Amazon-Backed India Insurer Startup Eyes Funding Round that Could Create $1B Value

Acko General Insurance Ltd. is weighing a new funding round that could value the Indian online insurer at more than $1 billion, according to people familiar with matter.

The Amazon.com Inc.-backed startup is looking to raise about $200 million in the round, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Acko is also considering a listing as soon as this year, one of the people said.

The funding round, if successful, will make Acko the latest unicorn in India, where there’s been a boom for the technology industry. In April, the country minted at least six new startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more in a week’s time.

Acko, founded in 2016, is among India’s first digital insurers that provides coverage for cars, motorbikes and even taxi passengers as well as health insurance, according to its website. It has more than 400 employees and has sold policies to over 50 million customers. Besides Amazon, the startup also counts Accel, Catamaran Ventures and SAIF Partners among its investors.

The Bangalore-based startup raised $60 million in a series D financing round last year.

Deliberations are ongoing and Acko’s latest fundraising plans could still change, the people said. Acko Managing Director Varun Dua declined to comment.

Photograph: A taxi travels along an empty road during a lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus in Mumbai, India, on Monday, June 1, 2020. Photo credit: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg.