Vesttoo raises $80m in funding, taking valuation to $1bn

Vesttoo, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused insurtech company, has announced the completion of a Series C funding round sized at $80 million, which it says values the firm at $1 billion.

Vesttoo’s Series C was co-led by existing backer Mouro Capital, a fintech specialist venture capital investor that has the backing of large multinational bank Banco Santander, alongside a global private equity fund.

In addition, the funding round also saw participation from a bulge-bracket investment bank, fintech and enterprise software specialist investor Gramercy Ventures, global venture capital firm Black River Ventures and early stage Israel-based tech investor Hanaco Ventures.

Vesttoo CEO Yaniv Bertele commented on the news, saying, “Our clients and equity partners understand the Vesttoo vision and the opportunity we provide.

“In a time rife with uncertainty, Vesttoo is showing resilience, financial strength and profitability, thanks to our compelling value proposition.

“Our AI-based marketplace is set to propel the insurance industry forward by better connecting risk to capital sourced from global investors.”

It’s less than a year since Vesttoo raised $15 million in a Series B fundraising round, that included support from insurance industry backed MS&AD Ventures.

Just a few months before that, Vesttoo had raised a $6 million Series A round.

Since those capital raises, the company has made a number of key hires and continues to build out its artificial intelligence-based risk transfer technology and market-offering, with a focus on making a wider variety of insurance and reinsurance risks more accessible to investors and making it easier for the capital markets to connect with risk.

This additional $80 million raise will provide Vesttoo significant runway for its ongoing business development, which is critical in a market of cycles like insurance and reinsurance, where tech platforms and marketplaces need to be able to ride through different phases of the market and demonstrate their value proposition in all conditions.

In recent months, Vesttoo has established its first underwriting vehicle, a Bermuda based collateralized reinsurer, announced a $1bn capacity target for a partnership with program-fronting specialist Clear Blue and hired Julia Henderson as its Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).