糖心视频

has raised $60 million in a Series C led by , marking the digital life insurance company鈥檚 third round of funding in just over 14 months. As part of the new financing, Ethos is opening offices in Austin, Texas, and Singapore, with a focus on building out its engineering team in the Texas capital.

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Founded in 2016, Ethos says its mission is to make 鈥渕odern, ethical life insurance鈥� accessible to the masses through its proprietary technology.

The company claims it makes getting a life insurance policy 鈥渇ast, easy and inexpensive鈥� by 鈥渢urning a process that was once like going to the DMV to more like shopping online.鈥� It also claims to 鈥減rioritize people over profit,鈥� which is refreshingly noble. Ethos is licensed in 49 states.

The San Francisco-based startup has attracted a bevy of investors in a relatively short amount of time. Existing investors , , and also participated in the latest round, which brings the company鈥檚 to $106.5 million. Ethos raised a $35 million last October that was led by Accel, and an $11.5 million Sequoia-led in June 2018.

Besides some of Silicon Valley鈥檚 most prominent VCs, Ethos has also raised capital from , actor Robert Downey Jr.鈥檚 , NBA player , Arrive, a subsidiary of , and actor .

So, how does it work exactly? A prospective customer can apply and qualify for a policy in about 10 minutes, CEO and co-founder told Crunchbase News last October, without having to go through medical exams or blood tests鈥攁s most people do when applying through more traditional life insurance providers. That鈥檚 because the company applies data science and predictive analytics to determine an individual鈥檚 life expectancy, he said. He and his former Stanford University grad school roommate, , previously founded secondary life insurance marketplace .

Rapid Growth

GV general partner and Ethos board member noted in a written statement that his firm has been 鈥渃onsistently impressed by the company鈥檚 commitment to growth, customer traction, and execution to date.鈥� Indeed, Ethos says it鈥檚 quadrupled its revenue since last October (although it would not disclose the exact amount). Additionally, it is 鈥渋nsuring thousands of new families every month鈥� and has 鈥渢ens of thousands鈥� of customers.聽 Ethos currently has about 90 employees, compared to 35 at the time of its last raise in October.

鈥淭he nice thing聽 is we have the majority of our money left over from the last round. So raising more money was not something we needed to do,鈥� Colis told Crunchbase News. Rather, he added, it was more about being able to more optimally take advantage of market conditions. As for Austin, Colis said the city offered 鈥済reat access to talent.鈥�

鈥淚n general, there is a similar growth and entrepreneurial mindset going on in the city that is similar to what we see in San Francisco,鈥� he told Crunchbase News. (Ethos joins a bunch of other companies that have either relocated to, or opened a secondary office in, Austin in recent years.)

The company plans to use its latest capital toward 鈥渃ontinued momentum, supporting product refinement, technical team hires,鈥� according to Colis.

Ethos is just one of a number of startups working to digitize the insurance industry. Last week, Sophia Kunthara reported that Ohio-based car insurance startup was set to raise $350 million in a funding round that would bring the company鈥檚 valuation to $3.65 billion. Like Root, has also gained traction from investors looking to influence the user-led future of policy purchases. Also in July 2018, online small business insurance provider raised $83 million in a led by .

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