Nationwide doubles down on venture capital efforts, expands investment fund to $350m

Nationwide announced the expansion of its venture capital investment fund to $350 million, to be directed into high-growth potential insurance and financial services startups that directly advance Nationwide's strategy and enable even greater customer value.

Kirt Walker, CEO, Nationwide:"We have had tremendous interest from startups to partner with us and help them accelerate their success, not only through our capital but also our brand and expertise. Nationwide's history is built on numerous breakthroughs. We're excited about the opportunities to identify and accelerate insurtech and fintech solutions that will help better protect people, businesses and futures with extraordinary care."

Nationwide's venture capital investment initiative began in 2015 with the formation of the ventures team. In 2017, Nationwide announced the creation of a $100 million venture capital investment fund, focusing its investments on insurtech and fintech startups that support six thematic areas:

• Digital Infrastructure - Invest in the advancing infrastructure behind the insurance and financial services industries in the areas of underwriting, data & analytics, alternative distribution, and more.
• Home Solutions - Assist our members in better protecting and managing their most valuable assets through alternative data and analytics, risk intervention technologies, and home services solutions.
• Living in Retirement - Deliver products and services to help consumers prepare for and live better in their next stage of life.
• Small-and-medium sized businesses - Enhance current products and solutions that protect small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and take the friction out of the value chain while helping them operate efficiently.
• Telematics and Fleet Management - Provide services for consumers or businesses utilizing new types of mobility, vehicle connectivity, and telematics.
• Cybersecurity and risk - Protect businesses and consumers from new and evolving digital exposures, risks, and attacks.

Mike Mahaffey, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, Nationwide: "Nationwide's initial venture capital investments continue to unlock new sources of value, both to Nationwide and the startups with which we partner. Our ventures team has developed and implemented a successful strategy of identifying the strongest companies in which to invest - ones that have already begun producing products and solutions to help our customers and distribution partners. These additional funds will enable the venture team to expand and accelerate that work."

To date, Nationwide's venture capital team has invested in 25 companies and has helped facilitate 31 partnerships between startups and Nationwide business units.

Erik Ross, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Nationwide: "Our strong relationships with our business partners give us a clear advantage in our venture capital investments. We focus on startups that can help meet the ever-changing needs of Nationwide's customers. In addition to delivering strong financial returns, the venture capital team has proven to be a trusted partner to Nationwide's business units, collaborating with great entrepreneurs to bring mutually beneficial partnerships to life. Our business partners and our founders are our customers and best references - we'll continue to do our best to help them both be successful."

Nationwide's venture capital investments include HOVER, Indico, Deep Sentinel, Planck, Upstream Security, KINETIC, Vesta Health Care, Socotra, Betterview, Nexar, BlueVine, blooom, Insurify, Next Insurance, Matic, Flo Technologies, Vestwell, Snapsheet, Sure, and NewRetirement. 

In addition to expanding the venture capital fund, Nationwide recently aligned Corporate Development capabilities to include the venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic partnership teams. These groups look for unique collaboration opportunities that help business units meet new or developing customer needs. These collaborations are enabled by Nationwide's best-in-class digital infrastructure, which allows Nationwide to provide a unique digital experience for partners and their customers.

Tech startups interested in partnering with Nationwide can visit here for further information.

www.nationwide.com