The insurtech plans to expand its product offering and double its remote-first workforce
Insurtech Laka has raised $12m (£8.8m) in a series A funding round - this will be used to build an e-mobility insurtech in Europe.
The funding round was led by US mobility investor Autotech Ventures, alongside Dutch venture capital firm Ponooc and ABN AMRO Ventures, the corporate venture fund of European bank ABN AMRO.
Existing investors in Laka include Creandum, LocalGlobe, 1818 Venture Capital and Elkstone Partners. The insurtech is also supported by angel investment from Zwift chief executive and co-founder Eric Min.
Laka’s new investors bring European distribution opportunities - the insurtech therefore plans to use the new capital to rapidly expand across Europe, with launches in Belgium, France and Germany scheduled for the first half of 2022.
This will help to service retail partners such as human resource consulting firm Randstad, cycling brands Raleigh and Le Col, as well as sports retailer Decathlon.
Tobias Taupitz, Laka’s chief executive and co-founder, said: “2021 truly depicted an inflection point for Laka as we moved from a pure direct to consumer play towards retail and commercial partnerships.
“E-mobility is redefining transport globally and Laka has set out to build the backbone to support the e-mobility segment at a time when net zero emissions has rightly become front of mind for consumers, businesses and government policy.
”To support this shift towards a greener future, we have a bold vision to become the world’s largest e-mobility insurance partner.”
Uniquely placed
Laka believes it is “uniquely placed” because it has identified no other major European player for cycling and e-mobility insurance.
Therefore, the insurtech plans to expand its product offering to e-scooters, e-mopeds and, eventually, e-cars, to better serve Europe-wide partnerships with manufacturers, retailers and leasing businesses.
To support this growth agenda, Laka intends to double its remote-first workforce and provide collaboration hubs across Europe.
It will also place a heavy focus on introducing deeper application processing interface and e-commerce integration options, as well as drive innovative pricing through its artificial intelligence (AI) behavioural risk modelling capabilities.
Min said: “The shift to greener transport is happening fast and it needs a forward-thinking and highly adaptable insurer to help power that change. That’s why I’m excited to be a part of Laka’s growth across Europe as [it leverages] tech, data and in-house claims expertise to lead in the e-mobility insurance space with [its] unique model”.
Explosive growth
Speaking about the funding raise, Burak Cendek, partner at Autotech Ventures, said the investor was “truly excited” to partner with the Laka team.
Cendek continued: “As a transportation focused fund, we’ve been witnessing the explosive growth in personal ownership of two wheelers – especially in light of the pandemic – as well as increased business use cases within logistics.
“Not only is Laka’s innovative product line answering unmet needs of the market, but we believe that Laka has the potential to transform the insurance industry as a whole.”
Hugo Bongers, managing director at ABN AMRO Ventures, added: ”Our investment in Laka fits perfectly with ABN AMRO’s ambition to excel in providing our customers with best in class digital services and help them in their transition to a more sustainable living.”
Rui Li, investment manager at Ponooc, said: “We are convinced that insurtech will play an important role in accelerating the adoption of sustainable mobility. In this space, Laka offers an exceptional proposition for both the B2B and B2C market.”
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