Fintech startup Vesttoo raises $80 million at a $1 billion valuation
The Israeli high-tech sector is currently experiencing a difficult period, with hundreds of employees laid off just this week. However, there is also some good news in this time of crisis, with Israeli fintech startup Vesttoo announcing on Tuesday that it has raised $80 million in a Series C funding round at a $1 billion valuation, joining the unicorn club, which has lost more members than it has gained recently.
Vesttoo, which has developed a global insurance risk transfer platform, noted that it has more than tripled its valuation since raising $15 million in a Series B round last November, and that it will reach tens of millions of dollars in revenue by 2021 .
The Series C funding round was led by Mouro Capital and a private equity fund. A US-based bulge-bracket investment bank, Gramercy Ventures, Black River Ventures and Hanaco Ventures also participated in the round.
“Profitability was a top priority from day one,” Vesttoo CEO Yaniv Bertele told Calcalist. “We ended 2021 with a profit, and we will also be profitable in 2022. We are on course to change industries that have not changed for many years. Our AI-based marketplace is set to drive the insurance industry forward by better connecting risk with capital raised from global investors.”
Bertele revealed that Vesttoo plans to use the new funding for mergers and acquisitions. “We will use the money we raised for one goal, which is mergers and acquisitions of other companies in the next 12 months, some of which are already in advanced negotiations. The acquisitions we are targeting are of companies that provide added value and will bring significant technology to the company and help us expand into more sectors.”
Vesttoo employs 140 people, most of them in the Tel Aviv office, and is recruiting more employees. The company also has offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Dubai and Tokyo.
The company was founded in 2018 by Bertele, Alon Lifshitz (CPO) and Ben Zickel (CTO).
Vesttoo’s AI-based marketplace is a data-driven platform that facilitates the investment of new sources of capital in the insurance market. Investors benefit from accessing a low-volatility risk class that is not correlated to the financial markets.
Series C comes less than a year after Mouro Capital led Vesttoo’s Series B round with participation from MS&AD Holdings. Hanaco Ventures led the Series A round in August 2021.
