Barclays Announces 2018 New York Accelerator Class Aimed At Delivering Breakthrough Innovations in FinTech

Barclays is pleased to announce the ten companies that will participate in the 2018 New York Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars – an intensive program for Financial Technology (FinTech) startups designed to help businesses accelerate their strategy and deliver breakthrough innovations.

Over the next three months, the companies will work closely with a team of Barclays executives, the Techstars worldwide network, and other industry leaders to refine and validate their business models. At the end of the program, the businesses will highlight their progress and showcase their innovative FinTech propositions at a demo day in New York City.

The ten companies in this year’s program are driving innovation in capital markets, consumer FinTech, and HR technology. Many of them utilize various techniques to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their development of products.

“Barclays has been heavily invested in utilizing AI for a number of years. We are integrating AI and decision support technologies across our company in order to create better experiences for our customers and clients. I look forward to seeing how these ten startups evolve their business propositions and how they leverage AI in doing so,” said John Stecher, Chief Innovation Officer at Barclays.

“Barclays is focused on providing all parts of our businesses with the knowledge, tools, and people needed to successfully incorporate AI techniques and AI-enabled products in order to deliver differentiated value for our customers and clients," added Stecher. "Expanding on that model, the majority of the startups participating in the upcoming program rely on AI for their products to deliver the value that they propose.”

"This year’s New York program received an incredible response, with a record number of applications from 68 countries,” said Mariquit Corcoran, Director of Partnerships and Programs at Barclays. “The Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars, truly helps participating companies advance their business development strategy and provides enterprise-ready feedback to the program participants. With 13 completed programs, the Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars, is presently one of the largest single-bank-powered portfolios globally, with more than 130 companies currently valued at over $650 million.”

The ten companies of the 2018 New York class of the Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars, are:

• Applica - a model that replaces humans in business processes requiring understanding of text
• FairFrame - an application that enables Artificial Intelligence-enhanced thinking about diversity in the workplace
• Fintros - a finance career discovery platform that anonymizes candidate profiles and introduces them to top employers
• Harvest - a personal finance platform that helps consumers identify and negotiate bank fees
• Honeyfi - a platform that helps couples integrate their finances and save for goals together
• Pluto Money - a financial wellness app for Gen Zs, which allows users to save for their goals and improve their money habits by completing challenges tailored to their finances
• ResonanceX - a digital marketplace for structured investments trading
• SendFriend - a platform that aims to be the leading-edge blockchain remittance provider
• Vector - a platform that creates research-led Artificial Intelligence solutions for companies involved in international trade
• Waffle Insurance - a digital platform that offers holistic insurance protection through one, single, personalized policy covering every aspect of the customer’s need

Further information on the Barclays Accelerator can be found at www.barclaysaccelerator.com. Applications for the London 2019 program are now open, and further information can be found here.

About Barclays

Barclays is a transatlantic consumer and wholesale bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.

With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 80,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.

For further information about Barclays, please visit our website home.barclays

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