CARY, N.C., September 15, 2020
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) announced its third annual class of startups to participate in the MetLife Digital Accelerator powered by Techstars. The Accelerator supports MetLife’s strategic approach to technology and innovation by working with external partners to simplify and create differentiated experiences for our customers.
This year’s class will focus on developing financial wellness and engagement solutions to help customers and families save money, tackle debt, stay healthy, care for seniors and children, and close the racial wealth gap.
Personal finances are the No. 1 source of stress for employees. More than four in 10 U.S. workers – roughly 50 million overall – say they are not financially healthy, according to MetLife’s 2020 Employee Benefit Trend Study.
“This year’s Digital Accelerator brings together a diverse cross-section of tech innovators and specialized financial wellness experts to respond to these needs,” said Meredith Ryan-Reid, senior vice president of Financial Wellness & Engagement at MetLife. “These startups will focus on developing compelling employee-benefit solutions that can flex to each customer’s needs while addressing the broader impacts of a challenging socioeconomic climate.”
During the three-month, intensive Accelerator program, the startups will work closely with MetLife leaders and Techstars mentors to develop, experiment and scale capabilities with the potential to transform the insurance industry. To protect the health and safety of all participants during COVID-19, this year’s program will run in a largely virtual format. At the conclusion in December, each startup will pitch its solutions during a Digital Accelerator Demo Day.
The 10 Startups selected for this year’s class are developing and refining the following capabilities:
- ChangEd (Chicago, Ill.) Accelerates repayment of debt at every stage of life (e.g., student loans, mortgages) to get borrowers out of debt sooner. ChangEd automates savings, payments and develops an intelligent debt repayment journey.
- Dot (New York, N.Y.): Mobile-first robot financial advisor delivering personalized recommendations helping people increase savings, optimize spending, and plan for retirement.
- FinGoal (Boulder, Colo.): Uses AI to analyze consumer behavior providing personalized, less expensive alternatives (e.g., a cup of coffee to insurance and everything in between).
- Holisticly (New York, N.Y.): Provides employees with a monthly wellness stipend to choose from a range of team-wide experiences and fitness and mental health solutions (e.g,, Calm, Audible, ClassPass, Headspace, and Peloton).
- InterGen Data (Plano, Texas): AI platform that predicts the likelihood of life-changing events so people can prepare for the moments that matter.
- Kinside (Los Angeles, Calif.): Connects employees to a network of 1M daycare and preschool spots, with pre-negotiated spaces and exclusive savings. Payments are made pre-tax via an application programming interface integration with flexible spending accounts and third-party administrators.
- LivNao (Sunnyvale, Calif.): Passively measures mental health for delivery of behavioral nudges to improve wellbeing.
- Mellow (Hong Kong): Resource for parents to teach kids, ages 6-18, how to build money habits and use digital payments across savings, spending and earnings.
- OfColor (Maplewood, N.J.): Provides content, banking tools, and AI advice built around how people of color save, spend, and build wealth.
- VillagePlan (Boston, Mass.): Provides on-demand experts and technology tools to help families care for aging loved ones.
The Digital Accelerator, a component of MetLife’s comprehensive innovation ecosystem, was designed to provide first-mover advantage on capabilities that address critical customer needs in the financial and insurance services sector. Other components of the ecosystem include:
- Relationships with 20 venture capital firms and collaborations with universities such as Carnegie Mellon, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the MIT Media Lab.
- Strategic partnerships with leading tech companies such as Cisco, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, Dell, AT&T, Guidewire and others.
- MetLife’s ‘Ignition’ program, an annual one-day innovation hunt in which 15 to 20 tech startups ‘speed date’ more than 200 MetLife business leaders to connect startup capabilities with business requirements and priorities.
- Internal crowdsourced and facilitated innovation with employees around the globe.
The Financial Wellness and Engagement division of MetLife is committed to helping people understand their options and confidently make progress in their financial lives.
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("MetLife"), is one of the world's leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
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