The milestone was highlighted during Nationwide’s 2026 Patent Awards Ceremony, where the company recognized six inventors whose work over the past year is helping drive business and technology forward. The celebration reflects significant momentum since Nationwide received its first U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent in 2000. 

Today, Nationwide’s growing patent portfolio spans analytics, digital platforms, product innovation and new business solutions, showcasing ideas from across the enterprise and reinforcing the company’s commitment to forward-thinking technology. 

“In many ways, the patent milestone is more than a number,” said Nationwide Chief Technology Officer Michael Carrel. “It reflects a culture that values curiosity, collaboration and problem-solving — and a belief that great ideas can come from anywhere inside the company.” 

The achievement carries added significance during Nationwide’s centennial year. On April 14, 2026, the company marked 100 years since selling its first insurance policy — rooted in a mission to meet real customer needs with practical solutions. 

“That same purpose continues to guide Nationwide today,” said Nationwide Chief Customer, Strategy and Innovation Officer Mike Mahaffey. “Across the organization, associates are developing innovative tools, products and capabilities designed to make customer experiences simpler, faster and more secure.” 

As Nationwide enters its second century, reaching 100 patents represents both a milestone and a momentum marker — signaling that the company’s next era of innovation is already underway. 

Learn more: Visit the Nationwide Technology & Innovation newsroom page to explore the latest advancements. 

Nationwide, a Fortune 100 insurance and financial services mutual, may not be the first company that jumps to mind when thinking of inventions, but Nationwide employees are regularly inventing and patenting novel solutions – from technology that dramatically speeds up the time to develop bundled insurance quotes to financial modeling tools that help people plan for retirement.

Recently, Nationwide Chief Technology Officer Jim Fowler and Nationwide Chief Customer, Strategy and Innovation Officer Mike Mahaffey recognized 39 Nationwide inventors at the inaugural Nationwide Patent Award Ceremony who hold a combined 55 patents and 21 patents pending from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  

“Nationwide is on a journey to push the boundaries of what it means to be a protection company,” Mahaffey said at the patent ceremony. “What that means is that we’ve really spun the flywheel in terms of new ways of doing things, new processes, new products, new technologies and all of the things that we can do to live into our customer-driven mission and vision to protect people, businesses and futures with extraordinary care.”

To help the agricultural industry meet the ever-changing concerns of its stakeholders, Nationwide and The Ohio State University have collaborated to form the AgTech Innovation Hub. This innovation hub will be facilitated by the offices of innovation for both organizations as well as the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). The two central Ohio-based institutions will work together to encourage the development of new solutions that will help the agricultural ecosystem while better understanding, managing and mitigating climate risk.  

Nationwide is pledging up to $2 million in initial funding to identify and execute initiatives for the Innovation Hub and plans to provide additional funding and resources in the future. The partnership was announced at the 2022 Farm Science Review.  

“Transitioning to a green economy, climate change – these are long-view issues that won’t be fixed overnight," said Kirt Walker, Nationwide’s Chief Executive Officer. “Agriculture is a part of Nationwide’s DNA, and we believe it’s important to invest in resources that pave the way for a vibrant and robust food supply chain. This innovation hub will be an incubator for those groundbreaking ideas. We are proud to partner with our colleagues and experts at Ohio State and to provide the funding to support this exciting and important work.” 

The AgTech Innovation Hub will provide a variety of tools, resources, skillsets and funding platforms to address the dynamic and changing needs of agriculture innovation to minimize climate risk and accurately insure those risks.  

“This partnership will build on the collaborative that Nationwide and the Nationwide Foundation already have with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and The Ohio State University,” said Cathann A. Kress, Ohio State’s vice president for agricultural administration and dean of CFAES. “It will challenge our students and faculty to bring innovative solutions to the table to tackle the grand challenges we face regarding the nexus of ecosystem sustainability, food security, and viable production agriculture.”  

“The agricultural industry is on the front lines of the climate change battle. Not only are farmers significantly impacted by the negative impacts of greenhouse gas emissions, they also can – and must – play a key role in reducing them,” said Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson, PhD. “From carbon sequestration to adopting new technologies to further green farming practices, this partnership will help establish best practices to safeguard both our food supply and our environment for future generations. Our thanks to Nationwide for helping make this possible.” 

The Hub will promote applied research, technology transfer, the exchange of knowledge & experience, and transdisciplinary innovation in support of agricultural technology. Programs in scope may include early-stage entrepreneurs, established companies or producers developing new or value-added products or manufacturing processes, collaborations across institutions or industries, or those seeking new solutions to supply chain or other challenges in the food and agricultural ecosystems. 

“Innovation has always played a key role in Nationwide’s mission of protecting people, businesses and futures,” said Mike Mahaffey, Nationwide chief strategy and corporate development officer. “Nationwide stands ready to share our expertise and resources with those taking part in the Innovation Hub to develop solutions that will enrich the agricultural community for generations to come.” 

For more information about the AgTech Innovation Hub, visit https://news.nationwide.com/osuhub

Nationwide’s myriad of innovations over the past year helped the company stand out among the hundreds of submitted entries, resulting in the company taking bronze award in the Global Innovator category.  

Among the key innovations that caught the judges’ attention were: 

• Nationwide’s Partner Portal, a connected ecosystem of capabilities and digital products powered by APIs that has already enabled the launch of 50+ strategic partnerships 
• Improvements across partner and vendor payment processes 
• A new partnership with a digital lending bank that allows the company to meet their customers in new ways   

“We are truly honored to receive this recognition. Nationwide has always been committed to innovation,” said Mike Mahaffey, Nationwide’s Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, who accepted the bronze award virtually. “From our humble roots 96 years ago when we launched innovative solutions for farmers to protect their agricultural businesses, we have evolved into a large national company with a diverse portfolio that protects people, businesses, and futures with extraordinary care. 

Nationwide’s innovation strategy, process, goals, results, and unique funding approach for innovation helped the company stand out from the competition. 

“At Nationwide, we see innovation as everyone’s role, and we define innovation not just as moon shots but as anything that makes life easier or better for our customers,” said Mahaffey. “My biggest thanks goes out to our associates. It’s our talented teams who are driving our future-focused culture. We wouldn’t be successful at this without our great people and this award is a testament to them.” 

The 2022 Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards received entries from 251 institutions in 44 countries and winners were selected by a panel of 37 judges of senior executives from insurers worldwide.  

To learn more about more about Efma-Accenture awards, visit https://innovationininsurance.qorusglobal.com/.  

More information about Nationwide’s Partner Portal can be found at https://developer.nationwide.com.  

“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,” said Nationwide CEO Kirt Walker. “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.”

Tech startups interested in partnering with Nationwide can visit https://www.nationwide.com/cps/nw-ventures.html for more information.

Nationwide’s venture capital journey
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.

“Nationwide’s initial venture capital investments continue to unlock new sources of value – both to Nationwide and the startups with which we partner,” said Mike Mahaffey, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer. “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.

“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,” said Erik Ross, leader of Nationwide’s venture capital team. “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. 

Nationwide’s Corporate Development mission
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.

Nationwide Pet Rx Express^SM gives Nationwide’s pet insurance members access to affordable pet prescription medicines and introduces a new, expedited, in-store claims experience. Members can log into my.petinsurance.com to sign up for the program and access their digital ID card to present at the Walmart pharmacy. Preferred pricing and the opportunity to have claims for covered drugs processed at the counter of a major retail pharmacy is a first for the pet health insurance industry.

Through this partnership, Nationwide pet insurance members will have access to Walmart’s most commonly prescribed pet-specific medications for chronic disease and flea, tick and heartworm prevention.

“Families deserve the same convenience when tending to their pets’ health as they do their own. Offering on-the-spot claims filing and preferred pricing at a major retail location helps our members save time and money,” said Nationwide Chief Pet Officer Heidi Sirota. “We’re working to make it possible for every American to bring a pet into their family and this first-of-its-kind partnership with the country’s leading pet retailer brings us closer to that goal.”

“Whether our customers are buying prescription pet medicine or an insurance policy, we want to provide an effortless experience and unmatched value,” said Nationwide Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer Mike Mahaffey. “Partnering with Walmart to both lower costs and streamline the claims process at the pharmacy counter is a terrific example of innovating to meet our members’ needs, and we’re excited about providing them this convenient, new option when managing their pets’ care.”

“Affordable health & wellness offerings for families is important for the whole family, including family pets,” said Luke Kleyn, Vice President, Health & Wellness, Walmart. “We are proud to partner with Nationwide to further support our commitment of helping people save money and live better, and healthier, in a way that is convenient and accessible.”

Whether picking up pet supplies, filling a prescription with Nationwide, or having pet food delivered with their weekly groceries while arranging a quick dog walk, Walmart is the one-stop pet destination customers can trust for simple, everyday pet needs.

For information about Nationwide’s full range of pet insurance plans and benefits, visit petinsurance.com.

Ross joined Nationwide in 2014 and was charged with spearheading the venture capital investment strategy, including the disbursement of Nationwide’s $100 million venture capital investment fund. Under Ross’s leadership, Nationwide’s venture capital team has invested in 20 insurtech, fintech, cyber security and other developing startups to date. Those investments continue to create value for not only those companies, but also for Nationwide and its members.

“I’m humbled to receive this honor on behalf of my team for the second straight year. I am fortunate to be surrounded by an exceptional group of people. Our team has great support from Nationwide’s senior executives, business leaders, board, and our founders that make our work possible,” said Ross. “They are the real stars…I’m fortunate to be the venture capital team’s coach.”

Nationwide’s venture capital team’s investments include:
Deep Sentinel, Planck, Upstream Security, KINETIC, Vesta Healthcare, Socotra, Betterview, Nexar, BlueVine, blooom, Insurify, Next Insurance, Matic, Flo Technologies, Sure and NewRetirement. 

Nationwide’s venture capital investment efforts have resulted in several notable partnerships within the portfolio for Nationwide, including: 

• In August 2020, Nationwide’s Private Client team launched a Smart Home Solution with Flo by Moen which will give their customers more control in protecting their homes.
• In November 2019, Nationwide announced a three-year commercial agreement with Betterview. Betterview is quickly becoming the platform essential to every transaction around buildings and properties, enabling the insurance carrier to utilize Betterview's predictive roof analytics and risk management platform for commercial property renewals. 
• In September 2019, Nationwide launched Spire - a simple, easy-to-understand digital auto insurance platform, built on fair and straightforward principles and designed to be convenient and accessible from your phone. Spire chose portfolio company Socotra as the core system to power its new digital insurance platform. 
• In May 2019, Nationwide partnered with small business lender BlueVine and launched the “Pitch to Win” small business contest, which awarded more than $100,000 to small business owners. 

“As the leader of Nationwide’s venture capital team, Erik has helped position Nationwide as a forward-thinking, innovative company with which entrepreneurs and tech start-ups want to do business,” said Mike Mahaffey, Nationwide’s chief strategy and corporate development officer. “His strategic approach and collaborative spirit continue to support Nationwide’s mission to protect people, businesses and futures with extraordinary care.”

For more information about Nationwide’s venture capital strategy and team, visit https://www.nationwide.com/cps/nw-ventures.html.