SaaS provider of AI-driven decision automation and optimisation solutions for the global insurance industry Shift Technology closed a $220m fundraising bringing its valuation to over $1bn.
The round was led by Advent International, through Advent Tech, with participation from Avenir and others. Previous Series C participants Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst and Iris Capital also joined the round. The latest funding round brings total investment in Shift to $320m.
The new cash injection will fuel the company’s execution of its wide-ranging products that apply AI and advanced data science to insurance processes as well as driving digital transformation in the global insurance industry.
The French startup will also use this investment to expand its presence in geographies including the US, Europe and Asia. In the US, the company seeks to penetrate the property and casualty insurance market as well as expand into the health insurance sector, it said.
Furthermore, the funding will also be used to drive R&D efforts in the creation of new solutions to address emerging decision automation and optimisation requirements for insurers.
Shift Technology’s software analyses insurance claims and helps insurers to identify when a bad actor may be using a policy to commit crimes, such as money laundering.
Initially known for its fraud detection and claims automation software, the company introduced the Shift Insurance Suite in January this year to enable insurers to apply AI-based decision automation technology to an even wider array of critical processes across the policy lifecycle including underwriting, subrogation and compliance.
The company, whose clients include France’s AXA, Japan’s MS&AD and Hong Kong-based FWD Group, now serves more than 100 customers in 25 different countries and has analysed nearly two billion claims to date, it said.
Indeed, the market for insurance fraud detection technology is poised to go from strength to strength as the sector was estimated to be worth $2.5bn in 2019 and is projected to be worth as much as $8bn by 2024. As a result, more insurance companies and other large financial services firms such as banks, have been ramping up their investment in technology that allows them to automate fraud and money laundering checks.
Highlighting the firm’s future plans, Shift Technology co-founder and CEO Jeremy Jawish said, “The entire Shift team has worked tirelessly to build this company and provide insurers with the technology solutions they need to empower employees to best be there for their policyholders.
“We have only just scratched the surface of what is possible when AI-based decision automation and optimisation is applied to the critical processes that drive the insurance policy lifecycle.”
Expressing a similar sentiment, Advent’s technology investment director Thomas Weisman said, “Shift’s advanced suite of SaaS products is helping insurers to reshape manual and often time-consuming claims processes in a safer and more automated way.”
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