SC Ventures, the innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm of international banking group Standard Chartered, is backing OpenFin, a developer of a finance operating system.
Standard Chartered labelled the deal as a strategic investment to help OpenFin meet growing demand for digital workspaces and app stores.
The new money will accelerate new product development and it brings OpenFin’s total funding to date to $50 million.
OpenFin investors include Bain Capital Ventures, Barclays, DRW Venture Capital, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, NYCA Partners, Pivot Investment Partners and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital.
OpenFin’s web-based OS is used in financial services for powering next-generation application and desktop experiences by creating interfaces that make the financial desktop simple and intuitive.
Built on Google’s Chromium engine, OpenFin OS simplifies app distribution, unifies the digital workspace and enables seamless communication and workflow between apps. The software is used at more than 1,500 banks and buy-side firms across nearly 250,000 desktops in 60+ countries.
Standard Chartered adopted OpenFin’s technology earlier this year to accelerate their internal and client-facing technology transformation strategy across multiple areas of the bank starting with the financial markets business.
Alex Manson, SC Ventures, said: “In the financial services workplace of the future, employees need increasingly specific tools to collaborate and serve clients effectively. We are thrilled to partner with OpenFin as they create such an environment, allowing for personalized design of the workspace and hence transforming the way we think of how conventional financial markets applications are delivered to the user.”
Mazy Dar, Co-Founder and CEO of OpenFin, added: “We are incredibly excited to welcome Standard Chartered as a customer and investor. The pace of innovation at such a large financial institution has been truly astounding. We look forward to a close collaboration as we work to modernize the industry’s app infrastructure.”
