US insurtech Corvus reaches $750m valuation with latest funding

US-based Corvus Insurance, a provider of smart commercial insurance products powered by AI-driven risk data, has secured $100 million in Series C funding, increasing its valuation to $750 million.

The funding, said to be the "largest cyber insurance financing ever", brings Corvus’s total amount raised to date to $147 million. It was led by global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners, as well as its previous institutional investors.

Founded in 2017, Corvus is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Hudson Structured Capital Management, MTech Capital, Obvious Ventures, .406 Ventures, and Telstra Ventures. It is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and has offices across the US.

The insurtech plans to double its headcount in 2021, having increased its gross written premium by 250 percent in 2020, and ended January 2021 at an annual premium run rate of $120 million.

It will use the new funds to double down on its underwriting, product development and go-to-market strategies, while also further expanding its digital platform CrowBar, which provides cyber risk data to brokers and policyholders.

Corvus claims its broker-focused approach utilises its artificial intelligence capabilities to analyse unique and proprietary sets of data to better predict and prevent loss. This approach helps policyholders, brokers, underwriters, and reinsurers incorporate data science into the dynamic commercial insurance marketplace.

Mike Lloyd, co-founder and chief product officer at Corvus, believes the company is "uniquely positioned to acquire a significant share of the commercial insurance market" due to its software, data science playbooks, and talent.

“Our proven ability to extract actionable insights from novel data using AI and then apply those insights to improve our underwriting, the broker/client experience, and loss prevention for our policyholders will enable us to continue to grow in a fast and scalable way across many product lines,” he said.

As part of the transaction, Insight Partners’ managing director Deven Parekh will join Corvus' board of directors, and principal David Spiro will join as a board observer.

Parekh said: “Commercial insurance is in the early stages of embracing data science and AI to better distribute and underwrite policies. Corvus is leading the way by building a foundation in cyber insurance with a world-class team, transformative product, and ambitious vision. We are excited to partner with the Corvus team and support them in their next phase of growth.”

Phil Edmundson, founder and CEO of Corvus, concluded: “At Corvus, we are employing the power of data to build insurance products that result in a safer world. During these times of unprecedented cyber attacks, we are arming brokers and their policyholders with the most intuitive tools and capabilities to mitigate risks for companies of all sizes.

"With the biggest fundraising round of a cyber insurance company to date, we will continue to realize our vision in making our world a safer place.”

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