About Citi Ventures
Our mission is to champion what’s next by bringing the outside in, building capabilities, and delivering thought leadership.
Our Approach
Citi Ventures is committed to charting the unknown in a world of unprecedented change and disruption. We invest in innovative startups, and we work with our colleagues, clients, and the innovation ecosystem to experiment with next-generation technologies.
Explore
We bring an outside-in perspective to sensing and acting on market signals, investigating emerging trends in technology and financial services and exploring their potential use with our clients.
Incubate
We take an experimental, business- and product-agnostic approach to solving client and Citi problems-testing, refining, and launching new solutions that help people, businesses, and communities thrive.
Invest
We fuel and propel growth by investing in and partnering with cutting-edge companies that are shaping the future of financial services and positively impacting a changing world.
Milestones
2023
October 2023
- Citi Ventures portfolio company Tessian acquired by Proofpoint
June 2023
- Citi Ventures holds second annual FinTech Summit
April 2023
- Citi Ventures portfolio company GoHenry acquired by Acorns
- Citi Ventures releases #ThePowerofPartnership video series featuring portfolio companies and Citi partners
2022
December 2022
- Citi Ventures partners with Founders You Should Know to connect startups to top-flight talent
November 2022
- Citi Ventures hosts first in-person Enterprise Tech Summit since the pandemic and first-ever FinTech Summit
October 2022
- City Builder and Citi Ventures’ Dominique Harrison named finalists for Banking Tech Awards
September 2022
- Citi Ventures makes its 150th investment
- City Builder launches in the Kingdom of Jordan
August 2022
- Nine Citi Ventures portfolio companies make Forbes’ 2022 Cloud 100 list
June 2022
- Citi Ventures joins Sie Ventures’ Catalyst program to support female startup founders across Europe
- City Builder adds climate data and urban renewal projects to its platform
May 2022
- Head of Citi Ventures Arvind Purushotham ranked #9 on Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist 2022
- Citi Ventures releases first external Innovators@Citi videos: “Cracking the Customer Code” (with Betterment and Menlo Ventures) and “Into the Metaverse” (with The Sandbox and InfiniteWorld)
April 2022
- Arvind Purushotham named Head of Citi Ventures
March 2022
- Seven Citi Ventures portfolio companies make Fast Company's World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2022 list
February 2022
- Citi Ventures’ lead Israel investor Ornit Shinar named Global Corporate Venturing Emerging Leader
- City Builder earns Honorable Mention at U.S. Census Bureau’s Opportunity Project Challenge
January 2022
- Citi Ventures and Head of Citi Ventures Vanessa Colella win BIG Innovation Awards
- Citi Ventures portfolio company Even Financial acquired by MoneyLion
2021
December 2021
- Citi Ventures completes record investing year, making 41 new and follow-on investments
November 2021
- Citi Ventures hosts virtual Enterprise Tech Series for industry leaders
- Citi Ventures portfolio company Unbound Security acquired by Coinbase
- Worthi launches integration with hiring platform ZipRecruiter
October 2021
- Head of Citi Ventures Vanessa Colella named one of American Banker’s Most Powerful Women in Tech/Finance Standouts
- Citi and Mastercard partner to add City Builder to Mastercard’s City Possible Network
September 2021
- Worthi named Finalist for Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Award
August 2021
- Citi ranked #27 on Fast Company’s 2021 Best Workplaces for Innovators list, with mention of Citi Ventures
- Citi launches Bridge built by CitiSM, a Citi Ventures-incubated lending platform connecting SMBs with regional/local/community banks in the U.S.
July 2021
- Citi Ventures’ Global Head of Venture Investing Arvind Purushotham on Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist 2021
May 2021
- City Builder honored by Fast Company as a 2021 World Changing Idea
April 2021
- Vanessa Colella named one of Innovation Leader’s 25 Most Influential Innovators
- CUPID partners with California Community Colleges to bring career opportunities to students
- Worthi named a 2021 Webby Award Honoree
- City Builder expands to Milan, Italy, its first location outside the U.S.
March 2021
- Worthi partners with Futuro Health to bolster career opportunities for allied health workers
- Citi launches Citi Ventures-incubated automated securities lending solution for wealth managers
- Citi Ventures-incubated startup Ensemble spins out as independent company, Citi Ventures invests
January 2021
- Citi Ventures makes its 100th investment
- Citi Ventures and Vanessa Colella win 2021 BIG Innovation Awards
- Luis Valdich named Global Corporate Venturing Emerging Leader 2021
2020
December 2020
- Citi Ventures makes 25 startup investments in 2020, tying 2019 record despite global pandemic
November 2020
- Citi Ventures makes first investment in LATAM-based startup
- City Builder expands beyond Opportunity Zones to cover entire U.S.
October 2020
- CUPID co-hosts second annual HBCU Innovation & Leadership Symposium, a four-day virtual event for 92 Historically Black Colleges and Universities students
September 2020
- Citi announces $1 billion+ in Action for Racial Equity initiatives, including Citi Ventures-led standards for inclusive software design.
- City Builder honored by Fast Company as Best Urban Design of 2020
July 2020
- Citi Ventures’ internal innovation engine D10X hailed as Citi named one of Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators
June 2020
- CUPID creates virtual internship program, hires 78 students for remote internships at Citi
May 2020
- Citi Ventures-incubated startup Proxymity launches consortium, Citi Ventures invests
- Citi launches Worthi, , a free tool developed by Citi Ventures to empower skills-based job growth
January 2020
- Citi Ventures launches new investment focus area: Property Technology (PropTech)
- Citi Ventures portfolio company HighRadius becomes first “unicorn” startup of 2020
2019
December 2019
- Citi Ventures completes record investing year with 25 investments (16 new, 9 follow-on)
- Citi launches City Builder by Citi, a place-based investing information platform developed by Citi Ventures
- City Builder wins first prize at U.S. Census Bureau’s Opportunity Project Demo Day
November 2019
- Citi Ventures hosts its inaugural Enterprise Technology Summit
- Citi releases Out of the Red by Citi, a Citi Ventures-incubated credit card debt repayment tool, in the Apple App Store
- Citi Ventures portfolio company Honey acquired by PayPal for $4 billion
October 2019
- Citi Ventures wins three BAI Global Innovation Awards, including Most Innovative Financial Services Organization of the Year
- CUPID co-hosts first Citi Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) symposium
September 2019
- Citi Ventures wins Innovation Leader Impact Award
- Citi Ventures-incubated startup Trade Information Network spins out as independent company with investment from a consortium of banks including Citi
May 2019
- CUPID hosts its first international hackathon in Milan
April 2019
- Citi releases Beacon by Citi, a Citi Ventures-incubated gamified budgeting app, in the Apple App Store
2018
December 2018
- Citi Ventures joins Hyperledger, an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies
November 2018
- Citi Ventures portfolio company Cylance acquired by Blackberry
October 2018
- Citi Ventures partners with Howard University to expand CUPID program
June 2018
- Citi and Computershare launch ProxymitySM, a Citi Ventures-incubated investor communications platform, as an independent company
April 2018
- Citi Ventures portfolio company DocuSign lists on Nasdaq
February 2018
- Citi Ventures makes its 50th investment
January 2018
- Citi Ventures launches Citi® University Partnerships in Innovation & Discovery (CUPID)
2017
October 2017
- Citi Ventures announces partnership with StartOut, supporting a global network of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs
May 2017
- Citi Ventures-incubated startup CitiConnect® for Blockchain launches, integrated with Nasdaq Linq and leveraging Citi Ventures portfolio company Chain
- Citi Ventures and IDEO CoLab launch Mosaic Digital Identity Lab
January 2017
- Citi names new Head of Citi Ventures and Citi’s second Chief Innovation Officer, Vanessa Colella
2016
August 2016
- Citi Ventures portfolio company Jet.com acquired by Walmart
- Citi Ventures makes its 40th investment
2015
August 2015
- Citi Ventures makes its 30th investment
May 2015
- Citi Ventures joins IDEO CoLab as founding member with Nasdaq, Fidelity, and Harvard University
2014
December 2014
- Citi Ventures announces partnership with Plug and Play to launch a global fintech accelerator with locations in the U.S., Germany, Singapore, Brazil, and Spain
January 2014
- Citi Ventures makes its 20th investment
2013
December 2013
- Internal Acceleration Fund is established
November 2013
- Citi's first FinTech accelerator is launched in Tel Aviv
July 2013
- Citi Ventures establishes the Global Lab Network
2012
October 2012
- SilverTail acquired by EMC, marking Citi Ventures’ first portfolio company exit
April 2012
- Citi Ventures makes its tenth investment
March 2012
- Citi Ventures finalizes first portfolio company commercialization with SilverTail
January 2012
- Citi Ventures tests first pilot product from investment portfolio
2010
July 2010
- Citi Ventures makes its first venture investment
January 2010
- Citi Ventures is founded in Palo Alto by Citi's first Chief Innovation Officer, Debby Hopkins