Acko General Insurance raises $12 million led by Amazon; now valuated at about $100 million

Led by Amazon, Acko General Insurance raised investments of $12 million which takes the Mumbai-based online-only insurance startup’s total equity to about $42 million. Other names involved in the round of funding included Ashish Dhawan, founder or ChrysCapital – a private equity fund – and existing investor Catamaran Ventures.

Among others, Acko’s investors also include Accel Partners, SAIF Partners, Venk Krishnan and Subba Rao, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder Infosys, Hemendra Kothari of DSP Blackrock, Atul Nishar of Hexaware Technologies, Rajeev Gupta, Founder of Arpwood Capital.

Started in 2016 by Varun Dua, Acko is now being valuated at about $100 million – after the latest round of funding. The company leverages data and analytics to offer personalised insurance products through its platform.

Earlier this year, news was adrift that US e-commerce giant Amazon was close to signing deal with Acko and may introduce a new product category – to sell insurance products – and the former was to join the latter’s board as part of a financing round of Rs. 100 crore.

Speaking on the recent funding, Varun Dua, Founder, Acko  said, “We are thrilled to have Amazon and Mr. Ashish Dhawan as our investors. This investment is a validation of Acko’s strategy to innovate ever more for tomorrow’s financial needs of users.”

“Acko is a young and nimble start-up bringing technology and data-led innovation to the insurance sector to deliver a better insurance experience for customers. We are excited to back companies that are focused on using technology for enhanced customer experience and are led by missionary founders and management teams. We look forward to be a part of their growth journey,” said Amit Agarwal, SVP and Country Manager, Amazon India, in a statement.