US-based insurance technology producer Lemonade raised $34m in series B capital yesterday from a consortium that included GV, the early-stage investment unit of diversified conglomerate Alphabet.
The round was led by VC firm General Catalyst and further included Thrive Capital, Tusk Ventures, Aleph, Sequoia Capital and XL Innovate.
Founded in 2015, Lemonade operates an app and website that lets consumers chat with artificial intelligence bots to file claims and pay voluntary excesses without the need for intervention from staff.
Lemonade also offers a social enterprise element, taking a flat fee to provide insurance and giving back any unclaimed money to charities that policy holders care about.
The company filed for a license in New York and California in September 2016 and is aiming for an expansion across the US in 2017.
Lemonade has now raised $60m in total funding, according to its latest press release. Sequoia Capital and Aleph previously invested $13m in funding in December 2015, before XL Innovate made a commitment of undisclosed size in August 2016.
Tom Hulme, general partner at GV, said: “We look for companies that have the potential to radically improve customer experience, and we saw that clearly in Lemonade.
“They are harnessing a compelling mix of behavioural economics, artificial intelligence and great design. Lemonade’s full-stack approach gives it flexibility to keep iterating on that customer experience, and to expand fast in 2017.”
Lemonade is not related to corporate-backed, Japan-based wearables maker Lemonade Labs.