British banking giant Barclays is closing its fintech accelerator program, Rise, by mid-2025, leaving New York City-based founders and venture capitalists reeling with what one founder compared to losing “a home.”
Barclays Head of Partnerships and Innovation Kristen Bennie informed Rise members last week that Rise and its associated academies would be winding down and exiting its New York location.
That location, according to F-Prime Capital Principal Abdul Abdirahman, was “truly the home of fintech in NYC,” and “the gathering hub for founders, investors, operators, and others in the financial services ecosystem.”
“It was where I went for all things fintech, especially during conference seasons … I always knew I could count on the Rise team to have a long list of great events for folks in the ecosystem,” he said. “With the closure of the Rise program and space, there will be a significant gap for founders, investors, and operators to gather to discuss all things fintech.”
Barclays launched Rise 10 years ago, and its accelerator program has launched several successful fintech-ecosystem companies, including Chainalysis and Novo Bank.
Alloy CEO Tommy Nicholas, too, said on LinkedIn his firm – which has been valued at over $1 billion since 2022 – was “effectively founded at Rise.”
Rise also functioned as a central meeting place for the fintech community, as well as a free events space. Co-working was also available.
A Barclays spokesperson confirmed the news, originally reported by Axios, via email.
“When Barclays established Rise a decade ago, fintechs were predominantly niche startups disrupting the financial services industry. Fast-forward to today, the fintech community is a core part of the financial ecosystem and there is a wealth of opportunity to partner and collaborate,” the spokesperson said.
While Barclays plans to wind down Rise, the bank “will continue to play an important role scouting, partnering and investing, in FinTech companies,” the spokesperson said.
Michelle Tran, founder of industry and events group NYC Fintech Women, called Rise “the anchor of New York City fintech community,” and said for her group, its closure is “kind of like a closing of a home.”
She said she believes Rise’s closure will make the NYC fintech ecosystem more “dispersed.”
“Anytime you lose a home like that, people will be searching for [where to go next]. It would be great to see it replicated somewhere,” she said. “For the women in fintech, they're going to have to seek out more support and more resources on their own, which may not be as accessible to them.”
Nicole Casperson, founder of the industry community and newsletter Fintech is Femme, built her platform and business – which showcases women’s place in fintech leadership – in part at Rise, through several events over the last few years.
Rise’s central nature within the NYC fintech ecosystem aided Casperson’s events to outgrow its space, actually – its event hall topped out at accommodating around 300 guests – but Rise’s importance, for smaller meetings, never waned.
“In terms of that casual gathering, there isn’t really a second go-to for that. It was always easy to do Rise,” Casperson said. “This feels like the end of an era.”
