Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator Taps 3 New Early-Stage Companies
April 22 2015 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
To explore the future of banking, San
Francisco-based bank looks globally; Innovators invited to apply by
June 20 for spring 2015 program
The Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator program today announced the
selection of three early-stage U.S. companies for its spring 2015
program, in which they will learn to commercialize and market their
ideas to enterprises. The news came at a global fintech conference
in London. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) also said it now is
accepting applications worldwide until June 20 for the program’s
fall class.
The spring Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator participants,
selected from nearly 300 applicants in 2014, are:
- Bracket Computing (@brkt) of Sunnyvale,
California, which harnesses the public cloud to securely and
reliably run enterprise applications;
- Context360 of San Mateo, California,
which interprets and predicts mobile application behavior and
combines those insights with sensor data and machine learning
algorithms to power better decisions around when, where, and how to
best engage mobile application users; and
- MotionSavvy (@motionsavvy) of
Rochester, New York, which makes the world’s first two-way
communication software for the deaf, utilizing the latest
innovations in gesture and voice technology.
“Our vision at Bracket Computing is to utilize the public cloud
to fundamentally redefine the corporate data center,” said Tom
Gillis, CEO of Bracket Computing. “Our work with Wells Fargo
and inclusion in the Accelerator Program is a great endorsement of
that vision.”
“Wells-Fargo understands that innovation comes from many
directions and industries,” said Context360 co-founder and Chief
Technology Officer Ratnam Tatavarty. “The Accelerator program is
designed perfectly for leading-edge technology startups to apply
solutions for the financial community that were originally intended
for very different markets.”
“MotionSavvy's acceptance into the Wells Fargo Accelerator
program will help launch the world's first affordable communication
option for the deaf,” said MotionSavvy co-founder and CEO Ryan
Hait-Campbell. “An estimated 70 million deaf people use sign
language as their primary language, including myself, and
experience communication barriers on a daily basis. MotionSavvy
brings a new era of communication for the deaf that will have
profound impact on the quality of life we deserve.”
The Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator is designed to explore big
ideas like these – and others, such as cybersecurity, big data,
mobile, robotics, wearables, payments, and infrastructure – with
innovators outside Wells Fargo and financial services for the
future benefit of the bank’s customers.
“If a startup can sell its idea to us,” said Steve Ellis, Wells
Fargo head of Wholesale Services, “they can sell it to a lot of
other banks, which can benefit the entire financial services
industry.”
In the six-month, hands-on Startup Accelerator program, Wells
Fargo mentors connect early-stage companies with business and tech
leaders inside the bank who are looking to solve real problems and
explore new opportunities – people who potentially could buy their
service. Wells Fargo funds each startup with investments up to
$500,000.
“We guide startups through commercializing and marketing their
ideas to financial services companies or other enterprises,” said
Braden More, head of Enterprise Payment Strategy for Wells Fargo.
“We get them ready to plug in to enterprise systems and become part
of the corporate stack. That’s opposed to the classic startup
accelerator model: desk, pipe, and power; and access to shared
resources like a seasoned financial controller or human resources
executive.
“The problem we’re helping people solve is selling to their
first Fortune 500 or financial services company,” More added. “The
demands are unique. There are certain requirements. And we’re
providing guidance to make that process easier.”
The newly-selected Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator startups
follow the inaugural 2014 participants. All three companies in that
first class have completed the program and are growing rapidly in
multiple industries, according to Bipin Sahni (@BipinSahni), head
of Innovation and R&D for Wells Fargo Wholesale Services
(@WellsFargoB2B).
Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator 2014 alumni are:
- EyeVerify (@eyeverify) of Kansas City,
Kansas, which wants to replace passwords with a picture of the eye.
The company is now involved in a pilot with Wells Fargo corporate
customers and working with dozens of companies, including seven of
the world’s top 10 smartphone manufacturers.
- Zumigo (@zumigo1) of San Jose,
California – a mobile services developer using location and mobile
identity technology for secure commerce and mobile marketing – is
now working with the Wells Fargo Innovation Lab to explore use
cases for Zumigo’s credit card, ATM, and location-based offer
solutions. AlwaysOn Network recently named Zumigo a 2015 OnFinance
Top 50 Companies to Watch.
- Kasisto (@kasistoinc), New York City,
builder of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) technology
for enterprises, is now working on a proof of concept with the
Wells Fargo Innovation Lab to use its AI engine to improve and
enrich Wells Fargo customers’ mobile app experiences. Founders Grid
recently named Kasisto one of New York’s top startups.
Looking ahead to selecting its fall 2015 class, the Wells Fargo
Startup Accelerator hopes to see applications from outside the
United States. Sahni told the Innotribe Startup Challenge London
Showcase attendees today: “As global mobility, seamless experience,
and user-centered design continue to evolve, we believe it’s
critical to expand our own ecosystem of innovation and R&D
globally.”
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a nationwide,
diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.7
trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San
Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments,
mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than
8,700 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com) and
mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support
customers who conduct business in the global economy. With
approximately 266,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three
households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was
ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2014 rankings of America’s largest
corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’
financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo
perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells
Fargo Stories.
Wells Fargo & CompanyGlobal MediaAndrea Mahoney,
415-577-4795Andrea.g.mahoney@wellsfargo.com@AndreaMahoneyWForU.S.
MediaGabriel Boehmer,
503-784-5319gabriel.h.boehmer@wellsfargo.com@GabeBoehmerWF
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