AI-Powered Insurance Startup Kalepa Valued at $470M in New Funding Round

Insurance startup Kalepa on Oct. 5 said it raised $75 million at a $470 million valuation, as investors bet that AI solutions can speed up the slow, data-heavy work of pricing risk and writing policies.

Growth equity firm Updata Partners led the Series B round, with participation from IA Ventures and Inspired Capital.

Insurers have traditionally relied on time-consuming analysis of vast amounts of data to assess risk and set prices. Some are now betting that AI tools can shorten that work and improve margins, adding to the flurry of AI applications promising to disrupt trillion-dollar white-collar industries.

Kalepa, whose customers include major industry players such as W.R. Berkley, Bowhead Specialty and AmRisc, has built an AI-powered platform designed to assist insurance workflows across operations, underwriting, pricing and portfolio management.

The volume of work running through its platform has grown fourfold over the past year, the insurance startup said, adding that it plans to use the new capital to expand its AI product suite, enter new markets and double its headcount in 2027.

Kalepa added that insurers using it have reported over 30% to 60% more premium per underwriter and a 58% reduction in quote time.

“Kalepa already operates across underwriting, operations, pricing, and portfolio management. Newer areas of expansion include insurance product development, reinsurance and distribution,” Paul Monasterio, co-founder and CEO of Kalepa, told Reuters.

“Most of our hiring will be in engineering, AI, and commercial roles.”

The new Series B round brings the total capital raised by the company to $91 million. In 2021, it had raised $14 million led by Inspired Capital with participation from IA Ventures.