Insurtech ACKO Raises $255 Mn, Joins Unicorn Club
ACKO, an online insurance startup secures a fresh $255 million Series D fundraiser led by General Atlantic. With this fund its turns to be 34th unicorn of 2021. The round also witnessed a participation from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Lightspeed, as well as existing investors Intact Ventures and Munich Re Ventures. This fundraise values the company at $1.1 billion. The transaction is subject to approval by the country’s insurance regulator, IRDAI.
ACKO claims to be one of India's first digital-native insurers and has introduced the direct-to-consumer auto insurance space in the country. It also has one of the largest market shares in embedded insurance products like mobility and gadget insurance across large digital consumer platforms like Amazon, Ola, MakeMyTrip, Bajaj Finance, Urban Company, and others.
Furthermore, ACKO covers nearly a million gig workers in the country through partnerships with companies that include Zomato and Swiggy, with bespoke coverage to protect this large and rapidly growing workforce. Last year, the company entered the significantly underpenetrated health insurance vertical with a differentiated proposition focused on the employer-employee market. Its flagship retail health insurance product is due to launch by early next year.
Varun Dua, Founder & CEO, ACKO says, “ACKO has meaningfully redefined the protection category for consumers and plans to continue innovating in the space. We strongly believe in supporting our customers in protecting their valued assets or the health and safety of their loved ones via a differentiated product and value-added service. Insurance and protection must work for people based on their unique risks and needs in a seamless, reliable fashion."
He continued, “We have succeeded on the auto front and will continue to scale and innovate in our flagship auto insurance business,” Dua added. “We also continue to deepen our health strategy and intend to invest over $150 million in the health business in the near future. We believe health insurance products, claims innovation and a deeply connected ecosystem of health services that improve health outcomes for customers are today’s most urgent needs.”
ACKO’s cumulative fundraise has reached $450 million. Previously, the insurtech startup raised capital from respected investors including Amazon, Accel, Elevation, Ascent Capital, Intact Ventures, Munich Re Ventures and Flipkart’s co-founder Binny Bansal, among others. ACKO has over 70 million customers, clocking a run-rate of approximately $150 million in premiums, and has a large compounding base who continue to renew with ACKO for their long-term protection needs.
The company intends to further invest in the healthcare vertical and scale its team, particularly within technology, product and data science.
Shantanu Rastogi, Managing Director, General Atlantic says, "We believe that ACKO, with its disruptive business model and strength in execution, has the potential to emerge as an insurer-of-choice for the 100 million-strong digitally-native Indian customer base over the next decade and can play a meaningful role in shaping the future of insurance in India.”