18
May
2021
|
10:15 AM
America/New_York

Nationwide makes venture capital investment in Extend

We’ve all been there - on the verge of the purchase of anything from electronics to appliances or sporting goods and we’re asked if we want to purchase the extended warranty. Many consumers are skeptical about these offerings and wary about the loopholes and service gaps that have plagued these services.

What they deserve is extraordinary care.

It’s why Nationwide has announced a new venture capital investment in Extend, an insurtech company committed to a vastly improved experience when customers choose to up-level their purchase with an extended warranty at the point-of-sale. The investment dollars come from Nationwide’s $350 million venture capital fund.

“We're thrilled to work with Extend and are excited to see what's next for the company with this round of funding. With their ongoing commitment to reinvent the warranty industry, Extend is combining cutting-edge technology with business innovation completely focused on the customer experience,” said Erik Ross Head of Nationwide’s venture capital team. “At Nationwide, we pride ourselves on investing in startups that redefine a category - something we know Extend will continue to do.”

Extend is an API-first company that allows any merchant to easily offer extended warranties and protection plans while providing the merchant's end customers with a vastly improved and modern support experience that eliminates many of the issues customers face today with legacy providers.

Extend works with leading retailers across consumer electronics, appliances, furniture, jewelry, auto parts, sports and fitness, and more. The company’s modern and digitally native solution delivers an up-leveled product protection experience that is a win for merchants and their customers.

“With this new injection of capital and vote of confidence from investors including Nationwide, Extend is in a position to continue to invest in building best-in-class product protection that serves our merchant partners and their customers,” said Woodrow Levin, CEO and Co-founder of Extend. “We started Extend to provide a product protection solution that eliminated the frustration and ‘gotchas’ associated with the legacy offerings in the market today.”

Nationwide’s investment is part of Extend’s Series C funding round.

Nationwide’s venture capital team journey
Nationwide’s venture capital investments are directed into insurance and financial services startups with high-growth potential that directly advance Nationwide’s strategy to provide even greater customer value.

To date, Nationwide’s venture capital team has invested in nearly 30 companies, including Beam Dental, Health Gorilla, HOVER, Indico, Deep Sentinel, and Planck. The team has also helped to facilitate more than 30 partnerships between startups and Nationwide business units.

Tech startups interested in partnering with Nationwide can visit www.nationwideventures.com for more information.

Nationwide’s Corporate Development mission
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.