Insurtech Ethos secures $200m investment round; valuation exceeds $2bn

Insurtech life insurance provider  Ethos has raised a $200m Series D investment round, boosting its valuation to $2bn in just a few years since launch. The company said that revenue and users have each grown by more than 500 percent year-over-year, and it expects to issue $20bn of life insurance coverage this year.

The Series D round was led by General Catalyst. Past investors Sequoia Capital; Accel; GV (formerly Google Ventures); and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation also participated, alongside Glade Brook Capital Partners. Ethos is also backed by the investment vehicles of stars Will Smith and Robert Downey Jr. Funding raised to date totals $300m.

“We are on a mission to protect the next million families and will use this money to continue improving the best insurance customer experience ever created,” said Peter Colis, Ethos CEO and co-founder. “This funding will help us enrich our technology and data platform, and help us launch new products to enable everyone an opportunity to protect their families.”

Ethos uses machine learning and data science technologies to break down barriers that have long inhibited customers from purchasing life insurance, including underwriting with no medical exams, blood tests or complex paperwork. This enables Ethos to approve many people who would otherwise be denied coverage or punitively treated regardless of financial status, health status or age.

“We’re very excited to invest in the vision and team at Ethos,” said Kyle Doherty, partner at General Catalyst. “Traditional life insurance remains largely unchanged over the years. It’s an area that’s ripe for innovation, and Ethos' successful execution demonstrates they are clearly ahead of all others in leading this digital transformation.”

Ethos’ growth is accelerating since its previous investment round in 2019. In addition to its revenue and user growth, the company is nearing $100m in annualised gross profit and increasing EBITDA in the next year.

“The US life insurance industry is one of the largest markets in the world, but it has been slow to move online," said Nate Niparko, Partner at Accel. “Ethos offers a completely modern experience that finally brings the life insurance market online, and the company is growing very quickly as a result."

Roelof Botha, Partner at Sequoia and Ethos board member added: " Ethos has fundamentally changed the life insurance industry by providing a tech-enabled, vertically-integrated solution. We’ve been inspired by Ethos’ mission since we first partnered with Peter and Lingke at the seed, and we are thrilled to continue working with them and the team to make life insurance more accessible.”

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