CATEGORY TAG

Amex Ventures Presents a Discussion on Innovation

Our mission at Amex Ventures is to invest in startups with innovations that can create strategic value.  One way we engage with startups is through events, which showcase the benefits that we bring founders as a strategic investor and growth platform. In addition to this, we aim to provide founders and others who attend our events with meaningful access to, and insights from, leaders within our company.

Recently, we hosted Amex Ventures ‘Venture Day’ in our San Francisco office where members of the NYC Amex Ventures team and select Amex executives joined. During ‘Venture Day,’ we introduced startups to share external insights on various themes and business areas with visiting Amex colleagues, which helps us plan our innovation roadmap. It also lets new or existing portfolio companies present their products and services to key people at Amex and find potential commercialization opportunities.

We hosted a night of networking and discussion in San Francisco, where we invited more investors and founders to learn from some of our executives. They shared how American Express is innovating and how startups can join us in this journey. The topic was discussed by Matt Sueoka (SVP & Global Head of Amex Ventures), Doug Buckminster (Vice-Chairman of American Express), and Lisa Yokoyama, (SVP for Product, Amex Digital Labs -our internal incubator arm). They covered these key areas: 

    1)    Innovation at Amex: A Necessity, Not a Choice 

American Express is a brand synonymous with a 174-year legacy of trust and security, with a customer base comprised of premium consumers, small businesses and corporations around the world. We have demonstrated a history and culture of constant innovation, enabling us to attract a large number of new premium customers and increase engagement with existing customers.  Our innovation strategy spans different areas such as payments, lending, enterprise software, lifestyle, dining, travel and more. Our Amex Ventures investing platform is a key component of our enterprise approach to innovation. 

    2)    Amex Digital Labs: Pioneering Future Solutions 

Amex Digital Labs has been leading the way within American Express in combining customer trends with advanced technologies for more than six years. This creative internal product and partnership incubator lets Amex try new methods to improve customer experiences with new payment solutions and exclusive products for our customers.  The Amex Digital Labs team enables efficient go-to-market timelines for its products, which includes pilots and partnerships with Amex Ventures portfolio companies, while maintaining Amex's broader focus on our customers and our brand. Amex Digital Labs exemplifies how Amex leverages technology to stay ahead of industry trends and maintain its competitive edge.

    3)    Strategic Partnerships: Extending Capabilities and Reach 

Business partnerships are a strategic component of Amex's innovation imperative. Partnerships allow us to enhance or scale our offerings or operate more efficiently in ways that would be difficult for us to accomplish on our own. For example, we are working with Skipify, an Amex Ventures portfolio company, to enhance the online shopping experience for Amex customers by allowing them to use their email address to populate their payment details securely during online checkout at select merchants. Amex Ventures collaborates with Amex Digital Labs and other teams in the company by finding and funding startups that launch and grow partnerships with those teams. In fact, most of our Amex Ventures portfolio today has a commercial relationship with an American Express business unit.

    4)    A Culture of Innovation 

American Express is constantly seeking inspiration for creating innovative products and services inside and outside our company. We also create a culture that appreciates talent, capital, and new ideas, which are all necessary for continuous innovation. This culture informs how we work with startups, making sure that we support and learn from them, but also manage their expectations as we guide them through our internal processes.

Our time in San Francisco not only highlighted to startups American Express's strategic approach to staying relevant in an ever-evolving marketplace, but showcased how integral innovation is from the top of the company. Through the continued partnership of Amex, Amex Ventures, and the startup ecosystem, we look forward to finding the next generation of innovative startups to partner and drive business success for our customers and partners. 

Published Date May 31, 2024