Markd Closes $100M Debut VC Fund for InsurTechs

InsurTech venture capital firm Markd on Thursday (March 24) closed its $100 million debut fund for early- and growth-stage startups “with the potential to propel the digital transformation of the insurance industry,” according to a company press release.

Markd founder and managing partner Parker Beauchamp and an undisclosed industry partner are among the anchor investors in Markd’s Fund 1, per the release, which also said InsurTech funding topped a record-high $10.5 billion last year.

“While this is great news for general market escalation, the investment funding hasn’t been evenly distributed, and as many as 95% of InsurTechs did not experience a rise in investment support,” Beauchamp said in the release. “Markd was founded to identify and support transformative insurance ideas of high-potential startups not getting the attention and funding they deserve.

“With ideas around the metaverse, blockchain, and everything in between, there are some remarkable founders primed to evolve the industry perpetually. We’re committed to seeking investment partners who not only provide capital but possess industry expertise to create, reinvent and innovate conventional insurance models.”

Beauchamp, who is also the CEO of insurance and risk management firm INGUARD, has spent more than 20 years distributing insurance digitally.

“During the FinTech innovation boom, traditional banking joined forces with apps, cryptocurrency and more, which improved the industry for everyone involved,” he continued. “We want to be there at the first spark of a great idea.

“We’re not a group of disconnected investors. We’re committed to leveraging our existing relationships, know-how, ideas, regulatory access, carriers, fulfillment and distribution teams we’ve built to help startups get further faster so founders can keep more of their equity longer.”

Last week, InsurTech firm Policygenius raised $125 million in new growth capital to continue to invest in the growth of its core businesses of life, disability, home and auto insurance, along with new no-exam life insurance offerings and its Policygenius Pro offering.

Related: InsurTech Firm Policygenius Raises $125M

The new funding brings the total capital raised by Policygenius to $225 million, including $100 million in early 2020.