EvoNexus Launches SoCal’s First FinTech Incubator in Collaboration with Royal Bank of Canada and Franklin Templeton

EvoNexus, Southern California’s leading startup technology incubator, announced it is opening the region’s first financial technology (FinTech) incubator with strategic founding sponsors, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Franklin Templeton. The new incubator will serve as the premier SoCal center for FinTech innovation with startups focusing on technology areas that will impact financial services companies of all sizes and the customers they serve.

The areas of technology that they will focus on include: artificial intelligence/machine learning, bank/wealth/payment technology, capital markets technology, cybersecurity, blockchain, mobile payments, P2P lending, digital cash, InsurTech, RegTech, data science, predictive behavior analytics and key telecommunication enablers such as 5G, IoT and edge computing.

“Together with RBC and Franklin Templeton, our vision is to establish SoCal’s premier FinTech incubator as the driving force behind innovations between financial services and the next wave of underlying technologies, such as 5G, further enabling mobility and digitization of financial transactions,” said EvoNexus CEO and Co-Founder Rory Moore. “The next generation of our FinTech portfolio companies will be disruptive and beneficial for developing infrastructure for new banking and investment models that will rely on unique technology and data. Leveraging EvoNexus’ deep corporate alliances to open the region’s first purpose built FinTech Incubator is important for reshaping and building sustainability in the SoCal technology innovation ecosystem.”

EvoNexus will take advantage of the unique systems and results driven incubation model it developed over the last eight years to attract, select and launch high quality startups in its emerging FinTech company portfolio. In addition to creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop their companies in the SoCal region, the Incubator portfolio companies are able to take advantage of the region’s nationally ranked business schools and world class technology school talent and resources, bringing high value jobs to the area. The incubator will leverage EvoNexus’ world class domain expertise and operational experience, a network of global technology leaders that serve on its board and committees, and its strategic partners to prepare portfolio companies to go to market. As founding sponsors, RBC and Franklin Templeton are committed to a long-term partnership with EvoNexus.

“FinTech is an important sector for us at RBC,” said Eddy Ortiz, VP of Solution Acceleration & Innovation at RBC. “Leveraging the time tested incubation platform that EvoNexus has perfected since 2010 will allow us to complement our commitment to invest in the best emerging technologies. We operate several RBC Innovation Labs around the globe and this partnership augments what we’re doing to incubate digital capabilities and drive innovation that creates value for our clients.”

“We are excited about collaborating with EvoNexus and being a founding sponsor of its FinTech incubator, as we believe it will contribute to the acceleration of our efforts in leveraging emerging technology to improve our business outcomes for investors,’ said Joe Boerio, Chief Technology Officer for Franklin Templeton. “Forging and expanding Franklin’s footprint within the FinTech startup ecosystem continues to be an important element of our FinTech strategy. Such relationships enable us to expand our learnings in this evolving space and position us to further leverage these capabilities to gain an information advantage to drive investment performance.”

The incubator is set to open its doors next month to a new 6,000 square foot Class A office space in San Diego provided by California’s leading commercial real estate developer the Irvine Company.

About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 84,000+ employees who bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada’s biggest bank, and one of the largest in the world based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 16 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 33 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-sustainability.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton. Franklin Templeton’s goal is to deliver better outcomes by providing global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the Company has expertise across all asset classes, including equity, fixed income, alternatives and custom multi-asset solutions. The Company’s more than 600 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With employees in over 30 countries, the California-based company has more than 70 years of investment experience and over US$714 billion in assets under management as of February 28, 2019. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com.

About EvoNexus

EvoNexus is Southern California’s leading start-up incubator with locations in San Diego and Irvine. We enable motivated entrepreneurs to turn their transformative technologies into fundable, commercially-viable companies. Since 2010, $1.6B in funding and acquisition outcomes have been achieved by EvoNexus start-ups. A total of 26 EvoNexus start-ups have been acquired since 2013. EvoNexus is supported by corporate investors, including some of the largest multinational corporations in the world. Its companies enjoy Class A offices and dry lab spaces provided by California’s leading commercial real estate developer the Irvine Company. For more information, please visit evonexus.org.