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Financial companies play venture capitalist

Molly Wood Jun 30, 2014
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Financial companies play venture capitalist

Molly Wood Jun 30, 2014
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A recent demo gathering in New York featured several startups showing off their software projects. It was from the FinTech Innovation Lab, which looks at innovations in the financial tech industry. The audience was comprised of some of the biggest banks and their affiliated financial companies in the world. 

For more on the FinTech Innovation Lab, click the media player above to hear Marketplace reporter Tracy Samuelson in conversation with Marketplace Tech host Ben Johnson.

Financial technology is a category defined as any kind of technology meant to serve banks, insurance companies, and other financial services industries. It’s a growing market — Investment in the sector has tripled since 2008.

Companies at the gathering show off products like Kasisto, which uses the technology underlying the iPhone’s Siri to allow a user to ask mobile banking apps specific questions about their banking information.

The banks, as the future customers of these companies, have an incentive to help improve these products, and create their own venture funds to invest in these companies. 

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