Participated · Debt Financing · Apr 2023

Locus Fermentation Solutions (Locus FS) develops and biomanufactures non-GMO, palm-free glycolipid biosurfactants and microbial blends that deliver higher performance and lower toxicity than conventional petrochemical surfactants. Its proprietary fermentation platform is currently the only U.S. source of TSCA-approved glycolipids at commercial scale, enabling adoption across oil & gas, mining, agriculture and industrial/CPG markets. In 2025 the company recorded double-digit growth and added more than 50 new customers, underscoring accelerating commercial traction. Newly raised capital will be directed toward expanding domestic fermentation and downstream processing capacity, launching additional products, broadening distribution and deploying digital analytics tools to optimize operations. Field results show its additives boost oil production, improve metal recovery in mining, raise crop yields and allow formulators to reduce surfactant load while meeting ESG targets. Backed by a deep patent portfolio, Locus FS aims to replace traditional chemistries with cleaner, high-performance alternatives at scale. Total funding secured in 2025 now exceeds $40 million, valuing the company at roughly $100 million.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2021

Surer is a Singapore-based insurtech that automates the workflow and processes of insurance intermediaries and insurers through a cloud-based platform. The platform gives intermediaries rapid access to insurance quotations and helps insurers distribute products more efficiently, digitalizing insurance work so users can save time and scale their business. Launched in September 2020 by Gordon Tay, Renfred Tay and Derren Teo, Surer operates a B2B2C model and added an Instant Quote Marketplace in June 2021 to provide automatic, instantaneous quotations. The company currently operates in Singapore and plans to enter Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. To date Surer has recorded more than 350 intermediary signups and demo requests, transacted approximately $1 million in gross written premiums, and expects $1.5 million in GWP transactions by year-end. The seed funding will be used to enhance the platform and support scaling across Asia.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2021

Cowbell provides Adaptive Cyber Insurance tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises, using continuous underwriting to adapt coverage to evolving threats. Its platform uses an AI-based approach in risk selection and pricing, powered by "Cowbell Factors," to compress the insurance process from submission to issue in less than five minutes. Led by CEO and Founder Jack Kudale, the company emphasizes advanced warning of cyber risk exposures for SMEs. Cowbell plans to use new funding to scale operations, extend its presence in key international markets, bolster cyber resilience services, introduce new products, and strengthen strategic partnerships. The company has offices in Canada, India, and the U.K. and has raised $202M to date. Cowbell offers adaptive cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises, providing coverage adaptable to today’s and tomorrow’s threats and advanced warning of cyber risk exposures. Its AI-based approach to risk selection and pricing powers a continuous underwriting platform, Cowbell Factors, which compresses the insurance process from submission to issue in a few 5 minutes. The company is backed by over 20 global (re)insurance partners and serves SMEs in 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom. Founded in 2019 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area with headquarters in Pleasanton, CA, Cowbell has employees across the U.S., Canada, India, and the U.K. The company raised $25M in equity from Prosperity7 Ventures and intends to use the funds to expand across the U.S. and U.K. Led by founder and CEO Jack Kudale, Cowbell focuses on compressing underwriting timelines and scaling its coverage for SMEs. Cowbell Cyber is a full-stack, Pleasanton-based insurance company that provides AI-based cyber insurance and bundled cybersecurity services to SMEs across the U.S. Its core product ingests massive datasets—monitoring about 71% of U.S. companies (roughly 23 million businesses) across some 1,000 data points—feeding an algorithmic evaluation platform called Cowbell Factors to assess continuous, individualized risk profiles. Those assessments determine premiums and provide customers with guidance to improve security posture; Cowbell also collaborates with about 45 cybersecurity vendors and sells through a channel network of roughly 14,000 brokers. The company operates its own reinsurance arm, Cowbell Re, and bundles security services at no cost as part of its product. Cowbell says it will not pursue consumer or large-enterprise markets and does not intend to license or white‑label its technology. Financially, the company did not disclose valuation, customer count, or revenues but reports a premium run rate that grew 40x this year to $200 million and projects policyholders to expand three-fold to 35,000–40,000 in the next 12 months. Cowbell Cyber offers individualized cyber insurance for businesses with up to $1 billion in revenue using an AI-based continuous underwriting platform called Cowbell Factors. Its platform compresses the insurance process from submission to issue to less than five minutes. The company operates Cowbell Insurance Agency, which is licensed in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and has a distribution network of more than 4,500 agents and brokers. Led by Founder and CEO Jack Kudale, Cowbell is focused on expanding product capabilities and risk-engineering services. The company plans to use new capital to accelerate product development, grow risk engineering, and increase sales, marketing, and national footprint. Cowbell Cyber is a Pleasanton, Calif.-based startup that builds AI-powered cyber insurance and continuous risk-assessment tools for small to mid-sized enterprises. Its core product is a continuous risk assessment, underwriting and cyber liability insurance platform that uses an inside-out approach and automated, real-time insights to identify and mitigate insurable cyber risks. The company’s flagship continuous risk-ratings factor, Cowbell Factor™, enables customized protection and recommendations to match evolving customer needs. Cowbell plans to launch its Cowbell Prime™ policy initially in California for businesses up to $250M via a retail broker distribution channel in Q1 2020. It secured $3.3M in seed funding to accelerate go-to-market and product development. The executive team is led by founder and CEO Jack Kudale, with co-founders Rajeev Gupta (CPO), Trent Cooksley (COO) and Prab Reddy (VP Engineering).

Participated · Series A · May 2017

Next Insurance is a Palo Alto, CA–based, technology-first insurer focused on small businesses. It offers easy-to-buy policies with 24/7 access to live certificates of insurance and additional insured endorsements, using AI and machine learning to streamline purchasing and reduce costs. Its products are used by over 500,000 business owners. The company raised $265M in funding to accelerate its path to profitability and expand distribution nationwide. As part of the transaction, Next entered partnerships with The Allstate Corporation and Allianz X and will provide its products to Allstate customers. NEXT and Allstate will co-develop innovative and commercial auto products targeting a market of 33 million small businesses, and the deal with Allianz Re includes a multi-year commitment that bolsters Next’s reinsurance relationship. The company is led by CEO Guy Goldstein. Next Insurance sells small-business coverage across categories such as workers’ comp, commercial auto and general liability for many classes of workers (for example, fitness businesses and construction). The company’s product and pricing approach aims to scale gross written premium (GWP) quickly by attracting many small businesses and upselling them to additional products over time. Next has made acquisitions recently, including Juniper Labs in December and AP Intego more recently, the latter having about $185 million in active premium at announcement. Next reported its GWP run rate was $100 million in February 2020 and $200 million in February 2021, and the company says its GWP doubled in the half-year after its last round; it is now north of that $200 million run rate. The firm’s valuation doubled to $4 billion with the new raise. CEO Guy Goldstein said the company is “always evaluating our options” regarding public-market paths but that the main focus remains on growing the business. Next Insurance is a three-year-old U.S.-based firm that sells insurance products to small and micro businesses. It offers a range of products including general liability, professional liability and commercial auto. The company serves more than 70,000 customers across over 1,000 unique types of businesses in the U.S., which is its only market. Next aims to be a one-stop insurance shop for micro and small business needs and targets sectors often overlooked by general insurers. Management says it will use the fresh capital to build new products and expand customer initiatives. Prior to the new round the company had raised $381 million; the latest financing valued Next at more than $1 billion. Founded in 2016, Next Insurance designs and sells digital general and professional liability insurance tailored to overlooked small-business verticals such as contractors, fitness, cleaning, beauty, therapy, entertainment, and education. The company now operates as a full-service, licensed insurance carrier in the U.S., enabling it to write policies independently and exercise greater control over underwriting, pricing, and policy configuration. Next sells instant, competitively priced policies online and plans to add further lines of insurance, on-demand coverage, and faster claims handling with a goal of paying claims within 48 hours. It intends to develop more sophisticated uses of AI and machine learning to improve the customer experience and streamline purchasing. The company will use the new funding to continue U.S. expansion and to increase headcount in both its Israel and U.S. offices. The Series B signals product-market fit and continued growth after rapid fundraising over the prior two years. Next Insurance builds customized insurance plans and distribution technology aimed at small-business verticals such as personal trainers, photographers, and contractors. It operates as a managing general agent, partnering with insurance carriers who underwrite policies while Next develops and sells its own products and earns commissions on each sale. The company emphasizes simple, transparent online purchasing: customers get quotes after a questionnaire and can buy coverage within minutes, including via a Facebook Messenger chatbot, versus traditional offline agent sales that can take weeks. Next aims to use data, technology and AI to gain deep knowledge of professions and tailor products without hidden fees or exemptions. The startup plans to expand into additional verticals and build its own insurance products using proceeds from its latest fundraise. Its founder notes that the largest incumbents own less than 10 percent of the small-business market, highlighting significant growth potential.