The latest news from wefox is interesting. Is any insurtech worth that chunk of investment? IE only asks the question because so much of the insurtech sector is actually about refining and improving existing systems, not re-inventing the wheel. The early success and rapid decline in the share price of Lemonade proves that not every unicorn truly challenges the existing market by gaining a distinct – and sustainable – long term advantage over its rivals.
Ondo, which launched its IPO on the London Stock Exchange this year at 12p per share has now settled back at 5.8p. Let’s be honest here, the Leakbot gadget is an idea that cannot be ringfenced from rival insurers, they too can give policyholders a discount for having a water leak detector in their home.
Let’s look further into the future. Maybe Amazon’s Ring doorbell, or Google Nest, will have the capacity one day to link water meter readings in real time to the app, thus bypassing any need for Leakbot, or any other physically mounted gadget? These things should be considered before investors place millions on the line.
Here’s the press info;
wefox, the Berlin-based insurtech, has successfully closed a Series D funding round of $400m (comprising equity and debt) and increased its post-money valuation to US$4.5bn.
Mubadala Investment Company led the equity raise with participation from EDBI, Eurazeo, LGT, Horizons Ventures, OMERS Ventures and Target Global. The round sees wefox increase its valuation from US$3bn to US$4.5bn in 12 months, bucking the trend currently experienced in the insurtech market and more broadly across the tech sector.
Julian Teicke, CEO and founder of wefox, said: “This new valuation of US$4.5 billion is a clear validation of our business model, which focuses on indirect distribution via agents rather than direct. This makes our business one of the most credible insurtechs in the market right now.”
“We continue doubling our revenues with last year reaching US$320m. Within the first four months of this year wefox generated more than US$200m in revenues, which keeps us on track to achieve our revenue target of US$600m by the end of 2022.
“wefox now has more than two million customers and we aim to reach three million customers by the end of this year. It is further proof that wefox is trusted and testament to our focus on prediction and prevention, rather than the traditional approach of repair and replace. We are making insurance 10 times better through technology. As a result, our customer experience is simple and fit for purpose for the way we live today,” added Mr. Teicke.
wefox intends to use the funding for product development and expand across Europe and thereafter Asia and the US.
Fabian Wesemann, CFO and founder of wefox, said: “wefox is in the strongest position ever. In successfully closing this funding round we reinforce our strategy and enable faster acceleration on our path to greater revenues and profit.”
“This additional investment is a strong validation from the investor community of our indirect model, which allows us to be cash efficient and is another testament to our continuous performance even in turbulent times. wefox has a proven model and a sustainable track record to replicate globally, for which the additional funds will be used.
“Our model ensures we deliver a stronger financial profile with a clear path to profitability. This is vital at all times but especially in the current economic climate which demands greater financial discipline,” added Mr. Wesemann.
Despite the current economic climate, wefox remains one of the very few tech companies still recruiting, with more than 1300 employees in the company today up from 550 employees in 2021. wefox expects to reach 2000 employees by the end of 2022.
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