NatWest Group, one of the UK’s largest banking groups, has revealed the eight companies selected to join its 2026 FinTech Programme, with the announcement made at a launch event in London.
The cohort is made up entirely of early-stage, AI-focused businesses tackling a range of challenges across financial services, including customer vulnerability, financial crime, compliance and risk management.
12-week programme is built around the theme of how artificial intelligence is reshaping customer experience, and targets pre-Series A and Series A companies developing responsible, customer-led AI tools.
This year’s selection follows a competitive application process drawing founders and innovators from across the UK, as well as a founder roundtable hosted by NatWest.
The eight companies joining the programme are:
- Aveni, an AI platform built for financial services that combines proprietary language models for agentic customer engagement and real-time compliance;
- Condukt, an agentic compliance platform offering automated decisioning and real-time business onboarding across the customer lifecycle;
- DeepFlow, a cross-silo orchestration layer for financial crime and risk operations designed to improve efficiency while keeping humans in the loop;
- Empath_AI, which uses vocal biomarker technology to help banks identify and better support vulnerable customers;
- Galveston Group, an AI-native geopolitical intelligence platform that maps live global developments directly to portfolio, trading and balance-sheet risk;
- Gradient Labs, which builds AI agents to automate complex customer support and operational workflows in financial services with embedded guardrails;
- Murphy AI, an AI-first operating system for debt collections using autonomous agents to improve customer outcomes and lower operational costs;
- Round Treasury, an agentic treasury and payments platform connecting more than 2,000 banks in real time to unify banking, payments, liquidity and FX management.
NatWest’s FinTech Programme forms a central part of the bank’s broader innovation strategy. Participants will collaborate closely with NatWest’s Open Innovation team, receive mentorship from senior leaders within the organisation, and gain access to NatWest’s innovation ecosystem through workshops and in-person events. The programme is focused on exploring potential collaboration opportunities across the bank.
NatWest Group director of innovation David Grunwald said, “All of the fintechs joining this year’s programme are using AI in innovative ways – whether maximising the opportunities it presents or providing solutions to some of the challenges faced by banks and our customers. From safer AI adoption and better protection for vulnerable customers, to smarter risk management and simpler business banking, this cohort demonstrates the power of focused collaboration. We are excited to work closely with these teams and explore how their solutions could help shape the future of banking.”
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