Aflac has launched Aflac Corporate Ventures, a venture-capital arm that will invest in early-stage companies.
The new division will work with technology accelerators to identify startups to support, with the goal of "helping [startups] accelerate innovation across the insurance value chain," Aflac says. The venture unit will maintain offices in Charlotte, N.C., and Sunnyvale, Calif., with a fund of $100 million over the next three years.
"With a greater focus on the customer experience, we feel that it is vital that Aflac prioritizes potential partners that will help us enhance services and shareholder value, while building our future growth engine," Aflac president of global operations Paul Amos says in a statement. "By investing in companies that we see as vital to our core business, we will be positioned to innovate as these early-stage companies continue to mature."
Nadeem Khan, an Aflac veteran since 2004, will serve as president of Aflac Corporate Ventures. The venture unit will work with companies in the U.S. and Japan, Aflac's two largest markets.
