Afinin Labs Inc. today celebrated its graduation from Memorial University’s Genesis Centre. Afinin’s success was recognized at a ceremony attended by representatives of government, the university and the local business community. The company graduated from the centre after receiving significant private investment from several local angel investors.

The Genesis Centre is Memorial’s business support network for technology-based ventures that have high growth potential, and are seeking business guidance and capital.

Afinin was conceptualized by Dr. Garnett Wilson and Dr. Wolfgang Banzhaf, two researchers at Memorial University and experts in the fields of machine learning and applied science analysis, to commercialize their stock price prediction software, Zenquant™. The technology developed by Afinin Labs Inc. has been successfully implemented with professional traders at a large bank, and Afinin Labs is now examining interested potential hedge fund partners in the United States. 

Afinin operates computer servers that collect minute-by-minute stock price data and analyze the prices of individual stocks using machine learning to

produce predictions of price trends for each stock. Traders benefit from notifications automatically delivered to a computer or smartphone, signalling highly likely opportunities for profitable stock buys and sells.

“The Genesis Centre continues to be an important public engagement avenue connecting the university and the private sector,” said Dr. Gary Kachanoski, president and vice-chancellor, Memorial University. “I offer my sincere congratulations to Drs. Wilson and Banzhaf, and everyone involved with getting Afinin Labs Inc., off the ground. We look forward to hearing more great things about this exciting new business in the years to come.”

“We want to take the talent around us and create a company right here that is competitive in the modern, computerized financial markets,” said Dr. Garnett Wilson, CEO and co-founder of Afinin Labs Inc. “The guidance and resources provided by the Genesis Centre and everyone connected to the centre were instrumental in transforming a combination of world-class machine learning expertise and determination into an exciting company that represents an immense opportunity.”

For more information, contact Keelin O’Leary, vice-president entrepreneurial support, Genesis Group, at 709-864-2365 or keelin@mun.ca; or Garnett Wilson, president and CEO, Afinin Labs Inc., at 709-237-6741 or gwilson@afinin.com.  

 

Afinin was founded in 2009 to commercialize the stock prediction software and has been a client at the Genesis Centre since January 2009. Afinin’s advisory board included Mark Kennedy, Grey First Inc./CELTX; Ron Ellsworth, Ellsworth Group; Libby Carew, publicist; and Patrick O’Neill, financial consultant.

The Genesis Centre is a division of Genesis Group Inc., the technology commercialization arm of Memorial University. It is supported by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the provincial Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development and Memorial University.

 

The Genesis Centre operates as a support network for technology-based ventures that have high-growth potential, and are seeking business guidance and capital. It helps selected enterprises gain access to the marketing, finance and management expertise of world-class mentors and advisory board members. It also connects entrepreneurs to the scientific, technical and business expertise resident at Memorial University. By helping these entrepreneurs implement effective advisory boards, develop comprehensive business plans and build capable management teams, the centre prepares promising ventures for private investment.

 

Afinin is the thirtieth company to graduate from the Genesis Centre since 2000, and the centre is currently working with 10 other clients. It has helped its clients raise more than $22 million in private equity, 63 per cent of that amount coming from outside the province. Graduates include Rutter Technologies, Verafin, Genoa Design, Virtual Marine Technology and ClearRisk.