InsurTech Leader Ethos Secures $200 Million Investment Round; Valuation Exceeds $2 Billion

Company surpasses competitors, will provide $20B in coverage this year

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May 11, 2021, 06:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, May 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ethos, the InsurTech leader that is transforming the life insurance space, today announced it has raised a $200M Series D investment round, boosting its valuation to $2B in just a few years since launch. Revenue and users have each grown by more than 500 percent year-over-year, and the company expects to issue $20 billion of life insurance coverage this year, surpassing all competitors as it achieves its mission to provide life insurance for everyone.

The Series D round was led by General Catalyst. Past investors Sequoia Capital; Accel; GV (formerly Google Ventures); and Jay-Z's Roc Nation also participated, alongside Glade Brook Capital Partners. Ethos is also backed by the investment vehicles of stars Will Smith and Robert Downey Jr. Funding raised to date totals $300M.

"We are on a mission to protect the next million families and will use this money to continue improving the best insurance customer experience ever created," said Peter Colis, Ethos CEO and Co-Founder. "This funding will help us enrich our technology and data platform, and help us launch new products to enable everyone an opportunity to protect their families."

Ethos is the InsurTech leader in underwriting, administering and distributing life insurance. The company uses innovative machine learning and data science technologies to upend the traditional life insurance model. Its technology advantage breaks down barriers that have long inhibited customers from purchasing life insurance, including underwriting with no medical exams, blood tests or complex paperwork. This enables Ethos to approve many people who would otherwise be denied coverage or punitively treated regardless of financial status, health status or age.

"We're very excited to invest in the vision and team at Ethos," said Kyle Doherty, partner at General Catalyst. "Traditional life insurance remains largely unchanged over the years. It's an area that's ripe for innovation, and Ethos' successful execution demonstrates they are clearly ahead of all others in leading this digital transformation."

Strong Growth Establishes Ethos Out Front of Industry
Ethos' growth is accelerating since its previous investment round in 2019. In addition to its revenue and user growth, the company is nearing $100M in annualized gross profit and increasing EBITDA in the next year. Ethos has surpassed its competitors in both annualized revenue and gross profit and is the market leader in the InsurTech life insurance space.

"The US life insurance industry is one of the largest markets in the world, but it has been slow to move online," said Nate Niparko, Partner at Accel. "Ethos offers a completely modern experience that finally brings the life insurance market online, and the company is growing very quickly as a result."

"Ethos has fundamentally changed the life insurance industry by providing a tech-enabled, vertically-integrated solution," said Roelof Botha, Partner at Sequoia and Ethos board member. "We've been inspired by Ethos' mission since we first partnered with Peter and Lingke at the seed, and we are thrilled to continue working with them and the team to make life insurance more accessible."

About Ethos
Ethos is a new kind of life insurance provider that makes getting coverage easy and accessible for millions of families. Ethos uses deep technology and data science to eliminate traditional barriers to life insurance and bring the industry into the modern age. The company built its technology from the ground up with a focus on creating a seamless customer experience; a mobile-first, online application process that takes minutes instead of weeks, and offering coverage without a medical exam for over 99% of applicants and a few health questions. The result is a life insurance company that puts people first. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Austin and Singapore. To learn more, visit www.ethoslife.com.

About General Catalyst
General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that invests in powerful, positive change that endures — for our entrepreneurs, our investors, our people, and society. We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond to build companies that withstand the test of time. With offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York City, and Boston, the firm has helped support the growth of businesses such as: Airbnb, Deliveroo, Guild, Gusto, Hubspot, Illumio, Lemonade, Livongo, Oscar, Snap, Stripe, and Warby Parker. For more: www.generalcatalyst.com.

SOURCE Ethos