What’s hot in fintech?
Regtech, insurtech, real estate, robos — all of those (and more) have enjoyed the fintech spotlight recently, with impressive startups on the leaderboard.
Six of those startups took the stage at the Empire Startups Fintech Conference yesterday to demo their latest and greatest. Checkout the lineup of the hottest startups below.
Onfido
Started back in 2012 in San Francisco, Onfido provides identity verification services in order to help clients reduce the risk of ID fraud at customer on-boarding. The regtech uses machine learning technology to authenticate customers and reduce the rate of drop-offs, while streamlining the overall on-boarding process.
The company raised almost $30.5 million in total funding to date.
Lemonade
If you know insurtech, you know Lemonade. This two-year-old startup has already established itself as the “disruptor” of the insurance space, distilling the process of getting home or renters insurance down to minutes, by utilizing artificial intelligence tech to walk users through the mobile process.
“Zero paperwork and instant everything,” the platform promises.
The company raised about $60 million in total funding to date, completing the most recent round this week.
Quantopian
The company “inspires talented people everywhere to write investment algorithm,” according to the website.
Launched in 2011, this Boston-based fintech currently has a community of 130,000 quants, for whom it provides all the tools necessary– including capital, data, and infrastructure–to code, test, and trade algorithmic investing strategies. Authors also have the opportunity to license their algorithms, and get paid based on performance.
API Fortress
APIs have been on to-do lists of major financial institutions for a while. But how do FIs make sure that the APIs actually work?
In comes API Fortress. The startup provides an automated platform for testing and monitoring APIs throughout the entire lifecycle, from design to production, enabling clients to get notified of issues immediately with comprehensive reports and a status page. Important: no prior coding knowledge is required.
Wisebanyan
If you follow Bank Innovation, then you’ve seen WiseBanyan pop up a few times, including on this list of Fintechs to Watch.
Launched in 2014, the company claims to be the “first free financial advisor” in the market. It started off helping people save and invest for their goals with a free app. In 2016, the company hit its stride, launching its first paid product (tax-loss harvesting), more than doubling its user base, and nearing a $100 million benchmark in assets under management. Most recently, the company added its first premium package, with more on the way this year.
Compass
The only unicorn on the list, Compass is a tech-driven real estate platform, which pairs brokers and customers to streamline the home-seeking process. Through a proprietary platform, the company “empowers its agents so they have more time for advising their clients.”