GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, led a $60m funding round for US-based online life insurance service Ethos yesterday.
Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and venture capital firms Accel and Sequoia Capital also contributed to the round, which valued the company at $400m to $500m according to Forbes.
Ethos has created an online platform powered by data analytics and process automation where customers can quickly take out a life insurance policy from one of its insurance partners without needing to undergo a medical examination or pay commission.
The platform applies predictive analytics to the customer’s application form, before cross-verifying the data against medical and pharmaceutical records.
Ethos will put the cash towards business growth, moving to hire engineering staff and develop new products. It will remain focused on life insurance rather than entering adjacent markets.
Accel led the company’s $35m series B round in October 2018 with contributions from GV, Sequoia and Arrive, the corporate venturing arm of entertainment manager Roc Nation, while Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) provided a debt facility.
SVB had also supplied debt financing in connection with an $11.5m round led by Sequoia Capital in April 2018 that featured Arrive, Downey Ventures, Stanford University, Durant Company and Smith Family Circle.
GV general partner Tyson Clark said: “Since our original investment in Ethos last year, we have been consistently impressed by the company’s commitment to growth, customer traction and execution to date.
“With the company’s product differentiation and singular approach to modern life insurance, Ethos is well-positioned to disrupt a $100-plus billion industry.”
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.