UBS launched its fourth Future of Finance Challenge, an open competition for fintech start-ups and tech entrepreneurs worldwide, held every other year since 2015. UBS is looking for innovative and potentially disruptive technology products and solutions that address these specific challenges to support the transformation of the banking industry in the fields of Sustainable banking, reimagining investing, app stores and banking platforms, tech and cybersecurity solutions, and so on.
The competition was held as an online event, and dozens of Israeli start-ups took part in it, next to VC funds and more. The speakers at the conference will include Gary Livnat, CEO of UBS Wealth Management Israel; Veronica Lang, Head of Digital and Information at UBS Global; Annabelle Levin, Webmaster, UBS Technology Israel and Matteo Brandis, Head of UBS Next; and Daniel Siegers, Strategic Development & Special Projects, UBS NEXT.
The competition winners got a chance to receive UBS’s support in further commercializing and scaling their products and technologies by using the bank’s global presence, deep expertise in banking, and its ecosystem of innovation partners. Since 2015, about 50% of the finalists have received additional funding post the Future of Finance Challenge, with significant funding rounds.
Group Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers congratulated the participants: “Technology is central to innovation in the financial industry. We see Technology not just as an enabler but as a differentiator. We know we need to partner with others and build ecosystems. That’s why we tap into open innovation, into start-ups and fintech as a way of bringing new ideas and solutions into our firm and to our clients.”
