EvoNexus, Royal Bank of Canada and Franklin Templeton Collaborate On Silicon Valley FinTech Incubator in Call for New Early-Stage Start-Up Applicants

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EvoNexus, California's premier non-profit technology incubator in San Diego and Silicon Valley, is seeking new applicants, following a successful two years since the launch of the Silicon Valley FinTech Incubator in San Mateo, with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and founding sponsor Franklin Templeton. Early-stage companies in the incubator have access to unprecedented collaboration opportunities and funding. Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis by key stakeholders at these entities.

Since the EvoNexus FinTech Incubator launched in 2019, 17 FinTech startups have benefited from directly involvement with Franklin Templeton and/or RBC experts. In 2021, EvoNexus portfolio companies, raised over $530 million and saw $1 billion across 7 exits. 15% of companies that join EvoNexus exit via merger or acquisition, and 85% achieve venture capital funding.

Alongside EvoNexus, Franklin Templeton and RBC consider startups, focused on, but not limited to, the broad applications of cryptocurrency (from storage to payments to asset tokenization), the NFT landscape, driving ESG-minded investment decisions, democratizing access to traditionally hard-to-enter asset classes, protecting assets through innovative cybersecurity measures, and utilizing AI to make smarter and more timely investment decisions.

"Our 3-year partnership launching the fintech incubation program with Franklin Templeton and EvoNexus in California, has yielded significant value through introductions to early-stage ventures that would have otherwise not appeared on our radar screen," states Eddy Ortiz, VP of Innovation & Solution Acceleration at RBC. "The EvoNexus incubation program provides startups with the tools they need to engage with RBC in areas of interest that matter to us."

"Startups benefit from Franklin Templeton's expertise in running and scaling a global asset management business. Additionally, they can learn a lot from our experience with the regulatory environment," said Joe Boerio, EVP, Chief Risk & Transformation Officer at Franklin Templeton. "Conversely, we learn from the startups, gaining understanding of their new methods, techniques and abilities to approach a market in a very different way."

The Silicon Valley FinTech Incubator sits on the San Mateo campus of Franklin Templeton. Franklin Templeton provides startups in this incubator a minimum of $150,000 (SAFE) in seed funding.

About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 88,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank, and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 155 countries. Franklin Templeton's mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers boutique specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has 75 years of investment experience and approximately $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of March 31, 2022. For more information, please visit franklinresources.com.

About EvoNexus

www.evonexus.org

CONTACT: Eugenia Wilson, Ewilson@evonexus.org

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SOURCE EvoNexus