Business Wire India

LumenLab, MetLife Asia’s Singapore-based innovation center, announced the winners of collab 2.0, an open innovation platform designed to match startups with business opportunities within MetLife Japan.

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The winners - Moneytree, Montoux and WorkFusion competed with 111 applicants from 24 countries around the world to each win a JPY 10 million contract to work on a project with MetLife Japan.

“We are delighted by the continued enthusiasm for collab 2.0 across the global startup community,” said Zia Zaman, LumenLab CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of MetLife Asia.

“Moneytree, Montoux and WorkFusion represent the best in creativity and innovation, bringing fresh thinking to address the evolving needs of our customers. We’re excited to see their solutions implemented and to see what will come from many other startup relationships established through collab 2.0.”

Collab 2.0, launched in August and aims to give innovators a platform to address business challenges in areas like customer engagement, sales, and operations.

Following a rigorous review process, six finalists - Concierge U, Gnowbe, Moneytree, Montoux, TrustSphere, and WorkFusion - were selected and paired with MetLife employees to help them further hone their ideas.

The six finalists were invited to Tokyo this week to attend the collab Summit Japan, which drew industry experts from across Asia and world-class insurtech entrepreneurs. The program culminated in a Demo Day where the finalists pitched their ideas to a judging panel of senior MetLife and LumenLab executives.

The finalist pitches showcased an exciting mix of ideas and technological solutions ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics, to robotics process automation (RPA).

“For the past 150 years, MetLife has been at the forefront of innovation. Thanks to LumenLab’s collab 2.0, we are continuing that tradition by connecting with cutting-edge startups from around the globe to develop new solutions that help people lead healthier and more fulfilled lives,” said Sachin N. Shah, President and CEO, MetLife Japan.

For more information on collab 2.0 and the finalists, visit http://collab.lumenlab.sg/#finalists.

* Equates to approximately US$91,000 based on the FX rate of 1USD:JPY109.89 as of 4 August 2017

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 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

About MetLife Japan

MetLife started operations in 1973 as the first foreign life insurance company in Japan. Since then, it has provided an innovative and broad range of products through diverse distribution channels to individual and institutional customers. It currently operates as a Japanese corporation, MetLife Insurance K.K. MetLife is committed to providing trusted navigation to help people become more self-reliant and able to pursue more from life. For more information, visit http://www.metlife.co.jp/

About LumenLab

As MetLife's pioneers for disruptive innovation, LumenLab is charging ahead to create new businesses in health, wealth and retirement. Lumen, a measure of light, symbolizes our commitment to illuminating a new path for solving the problems that the people of Asia face today. Through our focus on building new products and services grounded in technology and data, we aim to help people achieve richer and more fulfilling lives. For more information, visit www.lumenlab.sg

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