Principal and RGA back Zoë Foundry
Principal Financial Group and RGA have partnered with Zoë Foundry, investing a combined $5 million as their lead investors.
Zoë Foundry is a venture studio solely focused on the employee benefits ecosystem, creating and launching a portfolio of companies aimed at “the next wave of insurtech growth.”
Zoë Foundry aims to launch three employee benefits startups annually, focusing on SaaS, B2B, and AI solutions. The studio has already launched its first two companies – SlainTech (a platform for automating small group health portfolios) and Bentection (an executive benefits sales enablement platform). The ventures have been “validated by the market” and are actively serving customers, generating revenue, and gaining traction.
Zoë Foundry was founded by CEO Garrett Viggers, co-founder of Limelight Health, and his COO/CIO and co-founder Jason T. Andrew, both with over 20 years of experience in the employee benefits industry. They are joined by Jonathan Mulieri as CTO and co–founder, who brings 20 years of technology leadership.
In 2020, Irish software company FINEOS acquired employee benefits software company Limelight Health for $75 million. Limelight Health raised $44 million and it was backed by several insurers including Aflac, Principal, MassMutual, Transamerica and AXA.
“Zoë Foundry has shown the strong potential of a vertically focused venture studio. I’m confident this collaboration will enable us to better support the small to midsize business space aligned with our strategic priorities of creating access to new solutions, technologies, and services. Additionally, I’m pleased to lend my expertise as I join the Board of Zoë Foundry.” – Kara Hoogensen, senior vice president of workplace benefits at Principal.
“We are pleased to be a lead investor in Zoë Foundry, and our investment reflects RGA’s ongoing commitment to foster innovation in insurance and the reinsurance industry. The experience of Zoë Foundry’s team combined with RGA’s expertise in the group reinsurance sector, gives us confidence in the success and potential of this collaboration. With its unique focus on the employee benefits ecosystem, we look forward to working with Zoë Foundry to develop new solutions that will shape the future of insurtech for insurers, employers, and employees.” – Dean Abbott, Senior Vice President, Head of U.S. Group Re and Latin America, RGA.
