Participated · Series B · Oct 2023

Veruna is an Austin, TX–based provider of an agency management system natively designed on Salesforce’s CRM platform. The platform offers predictive analytics, no-code configurability, and a Customer360 solution intended to elevate revenue, efficiency, and customer experience. Led by CEO Jennifer Carroll, Veruna targets both agent-assisted and straight-through digital processing workflows. The company plans to launch new predictive analytics features and expand its global footprint. With the Series B funding, Veruna intends to accelerate product development and growth across engineering, sales, marketing, and customer success. Veruna is a Hopkinton, MA-based developer of an agency management system (AMS) built on the Salesforce/Force.com platform. Founded in 2015 and led by CEO Jennifer Carroll, the company provides configurable AMS tools for insurance agencies and MGAs to capture unique value propositions and integrate with numerous solutions. Its product creates automated tasks and reminders for managing customer relationships, remarketing lost business, and expanding coverages. The platform supports workflows for quoting, binding, submissions, and accounting. Veruna raised $6M in new equity financing and plans to use the funds for ongoing product improvement efforts. Planned enhancements will focus on additional new-business workflows and capabilities for agents and brokers. Veruna offers a cloud-based agency management system built on Salesforce that targets independent insurance agents and replaces legacy management systems. The product includes a full suite of functionality and a refined, seamless onboarding path developed over the past 24 months. The company has focused recent efforts on building a best-of-breed system and preparing for faster growth. Veruna plans to use new funding to build brand awareness, drive new sales, and expand operations. Management anticipates doubling its client base over the next year as it scales. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Hopkinton, Mass., described as Boston-based in the announcement.

Led · Equity · Jul 2020

MākuSafe produces a patented wearable armband and a cloud SaaS platform, MākuSmart, that uses machine learning to surface real-time safety intelligence by location. The wearable captures environmental conditions, potentially hazardous motion (e.g., slips and trips) and voice-recorded near-miss incidents while explicitly not collecting personal or biometric data. The company launched its devices and platform in early 2020 after pilot programs in 2019 that demonstrated loss avoidance and promising ROI. In response to COVID-19, MākuSafe added contact tracing and worker density mapping features while maintaining privacy safeguards. The team has grown from two co-founders to nearly 20 full-time employees, adding five roles in June alone, and is preparing for its first international deployment in August. The recent funding will support hiring and expanded deployments across North America. MākuSafe, founded in 2016 by Gabriel Glynn and Mark Frederick and based in Des Moines, Iowa, develops wearable armband devices and a cloud system for gathering real-time environmental and human motion data. The platform uses machine learning to process millions of data points collected by the company's proprietary wearables to identify workplace risk. Customers gain operational and workforce insights from the data, enabling them to mitigate workplace risks and reduce worker compensation claims. The company closed a nearly $3.0 million seed funding round and has raised nearly $4.5 million in total funding to date. MākuSafe plans to use the capital to hire key personnel and to scale manufacturing of its proprietary technology. MākuSafe is a West Des Moines, Iowa–based insurtech that develops a wearable workplace safety armband and MākuSmart, a cloud platform using ML/AI to derive insights from sensor data. The device senses a variety of environmental conditions and transmits data to the cloud for analysis. In October 2017 the company raised a $1.25m convertible note round and said it will use the funds to expand development efforts. MākuSafe is in the final rounds of field beta testing and is tracking toward a go-to-market release in 2018. Earlier in 2017 EMC Insurance Company invested in the startup, and the company has identified a distribution model that leverages insurance companies to deliver the device and platform. The company is led by CEO Gabriel Glynn, CTO Mark Frederick, and CIO Kevin Krefting.

Led · Series A · Jun 2020

AgencyKPI builds an integrated business intelligence platform (Harmony) to address and manage insurance-industry data across agencies, carriers, brokers and networks. The core product harmonizes disparate data to drive transparency, efficiency and improved performance for insurance partners. The company plans to use its Series B funding to hire software developers, data scientists and other personnel to accelerate development of cloud-based software. AgencyKPI positions its platform to help independent agencies, carriers, brokers and networks better assess data and remain nimble and profitable. In the first quarter of 2022 the company added partnerships that increased written premium on its Harmony platform to more than $29 billion. AgencyKPI emerged from stealth in 2019 after raising $3 million in seed- and strategic-round funding from insurance networks, carriers, independent agencies and industry executives. AgencyKPI develops a business intelligence platform (Harmony) designed to harmonize data produced by multiple software programs and legacy systems across the insurance industry. The company launched Harmony in 2019 to address mass data fragmentation and unify sources so networks can monitor performance; the platform today handles $15.8 billion in written premium from more than 8,800 affiliated agencies. Founded in 2017 by Trent Richmond and Bobby Billman, AgencyKPI emerged from stealth in 2019 after raising $3 million in seed and strategic funding from insurance networks, carriers, independent agencies and industry executives. The company plans to use its new funding to hire additional software developers and data scientists and to accelerate development of additional business intelligence platforms. AgencyKPI positions its products to deepen collaboration and understanding between carriers, networks, independent agencies and wholesalers rather than pursue disruptive approaches.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2020

Betterview is a Property Intelligence & Risk Management Platform for P&C insurers based in San Francisco that identifies and helps mitigate real property risk while improving inspection and operational efficiency. The company offers specialized risk insights for event-specific perils and a CAT-Response System to enable rapid, proactive responses to severe weather. Betterview plans to use the new funds to continue growth, support its path to profitability in 2023, and deliver new and enhanced products and features. In 2022 the company grew to 68 active insurers on its platform and nearly doubled revenue despite a difficult macroeconomic environment. Betterview has expanded strategic partnerships with geospatial and property intelligence providers, growing its PartnerHub to 37 companies, including HazardHub (from Guidewire), e2Value, Canopy Weather, Redzone, Iceye and JMI Reports. The company is led by co-founders David Lyman (CEO) and David Tobias (COO). Betterview provides a Remote Property Intelligence software platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurance carriers to identify and manage property risk throughout the policy lifecycle. Led by Co-Founder and CEO David Lyman, the platform is used by underwriters, loss-control specialists, and claims staff during policy inception and renewal to obtain a comprehensive understanding of individual properties. The company launched its Remote Property Intelligence platform less than two years ago and is supporting twenty companies in production. Betterview is based in San Francisco, California. The company raised $7.5m in the latest funding round, bringing total capital raised to $17m. It will use the funds to expand its capabilities in the Remote Property Intelligence space. Betterview provides an AI-driven risk management platform that delivers data, analysis and insights on commercial and residential properties across the United States. The platform leverages machine learning, computer vision and geospatial data and exposes property data via API and a user interface. Betterview’s risk scoring has been shown to correlate with property losses, enabling carriers to disqualify, fast-track, or better manage properties. The company began in 2014 as a drone-based property inspection platform and service and launched its current risk management platform in July 2018. Betterview plans to use the new funding to grow its team. To date the company has raised $10M in total financing. Betterview offers a property and building data and analytics platform that analyzes drone, aerial, and satellite imagery to surface actionable insights for risk reduction and cost savings. The company’s Product Profile (announced August 2018) uses aerial imagery plus other data sources such as historical weather to determine roof characteristics, condition, and the risk of future insurance claims. In recent months Betterview added building permits, new AI roof detections, measurement and annotation tools, and oblique imagery to enhance Property Profile. The company also launched an integration accelerator for Guidewire PolicyCenter to enable underwriters to request and access property data and inspections from within PolicyCenter. Betterview is led by Co‑Founder & CEO David Lyman and is based in San Francisco, California. The firm recently received external funding to support further product development and AI expansion. Betterview provides a machine learning platform that generates data and analytics on building and property conditions, characteristics, and potential hazards by analyzing satellite, aerial, and drone imagery. The platform produces building and property information that can be used across organizations, including loss control, underwriting, claims, and catastrophe response. The company intends to use the newly received funds to extend its machine learning platform across additional data sources and release insights about commercial and residential properties for P&C insurers and reinsurers. Nationwide made a venture capital investment in Betterview to enhance its ability to write business and service claims leveraging AI and drone technology. The article does not disclose revenue, users, or the investment amount.

Participated · Equity · Jul 2019

Iflix operates a subscription streaming video service focused on Southeast Asia and other emerging markets. The company has been expanding its regional content relationships and added several media companies as strategic investors. It currently reports 17 million active users, up from 9 million six months earlier. Seven months ago Iflix sold its remaining shares in its Africa business, Kwesé Iflix, to concentrate on Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The company has raised more than $350 million to date and is preparing for a potential public offering. The latest funding will be used for growth ahead of that possible IPO. Iflix is an Asia-based streaming service offering a Netflix-style, mobile-focused video platform priced around $3 per month and available in 19 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The company targets mass-market viewers on lower-end devices and poorer-quality internet, focusing on local and regional content, originals, and live sports such as Indonesia's soccer league. It began broadcasting original programming earlier this year and hired Sean Carey, formerly VP of global television at Netflix, as chief content officer. Iflix reported five million registered users in March and said it has seen a 3X increase in subscriber numbers, a 2X rise in user engagement, and revenue up 230% year-on-year, though raw figures remain undisclosed. Founded in May 2015, the company plans to use the new funding to expand its local content library, pursue exclusives and first-runs, and potentially enter new regions such as Latin America. iflix provides a Netflix-like streaming service that emphasizes localized programming, regional payment options and partnerships with mobile operators. The service is available in nine Asian countries and in parts of the Middle East and Africa via an iflix Arabia joint venture with Zain. Price positioning is materially lower than Western competitors (example: in Thailand iflix is ~100 THB/month versus Netflix at ~280 THB/month). The company is pursuing original content and broader global expansion while also restructuring operations—recently cutting ~50 of ~650 staff with plans to hire ~200 roles over nine months. Operating metrics disclosed in coverage include over 1 million users in Indonesia, 100,000 registered users in Pakistan within the first month, and an updated total of five million registered users. A source cited a post-money valuation around $500 million following the new raise. iFlix is a one-year-old, Southeast Asia–focused streaming TV service and joint venture between Malaysia’s Catcha Group and U.S.-based Evolution Media Capital. It operates in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines and charges upwards of about $3 per month. The company has strategic backers including film giant MGM and recently added UK broadcaster Sky as an investor. iFlix previously raised $30 million from Catcha, PLDT and Jungle Ventures to expand across Southeast Asia. Management has indicated plans to expand further into Indonesia and to grow across Asia, with discussions about raising up to $150 million to enter Africa, Latin America and other emerging markets. Sky said the investment is strategic and that the two parties will work together to identify areas of future collaboration, including potential access to Sky’s programming library. iFlix is a video-on-demand service announced in March as a Netflix-like offering for Southeast Asia. It plans an initial rollout in Q2 2015 targeting the Philippines and Malaysia and aims to expand to more countries in the region. The company says its catalog contains over 10,000 hours of content and will invest in producing original programming. iFlix has stated it will work with local and regional production companies rather than independent producers on original content. To support its launch and growth it secured a $30 million pre-launch capital injection from Catcha and PLDT. The funds are earmarked to broaden country coverage, increase the catalog, and finance a marketing push as iFlix competes with regional entrants such as HOOQ and other services expanding in Asia.