Companies that are accepted into the program usually have raised a funding round or series A and have a product launched or close to launch. The goal of the three-month program is to help participating firms accelerate the process of product and business development by working closely with the best financial services firms that could one day become their clients.
Over the past dozen years, the accelerator has worked with entrepreneurs from 99 technology companies that have raised more than $2.2 billion in combined venture funding. Two dozen program participants have been obtained. The laboratory collaborates with 40 institutions, including some of the country’s largest banks such as JP Morgan, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, as well as venture capital firms including WarburgPincus and Bain Capital.
New categories have been added this year for startups exploring business use cases for the metaverse. Gotsch said financial firms in the city are in the early stages of exploring the space for their products and services.
“There’s an element of ‘show us what you’ve got,'” for that sector, she said.
“These institutions have a huge amount of data,” she said, “so they’re interested in tools that allow them to look at the data for their customers and then predict what the customer is going to be interested in.”
Other types of in-demand products and services are those that can provide streamlined user experiences for institutional and retail clients, said Rick Barto, managing director of Accenture’s insurance industry group.
“Insurance customers want the same personalized and seamless digital experiences they receive from other service providers,” said Rick Barto, managing director of Accenture’s insurance industry group., including plug-ins that “leverage AI and other technologies to provide better customization, faster claims response times and improved insurance options across all insurance categories.”
The full list of categories for applicants is below:
- Data: Alternative and synthetic data, predictive analysis, artificial intelligence (AI) based insights, unstructured data, new data sources, fraud management in insurance and privacy
- Digital client engagement: Customer acquisition and retention; product customization; and experience personalization
- The future of work: Talent acquisition, onboarding, engagement and retention; virtual and hybrid experiences
- Inclusion and diversity: Financial well-being and inclusion (un- and under-banked), and diversity
- Metaverse/Web 3.0: Distributed ledger technology, blockchain, digital assets, cryptocurrency solutions, decentralized finance and insurance; smart contracts, customer experience, digital twins and e-commerce enablement
- Payments: Global trade, currency transactions and infrastructure modernization
- Risk and Compliance: Automation, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, digital identity and security solutions and archive management
- Sustainability: Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG); carbon solutions; risk identification, reporting and mitigation; sustainable investments; and educational solutions
