FinTech Innovation Lab New York Opens Applications for 2024 Class

Program founded by Accenture and Partnership Fund for New York City marks $2.6 billion in venture capital funding to date, seeks fintechs leveraging innovative technologies, including generative AI

Applications are now open for the FinTech Innovation Lab New York, a 12-week program co-founded by Accenture and the Partnership Fund for New York City that helps early- and growth-stage fintech companies accelerate product and business development through in-depth collaboration with top financial services and venture capital firms.

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The FinTech Innovation Lab is designed for entrepreneurs developing disruptive enterprise technologies for the financial services industry, including the banking, insurance, and capital markets sectors. The Lab has helped establish New York City as a fintech hub for enterprise technology innovation and its graduates have raised over $2.6 billion and have had 26 acquisitions in the program’s 13 years.

Applications for the 2024 class are open and available here. Companies are encouraged to apply early, with limited space available, and a virtual information session will be held for interested applicants today from 12-1 p.m. EDT.

Based on feedback from senior executives at participating financial institutions, this year’s Lab is searching for promising early- and growth-stage companies developing solutions in seven major areas:

• Generative AI: Advice/advisory services, underwriting and claims, call centers, content creation, cybersecurity, enterprise process support, code generation and governance tools;
• Cybersecurity: Biometrics, quantum computing, insurance fraud management, regulatory compliance, risk management, security, third-party risk and vulnerabilities;
• Data: Alternative and synthetic data, AI-based insights, extraction, new data sources, open banking, predictive analytics, transfer and data privacy, and unstructured data;
• Digital Client Engagement: Digital identity, digital wallet, customer experience, financial literacy tools, product customization, retention, and spatial computing (internet of things, augmented and virtual reality, digital twins);
• Enterprise Operations: Dev-ops, digitalization, engineering solutions, IT operations tech, and process automation;
• Insurtech: Claims and underwriting, cyber solutions, emerging risk, life insurance, new insurance products, and property and casualty;
• Payments: Embedded finance, infrastructure modernization, new payment rails, and real-time/instant payments.

“Fintechs have become a driving force behind the implementation of the sector’s most important technologies,” said David Parker, global Financial Services industry practices chair at Accenture. "The Lab and its partners have a strong track record helping early- and growth-stage companies accelerate product development at scale and address solution gaps across all corners of finance. As banks and insurers embrace generative AI, fintechs can play an important role by tackling specialized use cases—including organizing and auditing data, automating processes and generating custom content—that lay the groundwork for financial services to fully harness the technology.”

Maria Gotsch, co-founder of the FinTech Innovation Lab and president and CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City, said, "The pace of innovation among enterprise technology companies is faster and more agile than ever, making them a reliable source of new products and software solutions to help banks and financial institutions remain competitive. There is no better place to explore that innovation than in New York City, where the FinTech Lab has successfully brought forward-looking technology directly to the table of the world's leading financial institutions while creating new opportunities for emerging technology companies to hone their niche in the market. We look forward to tapping the global tech ecosystem for our 2024 cohort to help us discover and guide this next wave of fintech innovation.”

Through a competitive process, chief technology officers and senior technology executives from the more than 40 participating financial institutions will select the 2024 class. Applicants must have at least a working beta version of their technology that is ready to be tested for either the institutional or retail market.

The Lab will then partner the selected fintechs with senior-level executives from the participating institutions, who will help them develop and enhance their technologies and business strategies through a series of one-on-one meetings, panel discussions, user-group sessions and networking opportunities, including with leading technology and corporate luminaries. The program will begin in April and culminate in June 2024 with a Demo Day, where the class will present to an audience of venture capitalists and financial industry executives.

Steve Murphy, Accenture’s Financial Services industry solutions lead and executive sponsor of the FinTech Innovation Lab New York, said, “Insurers and banks continue to look to the fintech ecosystem for new ideas around products, customer experiences and more efficient operations, which takes on heightened importance in these uncertain market conditions. The program provides a tremendous opportunity for emerging fintechs and insurtechs to refine their offerings and receive hands-on mentorship from leading financial service players.”

Since its founding in 2010, the FinTech Innovation Lab New York has assisted entrepreneurs from 109 technology companies. These program graduates have created more than 3,000 jobs and raised more than $2.6 billion in venture financing, and 26 of them have been acquired.

The full list of participating financial institutions and venture capital partners can be found here.

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