Insurtech Corgi on Thursday announced a $106 million Series B1 raise, valuing the company at $2.6 billion, just three weeks after announcing a $160 million Series B at a $1.3 billion valuation and four months after a $108 million Series A. Deel and Artisan are among its clients.
Even in the current go-go trading environment, this sequence is remarkable. While startups raising back-to-back rounds with steep upgrades have become almost routine, a company whose valuation doubles in three weeks is unusual enough to raise questions, particularly given that the investor in both rounds is the same.
Asked what material event justified this jump in such a short window, investor Kanyi Maqubela of Kindred Ventures cited the company’s momentum. It’s an explanation that may satisfy some, but the practice in general is beginning to attract scrutiny in LP circles. “There is a growing mistrust of insider markings,” said one LP who backs several venture capitals and asked not to be named. This exit mechanisms person specifically said, “[I]company fa [is] it’s just appreciating upwards without a real liquidity event, LPs observe.”
The specific concern is that a fund that invests at one valuation and then marks it down three weeks later can make the portfolio’s performance look stronger on paper than the underlying business can justify.
In this case, Maqubela suggested, that’s not an issue for Kindred’s limited partners, nor for Corgi’s other investors, which include Prime Capital, Leblon Capital, Alumni Ventures and Y Combinator.
“LPs really like exits above all else,” Maqubela said in a message to TechCrunch. “They reduce the value of the markings, as they do not always reflect reality.” He added that in this case, the increase in revenue justifies the new round.
Founded in 2024 by Emily Yuan and Nico Laqua, Corgi says it creates coverage for what it calls “newer categories” of risk, while also addressing an often underserved market among legacy insurers — startups and the unique liability issues they face, including those related to artificial intelligence.
“Corgi covers everything from when an AI system causes financial loss, misinformation, operational failures or compliance issues,” Laqua told TechCrunch. “Many legacy policies either exclude these risks or handle them ambiguously.
Corgi is not alone in the insurance technology market. Vouch, which is backed by Y Combinator, operates in a similar space.
When asked about the back-to-back rounds, Laqua said insurance is a “capital-intensive industry” and that “demand has accelerated rapidly in new product lines and partnerships.” Building a native AI platform adds to this cost.
“We are best known for our business insurance products, but the additional capital will be used to expand into new insurance classes, scale our AI underwriting platform, develop integrated distribution partnerships and continue to grow our team,” said Laqua.
Corgi has now raised $378 million in total funding from its investors.
Correction: The title of this heading originally misstated the valuation due to an editing error.
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