The University of Delaware is planning a new financial technology building at its STAR campus in Newark.
Officials say the $38 million, six-story, 100,000-square foot structure will combine academic, business and governmental sectors of the financial technology, or FinTech, world.
Its construction is being funded by a loan from the building’s owner Discover Bank. UD will lease out lab space for subjects including cybersecurity and financial analytics. The building will also house UD’s Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships and Delaware’s Small Business Development Center.
“Think cyber security, think data sciences, think analytics and consumer behavior—all those great opportunities and skills that would start benefiting our students,” said UD President Dennis Assanis. “And I might say also the startups that would be collocated with us in the building.”
Assanis says the new hub will add nicely to a campus with similar spaces already dedicated to the biopharmaceutical and healthcare industries.
“It’s really becoming a wonderful intersection--a nexus to drive economic development and the economy of our state many years into the future,” he said. “Very exciting. It’s an amazing development.”
A recent report by the Delaware Prosperity Partnership says global investment in FinTech companies rose from just under $19 billion in 2013 to just under $112 billion in 2018. It says Delaware accounted for at least $50 million.
The new building is expected to open in 2021.
