Entrepreneurs Showcase Cutting-Edge Financial Technology Solutions at New York’s 2013 FinTech Innovation Lab ‘Demo Day’
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 (NYSE: ACN) 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. Its home page
is www.accenture.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2013