Barclays Expands Rise NY, Launches Rise Growth Investment
Barclays has announced its expansion of Rise New York, one of its global locations providing a co-working, mentoring and events space in its Rise FinTech ecosystem.
Rise New York is currently home to more than 60 startups. Participating companies in the Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars program, will now also be eligible for Rise Growth Investments, new investment capital of £10m per program, one of the largest initiatives of its type in FinTech.
The Rise New York expansion will transform the location to the network’s largest site with five full floors spanning over 66,000 sq ft, capable of hosting up to over 200 businesses. It will also feature a state-of-the-art events space, an auditorium and a recording studio. Together with Barclays’ new Innovation Technology R&D center, it will be used to host numerous innovation events and learning sessions that will be open to the public.
Rise is the FinTech ecosystem created by Barclays to enable financial technology startups to connect, create and scale, as well as offer its clients’ unparalleled access to start-ups around the world. Rise has a global physical presence with approximately 200 companies in residence.
“The FinTech community is growing faster than ever with a number of game-changing startups. With the expansion to create our largest-ever Rise site, not only can we give those in our Accelerator program the room to grow – we can also help to house more of the best and brightest innovators. We’re excited to further build relationships that foster growth for start-ups, and opportunities for Barclays to work directly with businesses transforming the financial services industry.” – Chief Innovation Officer at Barclays, John Stecher.
Barclays also announces Rise Growth Investments, new investment capital that will solely be focused on the companies accepted into the Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars program. The funds will allow Barclays to invest up to £10m per Accelerator class. Startups in this year’s New York program, which recently held its Demo Day on December 5 at New World Stages in New York City, will be eligible for the funds. £10m will be available for each class going forward.
The funds will enable Barclays to invest in strategically-relevant companies participating in the program, bringing growth to both the start-ups and the bank.Barclays already has significant commercial agreements with several Accelerator alumni including Sigma Ratings, Crowdz and Simudyne, helping transform the way Barclays does business. The ability to lean in with additional equity investment further strengthens these types of partnerships.
The Accelerator program launched in 2014 and is currently active across New York, London and Tel Aviv with more than 140 companies in its portfolio.
“Rise Growth Investments will be a win-win for both Barclays and the Accelerator companies. We can support start-ups as they continue to develop their proposition and reduce the burden for access to funding, which can be very time-consuming for founders. At the same time, the funds allow Barclays to capitalize on early-stage opportunities ahead of potential strategic investment further down the line, ultimately positively impacting the bank.” – Managing Director, Principal Investments at Barclays, Andy Challis.
