Meet Tampa Bay Wave's 2026 FinTech|X Accelerator Cohort
Strong founders solving real problems
Dr. Richard Munassi, MD, MBA, Tampa Bay Wave Accelerator and CORE Program Managing Director, says this group stands out.
“This year’s FinTech|X cohort is one of our strongest and most exciting groups to date. These founders are not only addressing key issues in Enterprise, SMB, and consumer finance through their innovative technologies, they truly are strong founders with incredible backgrounds solving real problems.
Their academic backgrounds include The University of California at San Diego, Columbia University in the City of New York, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Indian Institute of Technology, West Virginia University, Yale University, University of Cambridge, Wake Forest University and more.
They have worked for some of the largest businesses and organizations in the world, including Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Department of War, Sony, Paypal, Deloitte, NASA, McKinsey & Company, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Capital One.
They are serial entrepreneurs with exits, former executives for financial institutions large and small, and professors,” Munassi continued. “All of us at Wave are tremendously proud and humbled to have these founders and their companies joining our portfolio and look forward to helping by being the fuel for their rocket ships, now and into the future.”
Meet the cohort
These 13 companies are building across AI-powered financial intelligence, payments, wealth building, risk management and small business growth.
Aequi (Ocala, Fla.)
End-to-end phantom equity management for small and mid-sized LLCs, from 409A valuations to payroll integration.
Alogram Inc. (San Diego)
An AI-native fraud and risk decisioning platform that detects and stops fraud in real time with explainable, auditable decisions.
Beem (San Francisco)
A personal finance app that gives people fast access to emergency cash, plus tools for comparing personal loans and budgeting.
BuildUp (Orlando, Fla.)
Stablecoin payment infrastructure that helps local businesses cut payment costs and keep money in the community.
Flip & Floss (Bridgeport, Conn.)
A family finance platform connecting parents, kids and schools, starting with school-based financial literacy programs.
LinqAlpha (New York)
A multi-agent AI system that automates cross-asset investment research for institutional investors.
Mili (Wilmington, Del.)
An AI operating system for wealth advisors that automates meeting prep, notes, CRM updates and planning analysis.
Milo (Morgantown, W.Va.
Helps people in their early 20s set up their finances for the first time, which also helps financial institutions reach this group.
Moola Money (London)
An AI-powered financial operating system that helps mass-affluent professionals make better banking, investing and planning decisions.
PayShore (Riverview, Fla.)
A bank-agnostic cash visibility and B2B payments platform that lets finance teams see cash, control approvals and send ACH, RTP and FedNow payments across every bank they use.
PredictQ (Saint Petersburg, Fla.)
An all-in-one hub for prediction market traders, with AI insights, portfolio tracking and verified analysts.
TradePolaris (London)
AI-native risk and research infrastructure for investment funds and advisors.
Zelody (Portland, Ore.)
An AI-driven data transformation platform that connects separate financial systems without costly custom integrations, built for fintechs and community banks.
Kickoff week and what’s ahead
The cohort starts building its Tampa Bay network right away.
- Wednesday, Oct. 7: The Bridging the Bay: FinTech|X Accelerator Mixer, hosted with spARK Labs at the ARK Innovation Center, 4 to 6 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 8: A welcome reception hosted by CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) in Tampa, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 17: The in-person program wraps.
- Thursday, Nov. 19: FinTech|X Pitch Night at the USF Muma College of Business, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Earlier this year, TIME ranked Tampa Bay Wave the No. 3 accelerator in the U.S. and No. 1 in Florida. We’re glad to welcome these founders to Tampa Bay.
Learn more about the program at tampabaywave.org/fintech.