The rise of non bank entities attracting billions of VC investment have big advantages over traditional banks. For instance, banks come with legacy issues such as extensive branch networks, large IT systems, and a lack of public trust thanks to the recent financial crisis. While the regulators, traditionally non-risk takers have embraced Fintech for the most part, banks have been slower to react and could pay the price
Fintech Innovation Lab in association with Accenture have released their annual report this week on the state of Fintech. US investment in the emerging industry has had a 56.6% compound annual growth rate over the past 5 years. Payments is now the largest sector and traditional financial institutions have been slow to react to the disruptions in the industry
The FinTech Innovation Lab has begun accepting applications for the 2016 New York program; applications are due December 3, 2015. The FinTech Innovation Lab is an annual program run by the Partnership Fund for New York City and Accenture for early and growth stage companies that have developed cutting edge technology products targeted at financial services customers. Winners will get the chance to refine and beta test their financial technology products in New York City and receive mentorship from the Lab’s Entrepreneurs Network
The NYCEDC together with Lower Manhattan Headquarters (LMHQ), a Lower Manhattan co-working space, hosted a discussion called “NYC Gov-Tech Startups: Making It Work.” While we are well aware of NYC’s assembly of “hyphen-tech” industries, this is one we were not aware of: Government-Technology. We have been working with a number of governments and cities over the past few years, learning many lessons along the way so we are always interested in what we can learn from others
The new fund, Lerer Hippeau Ventures V LP, comes after the firm raised a $62 million Fund IV in early 2014. It arrives as investments in the New York metropolitan area soar. Venture investors unleashed $1.71 billion in capital in the third quarter. Lerer Hippeau have been the most active VC in NYC since 2009. The new funds will be used to make larger investments in early stage startups who focus on Consumer & SaaS products
As more and more connected devices continue to be used to improve urban transport, the consequences of being hacked become more and more serious. For instance what if a smarter online traffic light system was the subject of a cyber-attack? Motherboard take an interesting look at the threats and how cities can work to prevent such attacks. An interesting read for startups & established companies in the Smart-City space
The booming startup scene in New York is no secret. 2015 looks set to be a record high for both the amount of VC funding and number of unicorns in the city. One of the reasons New York has emerged as such an attractive location for startups is the talent available thanks to the number of top universities. Columbia, NYU & CUNY all now have their own incubator programs for their students encouraging entrepreneurship as compare by Observer Magazine. There have already been some promising results. For example, NYU’s Varick Street Engineering Incubator program has had 9 exists so far worth a combined $721M
Kick start your Friday (11/20) with a hot cup of coffee, breakfast, a NY-LON battle between the world’s fintech titans, and Q&A with two of the leading figures in fintech globally: Eileen Burbidge and Maria Gotsch. This discussion will make clear the challenges and differences in regulatory approaches, and dive deep into emerging fintech trends in London and New York. Register here for the free event organized by London Partners