Rhino provides an insurance product to real estate companies that allows buildings to forgo traditional tenant cash deposits and instead enroll renters in a paid insurance alternative. The product is sold to landlords/property managers and delivers deposit-like protection for a regular fee charged to renters. Rhino reported contracted ARR growth from $4M in January 2019 to $60M in January 2021, a figure the company describes as conservative and which represents expected customer volume from contracted buildings. The company’s core insurance product maintained a positive contribution margin through COVID-19, inclusive of loss-adjustment expenses. Rhino’s co-founder and chairman, Ankur Jain (also CEO of Kairos), positions the business as lowering upfront rental costs for younger renters. Management has signaled a possible traditional IPO objective within 12–24 months, and the new lead investor brings public‑market experience. The latest financing valued the startup just under $500 million. Rhino offers renters the option to pay a small monthly fee (as low as $3) in place of traditional cash security deposits, underwriting insurance policies that protect landlords. The company operates as a managing general agent, enabling it to design and sell policy plans through partnerships with carriers. Rhino reports it saved renters upwards of $60 million in 2019 and has users in more than 300,000 rental units nationwide. Founded in 2017 and incubated by Kairos, the startup aims to free up billions tied in escrowed deposits while maintaining landlord protections. Rhino is also working with federal, state, and local officials on a policy proposal to give renters choices around deposits and plans to share that proposal with 2020 presidential candidates. The company cites legacy industry norms and regulatory inertia as its primary challenge to wider adoption. Rhino offers a security-deposit alternative that lets renters pay a small monthly fee instead of a large upfront deposit while insuring landlords for the same items and providing greater protection. Pricing is personalized and starts as low as $19/month for a $2,500/month apartment. The product is underwritten by Canopius US Insurance and Rhino has launch partnerships with property managers such as FirstService Residential. The company emerged after 18 months of research and development and is initially focusing on the New York City rental market. Rhino cites a survey of 1,000 renters in which 84% said they would choose its product over a traditional security deposit. The company is targeting the $35+ billion national security-deposit market and an initial $4+ billion New York City opportunity. Rhino plans to use recent seed capital to hire, continue building its core technology, and execute a targeted marketing strategy.

Total raised

$118M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jan 2021