Digital insurer Acko has become the latest entrant to the unicorn start-up club in India after raising $255 million in a Series D round led by General Atlantic and Multiples Private Equity. Unicorn status is achieved by privately held entities that exceed valuations of $1 billion. The insurance company, which now has a valuation of $1.1 billion, is the 34th Indian startup to achieve unicorn status in 2021, according to a Moneycontrol report.
In addition to Acko’s existing investors Interact Ventures and Munich Re Ventures, the funding round also saw participation from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Lightspeed. Total fundraising by the company is now $450 million. Acko now plans to diversify its investments in the healthcare vertical and grow its team-up within product, technology and data science.
Varun Dua, Founder and CEO of Acko said that while the company will continue to grow its core auto insurance business, it also aims to invest over $150 million (approximately Rs 1.1 crore) in the health business in the near future. “We believe that health insurance products, claim innovation and a deep fusion of healthcare services that improve health outcomes for customers are the most urgent need of the day,” he added.
Acko entered the health insurance business in 2020 with a focus on the employer-employee segment. The company is now planning to enter the retail health insurance business by next year.
Since its launch in 2016, Acko has grown its customer base to over 70 million, and earned a premium of approximately $150 million.
Acko’s investors include e-commerce giants Amazon, Ascent Capital, Elevation, Accel, Intact Ventures, Munich Ray Ventures, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, among many others. Apart from the leading auto insurance business, Acko is also involved in embedded insurance products like mobility and gadget insurance on digital consumer platforms like Amazon, Ola and others.
The company has also partnered with online food delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato to insure its gig workers.
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