BackPro AI, an innovative AI startup, has been named the winner of the inaugural MLC Financial Clarity Prize, taking home $5,000 at the Genesis Awards Night hosted by the University of Sydney’s Business School.
The prize recognises excellence in financial modelling and strategic clarity among emerging founders in the Genesis accelerator program at the University of Sydney’s Business School. BackPro AI provides compliant on-premises LLM solutions for organisations operating in regulated industries like financial services and insurance, who are unable to use public LLMs like ChatGPT, to improve productivity and ROI. By developing a coherent financial model incorporating various scenarios, BackPro AI were able to demonstrate a clear pathway to achieve their revenue goals.
The award is the result of a unique partnership between MLC and Genesis, the University of Sydney’s flagship startup accelerator, designed to help founders build confidence and capability in financial planning from the earliest stages of their entrepreneurial journey. Launched in August, the MLC Financial Clarity Prize aims to reward the startup team who developed the most clear and compelling three-year financial model aligned to their strategy and funding milestones. The initiative reflects a shared commitment to empowering founders with the foundational financial skills essential for business success.
Genesis, which has supported over 1,000 startups since 2008, incorporated the prize into its 12-week program. To support the startups in building their financial models, all participating startups received a template financial model designed by MLC, attended a workshop, and benefited from one-on-one mentoring with experienced finance professionals at MLC.
Andrew Howard, Strategy & Innovation Director at Insignia Financial/MLC, said: “With 138 years’ experience in supporting Australians with their financial needs, partnering with Genesis to empower their founders to deliver tangible financial models was a no-brainer for MLC.
“At MLC, we know financial clarity is the foundation of confidence, whether you’re planning for retirement or building a business. Great ideas need great financial plans to succeed, and we were so impressed with the calibre of all the startups. Congratulations to BackPro AI as the inaugural winners of the MLC Financial Clarity Prize – we can’t wait to see what you do next.
“We’re excited to support the University of Sydney’s Genesis program again in 2026 with another MLC Financial Clarity prize.”
Anna Fitzgerald, Co-Head of Genesis, commented: “The MLC Financial Clarity Prize is about much more than money – it’s about mindset. With MLC’s support, we’ve motivated and rewarded our founders for building financial clarity into their startup from day one, and empowered them with the tools and mindset needed to turn their ideas into sustainable businesses.”
Krish Singh, Co-Founder and CEO at BackPro AI, said: “The Genesis accelerator program has been transformative for Ethan Dodson, Mansh Maxena and me as founders, and the support we received – especially around financial modelling – was incredibly helpful. We have a vision of ensuring smaller financial firms remain competitive by enabling them to use compliant AI to increase productivity and ROI. Winning the MLC Financial Clarity Prize validates our goal to build an enduring profitable business and deliver our vision.”