Hi there, 

We announced our first ever Future of Fintech hackathon yesterday. We’re looking for hackers — individuals and enterprise teams alike — to help financial services companies solve their most pressing fintech challenges across banking, payments, financial inclusion, and more. 

In case you missed it, here’s a quick rundown: 

• We’ve rounded up financial services giants like Galileo Financial Technologies, Citi, Nasdaq, and Jack Henry & Associates to submit their real-world financial services problems, and are welcoming more enterprises to submit as well. 

• Individuals and enterprise teams are invited to solve these challenges over the span of nearly 4 weeks: October 16 to November 10.

• Finalists will be announced at our annual Future of Fintech conference (November 16-18).

In addition, the winning project will get a $5,000 cash prize. 

Finalists will also get free tickets to the Future of Fintech, where they'll get to network with senior fintech execs. Another project will be awarded the Galileo Innovation Award, for the most innovative use of the Galileo Instant API.

See more details and register here.

Trying something new

The biggest names in retail are forming innovation labs to go all in on digital, whipping up products like smart winter clothing and smart beverage dispensers.
 

Take a look at 30+ retail corporate innovation labs here.

Google knows what you did last summer

Google received a patent last month to parse clinical notes, which contain information on everything from patient medical history to diagnosis to treatment plans, using AI. 

We look at what the patent tells us about Google's strategy around data and patient outcomes in this client-only brief.

*Slaps roof of laptop* This bad boy can fit so many cars in it

The days of walking into an auto dealer to buy a car may not last. 
 

Clients can dig into how the Covid-19 pandemic has helped shift car buying online for the long term here.

Spooky scary fintech problems

What keeps your company up at night? 

Submit it for our fintech hackathon. Challenges we've received range from financial education 2.0 to financial services with a conscience.

Any organization can submit one or more challenges, and our participants will form project teams to develop innovative solutions for them. 
 

It’s 100% free for organizations and teams to participate, thanks to our sponsor Galileo Financial Technologies.

Read the details, submit your challenge, or create a team to compete here. The last day to sign up is October 15.

Beyond the 3 comma club
 

Wealth management services aren't just for the 1%. 
 

Clients can read more about how wealth tech cos are targeting underserved markets, from unbanked individuals to gig workers.

New York Times. Tara Siegel Bernard (@tarasbernard) reports on pay-advance apps and cites the CB Insights State Of Fintech Q2’20 report. 

Venture Capital Journal. Marina Temkin (@MTemkin) discusses potential edtech exits and references CB Insights data.

Becker’s Health IT. Laura Dyrda (@LauraMiller19) breaks down big tech’s ambitions in health insurance using CB Insights research.
 

P.S. We’re looking for a senior director of product marketing. Sound like you? We’d love to chat. 

The Blurb
 

Make it rain. The new CEO of Norway’s wealth fund agreed to liquidate and deposit his personal investments — but the country’s banks can’t absorb that much cash.  

Bloomberg

Sepsis Watch. A deep-learning tool for fighting hospital deaths worked — through a combination of technical and social labor. 

MIT Technology Review

Power up. A custom Game Boy powered by solar panels and players’ button presses gives a glimpse into a battery-free computing future.

WSJ

Philosopher’s laser. Researchers have developed a laser technique that can make one material behave like another.

Quanta Magazine

On the road. Specialized bikes, video, and a global static cycling competition are helping thousands of seniors to remain mobile.

The Guardian