An Australian startup focused on sustainable housing has emerged victorious in a global open finance challenge organized by NAB, CIBC, Itaú Unibanco, and NatWest.
A total of 91 teams from 19 countries participated in the competition, utilizing a sandbox environment hosted on AWS alongside a suite of shared APIs from the participating banks. These resources included various elements of open banking, open finance, and experimental services.
ValAi was awarded the top prize for its innovative Greenhouse product, an automated sustainability rating tool and marketplace that delivers customized insights to homeowners. Allys Todd, founder of ValAi, stated, "Our groundbreaking Greenhouse product prioritizes people in the global journey toward net-zero emissions and challenges the financial sector to drive the next phase of transformative change in our communities."
In addition to ValAi, three other startups were recognized for their specific innovations:
- 9th Gear Technologies received the title of “Most Innovative Customer Experience for Businesses and Corporates” with its blockchain-based B2B foreign exchange platform.
- NoFrontiers was honored for “Most Innovative and Convenient Channel for Accessing Banking Services” with FinPass, an onboarding and credit solution aimed at immigrants.
- Banyan won “Most Innovative Solution in Support of Climate and Sustainability” for its platform that digitizes the loan lifecycle for renewable energy initiatives.
The victorious teams will now have the chance to collaborate with the participating banks to develop their concepts into proof-of-concept projects.