IA Capital closes 11th fund, anchored by insurer QBE
What's the deal? IA Capital GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a New York firm investing in fintech and insurtech since 2000, announced the initial close of Inter-Atlantic Opportunity Fund I, its 11th fund. QBE Insurance GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → anchors the vehicle through QBE VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, its corporate venture arm. IA Capital did not disclose the fund's size.
What's the endgame? The fund targets what IA Capital calls a widening gap in late-stage fintech and insurtech: companies with real revenue that have fewer sources of growth capital and liquidity as generalist and corporate investors step back. It invests primarily at Series B and later, through both primary investments and secondary positions bought from existing holders.
Where is the money going? The team, led by general partner Ravi Shah, has closed two deals so far — Panacea, a US financial platform for doctors, dentists and veterinarians, and Aurora, a UK algorithmic underwriting platform for property and casualty insurers.
Why now? QBE frames the commitment as a way to keep investing as peers retreat. "A number of corporate venture programs have retrenched over the past few years, often because the investments were disconnected from the core business and strategy," said James Orchard, chief executive officer of QBE Ventures. The fund, he added, "lets us move quickly and enables us to back strong companies as other investors step back."
The bigger picture: IA Capital launched its first fund in 2000 and has had strategic investing relationships with insurers since 2014. Alongside the Opportunity Fund, it manages three multi-LP funds for 23 insurers and two single-LP funds for Prudential FinancialDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
The signal: IA Capital's last comparable raise was $150 million across three insurtech funds in 2019, making this a return to fundraising. With no disclosed size or further LP commitments, the close reads less as proof of a broad rebound and more as a sign of continued institutional appetite for specialist insurtech investing.
Read more: prnewswire.com
Image credit: infomatique
