DriveWealth Funding, Princeton NSF I-Corps Hub, Demo Days And More

DriveWealth

Yet another N.J. tech company has reached “unicorn” status with a new funding round.
Fintech startup DriveWealth (Chatham) Raised a $450 million Series D round, valuing the company at $2.8 billion.
The round was co-led by New York-based global private equity and venture capital investors Insight Partners and Accel.
Said Bob Cortright, founder and CEO of DriveWealth, “Our goal is for DriveWealth to be the partner of choice to deliver the embedded investing experience of the future.”
We covered DriveWealth in an article in December of last year.

Princeton NSF I-Corps Regional Hub

Princeton University will lead one of five new NSF-funded Innovation Corps (I-Corps) hubs together with partner institutions Rutgers and the University of Delaware.
Affiliated universities include NJIT, Rowan University, Temple University, Lehigh University and Delaware State University.
The I-Corps program’s aim is to build skills and opportunities among researchers from all backgrounds, including those historically underrepresented in entrepreneurship.

Princeton Keller Summer Demo Day

Brick Bank presentation | Screenshot by Esther Surden

Highlander Foundry Demo Day

NJIT held its Highlander Foundry virtual demo day showcasing the entrepreneurial skills of its student and alumni teams in its VentureLink program.
The teams were:
- Hovar: A mobile platform that allows artists to bring their art to life by leveraging augmented reality to add 3D and 2D assets to their work.
- Float: A global consumer credit report aimed to disrupt a process that leaves international students and immigrants with good credit histories unable to prove it.
- Lyra: Provides programs in underserved communities to help students prepare for STEM careers through workshops focusing on unconventional STEM topics.
- Well Heard: A web app and Chrome extension powered by an AI server chatbot that will be used to provide cognitive behavioral therapy,
- Peek: An augmented reality app that people can use to point their phones and get curated information about their current surroundings.
- Leagalese: A quick and efficient way for people to upload contracts to a platform and be advised of “red flag” issues.
A video of the demo day can be found here.

Leir Research Institute Virtual Conference 2021

NJIT held its Leir Research Institute Virtual Conference Friday.
The conference presented an in-depth look at research into the underpinnings of fintech, as well as practical advice for students and startups.
Some of takeways:
- Learn Python, not C++, to set yourself up for a fintech career.
- Startups entering the fintech world face risks, especially in regulatory compliance.
- Fintech startups can even have problems discovering what federal agencies actually regulate them.
- Increased digitization means that more startups can enter banking with lower startup costs.
- This will lead to more competition between fintech startups for a huge but finite market.

Blockchain Employ Job Fair

A virtual Blockchain Employ Job Fair last week was hosted by the Princeton Blockchain and AI group and sponsored by the Linux Foundation.
The meeting featured information about available blockchain-related jobs from companies like ConsenSys, Hyperledger, Accenture, and more.
Attendees were then allowed to schedule time with any companies they were interested in.
Kudos to the meetup group and organizer Bobbi Muscara for attempting to make direct connections with employers for the members of the group.