PitchBook News - Why VCs are betting on insurtech

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The Daily Pitch: VC

August 18, 2021

Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A

In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:

An analysis of why VCs are betting big on insurance tech, including a look at emerging investment opportunities in the industry.

A breakdown of the startup scene in Latin America, which is having a breakout year—and surpassing previous annual venture funding records in less than eight months.

The release of our latest Global League Tables, ranking the busiest investors and more from Q2.

Today's Top Stories

VCs pour money into insurtech as industry looks to future

Historically, the insurance industry has been slow to adopt new technologies, but over the past five years, the pace of innovation has picked up.

Venture capitalists have followed suit by betting big on insurance tech, with more deals and more capital. Our latest installment of Emerging Tech Research explores the trend and evaluates emerging investment opportunities in insurance core systems and pet policies. Other key takeaways include:

In the second quarter of 2021, insurtech companies brought in $4.5 billion across 160 deals. That marked a roughly 110% increase over the previous quarter for deal value, setting a quarterly record.

Valuations for insurtech companies worldwide also soared in Q2, with the median pre-money valuation for early-stage deals rising to more than $33 million, up 39% compared to all of 2020.

Exit values surged to record levels, led by Bright Health's $924 million IPO in June that valued the company at more than $11 billion.

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Startups in Latin America grab record sums of venture capital

(Matthias Kulka/Getty Images)

VCs are clamoring for Latin American digital transformation opportunities at an unprecedented pace.

Investors have already deployed $8.8 billion into the region this year, which is more than the capital invested in 2019 and 2020 combined, according to PitchBook data.

Opportunities in Latin America are massive because whole sectors, such as proptech, are available for disruption.

Brazil's Nuvemshop, also known by its Spanish name Tiendanube, is the latest startup to achieve unicorn status.

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Why the long-distance electric vehicle remains a pipe dream for auto makers like Tesla, Mercedes and Lucid Motors. [Fortune]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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VC valuations

1464

People

382

Companies

27

Funds

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2006 Vintage Global Buyout Funds
	People
	Alto names Amin Dabit COO
	VC Deals
	Neobroker Bitpanda hits $4.1B valuation
	Travel app Hopper takes in $175M
	Tiger Global leads $150M round for Moloco
	Apollo GraphQL grabs $130M
	Women's health startup becomes unicorn with $110M round
	InfoSum banks $65M
	Monte Carlo pulls in $60M
	Plaid adds to Series D
	Exits & IPOs
	Brex buys VC-backed Weav for $50M

The Daily Benchmark

2006 Vintage Global Buyout Funds

Median IRR

8.25%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

12.49%

1.49x

Median TVPI

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HIG Capital Partners IV

Waterland Private Equity Fund III BV

Clearview Capital Fund II

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120 Funds in Benchmark »

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People

Alto names Amin Dabit COO

Alto Solutions has named Amin Dabit as COO of the company, which allows investors access to alternative investments as part of their individual retirement accounts. Previously, Dabit was vice president of advisory service at Personal Capital.

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VC Deals

Neobroker Bitpanda hits $4.1B valuation

Bitpanda has raised a $263 million Series C that values the digital investment platform at $4.1 billion. Valar Ventures led the round, which more than tripled the $1.2 billion valuation Bitpanda reached with its Series B in March.

Additional Investors:

Alan Howard, Jump Capital, LeadBlock Partners, Redo Ventures

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Travel app Hopper takes in $175M

Hopper, the provider of an app that makes personalized travel recommendations, has raised a $175 million Series G led by GPI Capital, with participation from Glade Brook Capital, WestCap, Goldman Sachs Growth and Accomplice. The Montreal-based startup is now valued at over $3.5 billion, TechCrunch reported. The latest funding comes less than five months after Hopper raised a $170 million Series F. As travel rebounds from its pandemic slump, Hopper said its revenue has already surpassed that of Q1 2020, the startup's pre-pandemic peak, by over 100%.

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Tiger Global leads $150M round for Moloco

Moloco has raised a $150 million Series C led by Tiger Global, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Founded in 2013 and based in Redwood City, Calif., Moloco uses machine learning algorithms to provide advertising solutions to mobile app marketers and ecommerce companies. The startup raised $20 million in April.

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Apollo GraphQL grabs $130M

Software development startup Apollo GraphQL has raised $130 million led by Insight Partners. Andreessen Horowitz, Matrix Partners, Trinity Ventures, Next47 and Hatim Shafique also participated in the Series D round. Based in San Francisco, Apollo's open-source platform makes application development more efficient for customers including Walmart and The New York Times.

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Women's health startup becomes unicorn with $110M round

Maven Clinic has secured $110 million for its Series D, which was co-led by Dragoneer Investment Group and Lux Capital. Bond, Oprah Winfrey and existing backers Sequoia, Oak HC/FT and Icon Ventures also supported the funding, which values the New York-based company at more than $1 billion. Maven provides a virtual clinic for family and women's health, with services including fertility, pregnancy and parenting care. The startup, which has raised some $200 million in total private funding, was valued at $265 million in May 2020, according to PitchBook data.

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InfoSum banks $65M

Data startup InfoSum has raised $65 million in a Series B round from Chrysalis Investments. The UK-headquartered startup was valued at $300 million pre-money, up from $100 million last year, The Wall Street Journal reported. InfoSum's software allows teams and companies to securely collaborate on shared data. The company has offices across North America and Europe.

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Monte Carlo pulls in $60M

Monte Carlo has raised a $60 million Series C led by Iconiq Capital, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Accel, GGV Capital and Redpoint Ventures. The San Francisco-based startup's platform helps customers ensure their data is accurate and reliable. The round brings Monte Carlo's total funding to $101 million.

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Plaid adds to Series D

Fintech company Plaid has added an undisclosed amount of new investment to its Series D round from JP Morgan Private Capital Growth Equity Partners and Amex Ventures. The round initially drew $425 million at a reported $13.4 billion valuation in April and was led by Altimeter Capital and Silver Lake.

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Exits & IPOs

Brex buys VC-backed Weav for $50M

Brex, the provider of a corporate credit card and other financial services, has purchased Israeli startup Weav for $50 million. Weav operates an API for commerce platforms that helps with services like lending and identity verification. It was valued at $12.3 million earlier this year, according to PitchBook data, and has been backed by investors like Foundation Capital and SV Angel. Brex was valued at over $7.4 billion in April after raising a Series D from Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Lone Pine Capital and others.

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