Brief: Royal Bank of Canada Sets Up Fintech Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley

Like many other large banks, Royal Bank of Canada is now syncing with rising Silicon Valley fintech talent to better position itself with the ever dynamic fintech sector, RBC Vice President of Innovation Gabriel Woo shared with Reuters,  and launched an Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley. The bank has opened similar facilities in Toronto, London, Luxembourg, New York and Orlando, Florida.

Gabriel Woo“Banks need to do this to take advantage of really good opportunities that otherwise might go by,” Woo told Reuters. “Many start-up companies are doing some really interesting things and are started by really smart young talent that probably wouldn’t consider joining a bank at this point in their lives.”

According to the article, RBC has already set aside C$100 million (US$78 million) as seed money to invest in global fintech companies, Woo indicating that the RBC would look to open more labs around the world.

The Earth Globe World“We’re certainly looking beyond Canada and even beyond North America,” Woo told Reuters, noting a Silicon Valley presence was critical to this strategy. “There is always really interesting stuff that’s happening out in the (San Francisco) Bay Area, in Silicon Valley.”

In addition, RBC has also partnered with the C100, a group of Canadian entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, to set up Canada House.



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