Openly secures $40 million in Series B

Boston-based home insurance MGA Openly announced that it has closed a $40 million Series B investment round. The Series B funding follows just six months after Openly’s Series A. The round is led by Advance Venture Partners, with participation from return investors, including Gradient Ventures, Obvious Ventures, PJC and Greenlight Re . This current round of fundraising brings the total investment in Openly to over $62 million.

Founded in 2017 by Ty Harris and Matt Wielbut, Openly offers a “premium homeowners insurance product” sold exclusively through over 3000 independent agents.

“We at Openly recognize the massive opportunity that exists to challenge incumbents and improve insurance. We used modern technology to re-build core aspects of how an insurance product works. Then, we handed our improved product to independent agents because they know what real improvement looks like. The reception has been phenomenal. We’ve spent very little on marketing and yet seen sales just take off. That’s because our product — the insurance itself, the technology and the human experience – has proven to be fundamentally superior.” –  Ty Harris, CEO and Co-Founder of Openly.

“I first encountered Openly as I was shopping for home insurance personally and was struck by the simplicity and breadth of coverage, compared to alternatives offered by traditional insurers. When we met Ty and Matt shortly thereafter, it was immediately evident that they had a clear vision for reimagining insurance, with a new approach to underwriting, modern interface and customer-friendly terms. The team’s deep domain expertise, combined with their agent distribution strategy and rapid month-over-month growth, led AVP to preempt the Series B financing. We at AVP are thrilled to partner with Ty and Matt and excited to be a part of what’s to come.” – Courtney Robinson, Founding Partner at Advance Venture Partners.

Openly will use the proceeds from the Series B fundraise to expand its geographic footprint from six states at present to most of the country by the end of 2021. The Company will continue to invest in both the technology and the people that power insurance operations at scale.

“Openly provides a best-in-class product to customers and agents that want better, tech-enabled insurance products. We continue to invest in this business because we see the rapid adoption and rave reviews that Openly is achieving. The growth is exceptional, but Openly also underwrites particularly low risk, big policy customers and turns them into long-term fans of the product” – Zach Bratun-Glennon, Partner at Gradient Ventures.

“Openly brings technology-driven transparency, efficiency and user experience design to the fore with agents. This is enabling the team to transform the insurance sector in world positive ways, and this latest funding will help propel their purpose.” – Vishal Vasishth, Co-Founder of Obvious Ventures.

“It’s been quite a journey getting from zero to where we are, and we feel very fortunate to have created this opportunity. The close of our Series B within only six months of our Series A is a testament to the hard work of our amazing employees and the incredible support of our customers, agents, investors and partners who have put their trust in us.” – Matt Weilbut, CTO and Co-Founder of Openly.