in New York City,” said Robert Torop, Director and Domain Architect in Application Services, Deutsche Bank.
“We are very happy to continue to support the FinTech program and help foster this growing sector in New York City. From the very start of the 12-week program, we have been consistently impressed with the participants’ deep level of pure and applied technical innovation,” said Nigel Faulkner, CIO, Investment Banking at Credit Suisse.
“JPMorgan Chase is proud to once again support the FinTech Innovation Lab,” said Larry Feinsmith, Managing Director, Technology Strategy and Partnerships with the New York based firm. “This year’s graduates represent an amazing scope of talent, innovative ideas and disruptive technology solutions that will help drive the Financial Services industry forward in the coming years. We are pleased to have a part in their development.”
“Morgan Stanley continues to be an enthusiastic participant of the FinTech program and appreciates the opportunity to support technology entrepreneurs in our community. We are committed to finding ways to foster innovation in financial technologies and are pleased to have had such high quality engagement with top class emerging companies through the program,” said Steve Sparkes, Managing Director, CIO, Technology & Information Risk at Morgan Stanley.
Based on the success of the FinTech Innovation Lab in New York, Accenture launched the FinTech Innovation Lab London last year, teaming with leading banks and venture-capital companies to identify leading-edge technology from the United Kingdom, Europe and internationally.
About the Partnership Fund for New York City
The Partnership Fund for New York City (www.pfnyc.org) – formerly the New York City Investment Fund – is the vision of Henry R. Kravis, founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., who serves as its Founding Chairman. The Fund has raised over $110 million to mobilize the city’s world financial and business leaders to help build a stronger and more diversified local economy. It has built a network of top experts from the investment and corporate communities who help identify and support New York City’s most promising entrepreneurs in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. The Fund is governed by a Board of Directors co-chaired by Richard M. Cashin, Managing Partner of One Equity Partners, and Charles “Chip” Kaye, co-president of Warburg Pincus LLC. The Partnership Fund is an affiliate of the Partnership for New York City (www.pfnyc.org), an organization of the leaders of New York City’s top corporate, investment, and entrepreneurial firms. They work in partnership with city and state government officials, labor groups, and the nonprofit sector to promote the interest of the city and its neighborhoods.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012.
