(Image source: Betterview homepage.)
Nationwide has announced it has made a strategic venture capital investment in Betterview, a the San-Francisco-based provider of a technology platform for drone-based building and property inspections. The funding is being used to extend Betterview’s machine learning platform across additional data sources with the goal of unlocking insights about commercial and residential properties for property/casualty insurers and reinsurers. The companies did not disclose the specific amount of the investment.
Nationwide has earmarked more than $100 million in venture capital funding to invest in startups and early-stage companies that are focused on shaping the future of insurance. Recent investments and partnerships by Nationwide’s venture capital arm include: Nexar, Matic, blooom, Insurify, Next Insurance, and Sure.
“We were very impressed with the mix of insurance and entrepreneurial experience of the co-founders and the team,” comments Erik Ross, leader of Nationwide’s venture capital team. “After assessing many other companies in the marketplace, we quickly noticed how their experience translated into significantly better software, services, and data for insurers like Nationwide. These capabilities will drive faster response in the wake of catastrophic events, enhanced underwriting sophistication for day-to-day business and a better overall experience for our members.”
Betterview describes its platform as machine learning-driven, generating data and analytics on building and property conditions, characteristics, and potential hazards by analyzing satellite, aerial, and drone imagery. This information can be used throughout an organization, from loss control and underwriting, to claims and catastrophe response, the vendor says.
David Lyman, Co-Founder, Betterview.
“We are very excited to announce Nationwide Ventures’ investment in Betterview,” comments David Lyman, Co-Founder & CEO, Betterview. “Our relationship with Nationwide goes back to when we first met them at Plug and Play’s insurance accelerator. At that time, our sole focus was on using drones to transform how buildings and properties were inspected. Since then, as our customers’ needs have evolved, so have we by enhancing our artificial intelligence capabilities, building a mobile app, developing a roof risk score, and integrating various third-party data providers into our SaaS platform to put historical weather, property hazard risks, and building information at their fingertips.”
Expanding AI Capabilities
“With Nationwide’s recent strategic investment in Betterview, we will continue to create more value for our customers by expanding our artificial intelligence capabilities to deliver the next generation of building and property data, analytics, and insights that can be used throughout an organization,” comments Dave Tobias, Co-Founder & COO, Betterview.
Munich Re Partners with Betterview for Insurance Client Access to Drone Capabilities