附近上门

附近上门 News typically covers larger funding rounds, however we think these startups are worth highlighting for their interesting approaches despite their smaller raises.

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Fintech for kids, for fun

There were some cool startups in the fintech space that I want to highlight from Y Combinator鈥檚 Demo Day, which took place earlier this week. I was also pitched several funding rounds from potential competitors of the Demo Day standouts so thought it would be helpful to include those, as well.

The first grouping I noticed was fintech aimed at younger folks. From YC was , founded by . The startup is developing a mobile bank for the financially underserved, particularly the 52 million millennials, Allen said. Another was , a debit card and app designed for kids and parents in Latin America.

Meanwhile, this week, , a digital bank for teens that helps them build financial literacy, announced a $4.3 million seed round led by , with聽participation from , and . Copper includes a mobile app and debit card that connects parents and kids to teach teens how to make smart financial decisions.

Back to YC. We also heard from New York-based , a startup that is helping people save money and win prizes up to $10 million through weekly number draws. This concept is already big in the U.K., with 33 percent having prize-linked accounts, and Yotta expects this type of popularity coming to America.

Similarly, this week announced a $4.25 million seed round to reimagine savings and create a new way to incentivize Americans to build a better financial foundation. The investment was led by , , , and . Instead of low-growth savings accounts, PrizePool provides customers with a chance to win a grand prize of $25,000 each month, along with thousands of smaller prizes.

Health care for data, COVID-19

Alright, back to our regular feature. Health care data is valuable and also something that needs to be protected. I spoke with , MD, founder and CEO of , a health tech company applying machine learning models to create synthetic health care datasets. It makes traditionally siloed data easily shareable to biopharma, researchers and academics in a way that protects the identity of the patient.

The company raised an oversubscribed seed round of $3.1 million led by and also included investors , and .

鈥淲e provide for the sharing of health care data in a way that retains statistical properties with guaranteed privacy,鈥� Lesh said. 鈥淭hat data is tremendously useful for scientists to develop new treatments, but all of that data can鈥檛 be shared because it is private. We create synthetic data that matches the properties of the original patient, but there is no way to go back and identify the person.鈥�

On the COVID-19 front, I was introduced this week to .

New York-based Avalon, which used to go by COVEX 2020, raised a $1.5 million seed round led by . It is developing metrics that generate an accurate, by-the-minute heat map analysis of the areas most affected by COVID-19.

The data analytics company will use the new funding to expand in both the U.S. and Europe.

鈥淚nitially developed with the CDC, Avalon.AI鈥檚 predictive analytics helps universities, hospital systems and general businesses to provide a safe environment in bringing students, employees and more back to campus and work,鈥� the company said via email. 鈥淥ur technology can identify a spike in COVID-19 cases in under 24 hours.鈥�

PitchMe

What Syntegra is doing with health care data, London-based is doing with your resume.

It has raised a $1.2 million seed round led by that also includes investments from a UK-based family office and angel investors. The funding will be used to grow the team and advance product development.

Founder and CEO told me the startup is a skills-based talent marketplace that uses big data algorithms to match candidates鈥� soft and professional skills with the right jobs and upskilling opportunities. The method eliminates bias, thus improving diversity and inclusion, she added.

鈥淲e are rethinking the curriculum vitae and how to replace it with built-in sources related to identity,鈥� she said.

鈥淭he candidates provide whatever they have and then we extract big data using our proprietary Skillsourcing process to create a SmartMe Profile,鈥� she added. 鈥淧eople from diverse backgrounds can bring a variety of expertise and interesting blend of culture, which is important right now. Our approach is improving diversity and inclusion as well.鈥�

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