Plaid announces fintech accelerator inauguration

The equity-free and capital-free programme has chosen five early-stage fintech startups out of 100 applications to join its cohort, working on issues central to the financial services industry such as simplifying payments and access to credit. The accelerator, announced in January 2021, is explicitly focused on backing underrepresented founders in tech.

Last week, The Information reported that Plaid is nearing a new financing deal that would value the company at between USD 10 billion to USD 15 billion. Beyond a high valuation, Plaid sports a key characteristic that positions it well to help early-stage startups: it has gone through regulatory hurdles. Months ago, Plaid announced it would not merge with Visa in what would have been a USD 5.3 billion acquisition. This event, as well as advice on how private fintech startups can deal with policy issues, will be part of FinRise programming.

While participants don’t get funding, FinRise has collated a number of ‘capital access partners,’ which basically means investors who are committed to meeting with these companies and potentially writing a check. This network includes Accion, Acrew, Amex Ventures, Flourish, Harlem Capital, Kapor, Matrix, Village Capital, Visible Hands, and First Round.