Case Study: Citi achieves comprehensive startup discovery and expanded outreach with CB Insights

How Citi, a premiere global bank, uses CB Insights to advance its discovery of startup innovation

Citi Fintech Acceleration, Citi’s program focused on mobile banking, authentication, digital identity, and anti-corruption technology, runs Open Innovation Challenges to source startup solutions. For its Tech for Integrity challenge — run with allies including IBM, PwC, Mastercard, Clifford Chance, LTP, Facebook, and Microsoft — Citi wanted to expand outreach beyond its existing shortlist to ensure it captured all relevant applicants.

Citi imported its company list into CB Insights to centralize sourcing and collaboration, leveraged public collections and RegTech references to broaden discovery, and built a dynamic landscape of over 2,000 startups with team commenting and feedback. The effort expanded Citi’s market visibility, improved internal coordination, and helped the team “cast a wide net” to remain on the cutting edge of startup discovery.

Citi

Gabi Charnoff

Allies and Outreach Lead