View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2018/04/12/486180.htm
Eos Venture Partners, the insurance technology-focused venture capital firm, announced plans to raise a $100 million debut fund, EVP I. The fund will be one of the first global, independent insurtech investment funds targeting early and growth stage investments, Eos said.
Eos was formed in 2016 and has made eight insurtech investments, with six going on to successfully raise further financing. Notable investments include Neos, a connected home insurance proposition, which raised $7 million from Aviva and Munich Re, and Digital Fineprint, a business that uses social media to enhance the insurance process, which raised $2.7 million from PenTech Ventures.
Eos has three general partners: Sam Evans, Jonathan Kalman and Carl-Georg Bauer-Schlichtegroll. Bauer-Schlichtegroll was previously head of the Financial Institutions Group at JP Morgan and Credit Suisse, Evans was previously head of the Insurance Deal Advisory Practice at KPMG, while Kalman is an experienced VC investor with multiple successful exits.
The firm currently has offices in London and Philadelphia, and this year will launch an insurtech innovation center in India.
“Insurtech is one of the fastest growing investment sectors globally and is a compelling space in which to invest,” commented Evans.
“There are tremendous opportunities to drive innovation and Eos is positioned at the heart of this new and exciting sector. The global insurance industry is facing an unprecedented period of change, that will see a trillion-dollar value shift between winners and losers,” he added.
Eos also announced a “limited partner” (LP) commitment of $20 million in its debut fund, EVP I, from a global insurer, with whom it has entered into a strategic partnership to accelerate their innovation strategy, and a second $10 million commitment from a European insurer. Those insurers were not disclosed by Eos.
“We are delighted to have secured two commitments and to have our lead investor in place. We are already working with our LPs to help them harness the potential of insurtech to supercharge their business,” Evans continued.
Eos said the core of its business model is to form close strategic partnerships with LPs “to develop, refine and execute a tailored innovation strategy [which] drive growth, improve profitability and enhance customer propositions.”
“We provide our LP’s with strategic and financial exposure to key developments in insurtech,” said Georg Bauer-Schlichtegroll. “They can leverage their relationship with Eos to extend the reach, capabilities and experience of their team to help drive forward key innovation related projects.”
Source: Eos Venture Partners