Axis Bank, One of the third largest Banks in India announced the launch of Thought Factory an innovative lab facility which aims to accelerate the development innovative technology solutions for banking sector. With an acceleration program the Bank has already appointed eight members in-house team to work with the startups. This team will work with the startups closely on 3 months based acceleration program so that they can discuss the problems and to find the solutions to accelerate the product development.
With the launch of this program Thought Factory, the Axis Bank becomes the number one bank in India to launch this kind of Innovative lab in the country. With over 10,000 sq. ft. area and based in Bengaluru the Bank is experimenting with the technologies like block chain, artificial intelligence, mobility and cloud to bring about disruptions across functions including wealth management, mobile payments, credits, deposits and security etc. The Bank has also planned to launch an app named “Axis Accelerator” and with the help of road shows in India they are planning to reach out to more startups for the program. The shortlisted startups will be taken through structured mentorship program to scale up their business.
On this launch occasion the official statement made by Rajiv Anand, Executive Director (Retail Banking) are as follows:
“We are excited about the way financial industry is evolving and how millennials are re-imagining the industry. “Thought Factory”, our innovation lab is an endeavor to build on the ideas of innovators that can radically change consumers’ life in Banking and beyond. With this initiative, we are creating a vibrant ecosystem of Global Banks, startups & tech innovators.”
Axis bank is also working with NASSCOMM 10k, Tech partners, Various VC Partners, Global banks and academia to create a vibrant ecosystem which transcends beyond India. Axis bank also launched ‘Hack for Hire’ program to identify the talent from the country through Hackathons for in-house innovative team at Through Factory. Another first move in the Industry, the Bank is also creating a competitive platform for FinTech professionals to resolve real business challenges leveraging emerging technologies.