Finnovation Hack, a trailblazing hackathon at the intersection of finance and technology, took place on December 4th at d’Coque in Luxembourg, with a noteworthy participation of more than 120 professionals and students. This AI-centred event, hosted by the University of Luxembourg's SnT Interdisciplinary Research Center in collaboration with TechSense by The Dots, is an initiative of the Finnovation Hub, the latter being supported by the Ministry of Finance.

Finnovation Hack brought together students and young professionals to foster collaboration and innovation at the crossroads of finance and technology. A central highlight of the event was the showcase of ten pitches, presenting innovative solutions leveraging generative AI to boost productivity in the financial services industry.

Sweeping success for OptiChat, Finmars and Zero Enter

The event concluded with the celebration of three exceptional teams, each receiving prizes to support their innovative endeavors. The winning teams were respectively awarded €10.000, €2.000, and €1.000, acknowledging their contributions to the realm of generative AI in the financial sector:

OptiChat clinched the top spot, as announced by Amélie Madinier, CEO of Le Village by CA Luxembourg, with their learning development platform tailored for Fintech companies, that provides real-time performance monitoring for employees but also coordinates a specifically designed training program. Beyond congratulating all teams, Amélie Madinier specifically commended OptiChat for their impressive pitching skills, clear and exhaustive presentation, and underscored the project's maturity, stating that the jury believes it has the potential to thrive in the market.

Finmars team secured the second place for their presentation about the financial analytic tool that can extract answers with direct references such as questions about company products. Marc Lauer, CEO of Foyer, announced this victory and underlined the team's clear presentation, practical solutions to real-world problems, the courage to address existing challenges, and a noticeable level of maturity.

Claude Marx, Director General at Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) announced the third place goes to Zero Enter, for their innovative solutions to real problems, executable strategies and market readiness, on top of an exceptional articulation of the value proposition. The team's project integrates TLSNotary for secure auditing of TLS-protected data in API communications, enhancing privacy through Machine Learning Zero Knowledge Proof, making it valuable for scenarios requiring robust data security such as financial transactions, healthcare, and sensitive data exchanges.

Completing the jury panel were Minayegnan Coulibaly, CEO of GIM-UEMOA, and Alex Panican, Deputy CEO at The LHoFT.

Paving the way for future financial innovation

Jean Hilger, Head of Finnovation Hub and Investigator of the event, expressed his enthusiasm: "As the Head of Finnovation Hub, I am thrilled to witness the success of Finnovation Hack. The caliber of ideas presented, and the collaborative spirit displayed by the participants demonstrate the potential for Luxembourg to continue leading in the global financial arena".

Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance said: "The Ministry of Finance has supported the launch of the University’s Finnovation Hub with the objective of helping to harness research into innovative solutions for the financial centre. This first Finnovation Hack, organised by the Finnovation Hub, offered a great opportunity for EU students to pitch their ideas and solutions to key influencers of the financial centre community. It also helps to foster the talent that the financial sector will need for its future development."

"The Finnovation Hack brought together together a community of innovators invested in Luxembourg’s FinTech future. This event follows on SnT’s mission to conduct research with impact, and presents a new avenue to bring together FinTech concepts for the improvement of the local ecosystem", added Björn Ottersten, Director of SnT.

Beyond merely bringing together young professionals and industry leaders, the event served as a dynamic platform for mentorship and collaboration. Building on the success of this first edition, Finnovation Hack wants to foster new ideas and talent to help shape the financial sector of tomorrow.