Four Fintech Startups Become the Latest to Join the Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator Program
October 23 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Edquity, Hurdlr, Redrock Biometrics and
SimSpace explore new approaches to college finances, taxes,
biometrics, and cybersecurity
Wells Fargo & 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:
- 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.”
- 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.”
- 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.”
- 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.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171023005250/en/
Media Contact:Allison Vennerberg,
415-222-4722allison.vennerberg@wellsfargo.com
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