[October 23, 2017] |
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Four Fintech Startups Become the Latest to Join the Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator Program
Wells Fargo (News - Alert) & Company (NYSE:WFC) announced today four early stage
fintech companies - Edquity, Hurdlr, Redrock Biometrics, and SimSpace -
are the latest startups to join the Wells
Fargo Startup Accelerator. Wells Fargo started the non-exclusive,
six-month program more than three years ago to join startups in
exploring emerging technologies in analytics, cybersecurity, payments,
artificial intelligence, mixed reality, and other areas in pursuit of
breakthroughs for financial services. Companies are eligible to receive
funding, along with guidance from Wells Fargo business and technology
leaders in refining the launch of their ideas.
"Since the dawn of the internet as a commercial channel, Wells Fargo and
fintech firms have been working together to create innovative digital
experiences for consumers and businesses," said Steve Ellis, head of the
Wells Fargo Innovation Group. "This program plays an increasingly
integral part in helping us explore and implement breakthrough ideas to
build a better bank."
To date, the Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator has received nearly 1,600
applications from innovative companies in more than 50 countries. The
newest entrants bring the total number to 17 startups that have joined
the accelerator, with more to be announced soon. The program is
accepting applications from new accelerator candidates through Dec. 6 at www.wellsfargo.com/accelerator.
Companies are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in funding.
Latest Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator Companies:
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Edquity
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) offers the first-of-its-kind college financial
planning app for high school and college students, supporting students
as a "to-and-through" platform through each and every financial
decision on the road to college graduation. The app helps students
articulate the short- and long-term financial implications of any
college of interest - inclusive of net cost, debt, potential earnings,
and cost of living - and map out a financial plan that ensures they
will have the means to graduate and achieve financial success
thereafter.
"It's no secret that we as a society need to do
more to ensure our college students are set up for financial success
not just in navigating college but also beyond," said David Helene,
cofounder and CEO of Edquity. "Problems of this magnitude require
equally big solutions, and we're extremely excited to join the Wells
Fargo Startup Accelerator to explore ways to scale the impact of our
work helping students navigate the numerous financial challenges
related to selecting, financing, and surviving college."
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Hurdlr
(Washington, D.C.) is a rapidly growing startup whose API and mobile
apps provide financial, tax, and performance insights for "The 1099
Economy," including consumers, freelancers, independent contractors,
and self-employed small business owners. The company's API allows
businesses, financial institutions, and other organizations to tap
into the power of Hurdlr's modern financial platform to create
innovative, tailored solutions that proactively improve their
customers' financial performance.
"By joining the Wells
Fargo Startup Accelerator, we'll be testing multiple business cases,
looking to provide strategic insights via our API," said Raj Bhaskar,
CEO of Hurdlr. "We look forward to further demonstrating how Hurdlr's
Profit & Tax Engine might be leveraged by financial institutions and
others for the benefit of their customers."
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Redrock
Biometrics (San Francisco) developed the first practical
palm-print based authentication software, PalmID™. Made possible
through several patented algorithmic breakthroughs, PalmID is more
accurate than fingerprint authentication, as palms are more unique. It
works on any device with a camera, from phones and laptops to VR/AR
headsets to ATMs. Waving your hand at the device makes sign in simple,
fast and secure.
"Our PalmID is a perfect fit for user
authentication in fintech, and we look forward to applying this to
additional use cases," said Hua Yang, cofounder and CEO of Redrock
Biometrics. "The Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator program will provide
resources and connections that are critical for us to engage this
market."
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SimSpace
(Boston) is an innovative cybersecurity software company that
leverages decades of experience working for the U.S. Military and DoD
Laboratories to provide next-generation cybersecurity testing,
training, and risk assessments.
"Our relationship with the
Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator significantly enhances our efforts to
both radically improve the cybersecurity landscape and to become the
trusted source for cybersecurity testing and risk assessments," said
William Hutchison, CEO and cofounder of SimSpace. "The program allows
us to further refine our state-of-the-art, cyber range capabilities to
provide software-based, quantitative insights into how a company can
protect its critical assets against an advanced cyber threat."
The program is one of many facets as the company looks to move its
innovation agenda inside and outside of the company. Wells Fargo is
interested in big ideas that can make banking faster, easier, smarter,
and safer - for our customers and the whole financial services industry.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based
financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo's
vision is to satisfy our customers' financial needs and help them
succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco,
Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and
consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,400 locations,
13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has
offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct
business in the global economy. With approximately 268,000 team members,
Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells
Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune's 2017 rankings of
America's largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from
Wells Fargo are also available at Wells
Fargo Stories.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171023005250/en/
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