Lemonade Announces $300M in Series D Funding
Lemonade, the insurance company powered by artificial intelligence and behavioral economics, today announced the signing of a $300 million Series D funding round led by SoftBank Group (“SoftBank”), with participation from Allianz, General Catalyst, GV (formerly known as Google Ventures), OurCrowd, and Thrive Capital. Lemonade plans to use the funds to accelerate its US and European expansion in 2019, and explore new product lines.
Founded by tech veterans Daniel Schreiber and Shai Wininger, Lemonade is licensed as a full-stack property and casualty insurance carrier. The company began offering homeowners and renters insurance in New York in late 2016, and is now available for most of the US population. Lemonade is currently the #1 rated provider of renters insurance in the country.
In addition to digitizing the entire insurance process, Lemonade reduces costs and bureaucracy through giving. In a reversal of the traditional insurance model, Lemonade takes a fixed percentage as a flat fee, eliminating the conflict between paying claims and making a profit, and donates a portion of unclaimed premium dollars to nonprofits during its annual ‘Giveback.’
“In less than three years, Lemonade has expanded across the US, given back to dozens of charities chosen by our community, and fundamentally changed how a new generation of consumers interacts with insurance,” said Daniel Schreiber, CEO and cofounder, Lemonade. “Looking forward, we aspire to create the 21st century incarnation of the successful insurance company: a loved global brand that can endure for generations; an organization built on a digital substrate, enabling ever faster and more efficient operations, and ever more delighted consumers.”
Built from scratch on a digital substrate, Lemonade collects 100X more data than traditional carriers, enabling the company to generate highly predictive data with the promise of ever improving underwriting and pricing.
“We’ve watched Lemonade transform insurance using big data and AI, reaching half a million homes in a little over two years – a shockingly rapid pace,” said Shu Nyatta, a senior investment professional within the SoftBank Group and a Lemonade Board Member. “And we’re confident that the best is yet to come. The value Lemonade provides, together with the values baked into its model, are fast making it one of the most intriguing, differentiated and compelling brands.”
The transaction – which is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals – is targeted to close in Q2 2019.
