Insurtech Axinan Rebrands To Igloo After Closing Series A+ Round
by Fintech News Singapore April 24, 2020Singapore-headquartered insurtech startup – Igloo (previously known as “Axinan”), announced today that it has successfully closed its Series A+ funding round, bringing its total funding to US$16 million.
The insurtech firm works with leading e-commerce and travel players in Southeast Asia including Bhinneka, Bukalapak, Lazada, RedDoorz, Shippit, and Shopee, as well as regional insurance partners Allianz, Baoviet, FWD Singapore, Mercantile, and Sompo. Since the company was founded in 2016, Igloo said that its insurance products have already benefitted over 15 million customers, effectively protecting over 50 million transactions in the past year (February 2019 to February 2020). The categories include electronics, home, personal accident and travel.
The company has formally rebranded to “Igloo” from April 2020, across its current markets in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Australia.
Igloo’s Series A+ funding round was led by InVent, the corporate venture capital arm of Intouch Holdings PLC (SET: INTUCH), an asset management and investment company serving the telecommunications, media, and technology sectors. Intouch Holdings is also known as the parent company of Advanced Info Services PLC (AIS) and Thaicom PLC, which focuses on investing in new emerging businesses and tech startups. Igloo’s existing investors Openspace Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in Southeast Asia, and Linear Capital, a Shanghai-based early-stage venture capital firm focusing on tech-driven startups, also participated in this round. Other new investors include Singtel Innov8, Cathay Innovation, and Partech Partners.
Igloo was founded by Mr. Wei Zhu, who was previously the Chief Technology Officer of Grab. Mr. Wei has over 20 years of technology leadership positions, including in companies such as Facebook and Microsoft. He founded Igloo so that everyone, regardless of their economic background, can protect the things and activities that matter to them with highly customised insurance offerings.
Wei Zhu
“With COVID-19 impacting every facet of personal life and business, digitisation can help the world adjust to the new normal. This is especially apparent in insurance, where we can tap on digital channels for distribution and also for creating awareness,”
said Mr Wei Zhu, Founder and CEO of Igloo.
“We see that digital insurance is on the rise in Southeast Asia, and we believe that Igloo, with our digital-first approach and expansion of our product portfolio into personal health, accident and other related products can help fill those gaps and address consumers’ needs for personal well-being,”
he added.
Narongpon Boonsongpaisan
Dr Narongpon Boonsongpaisan, Head of InVent by Intouch Holdings, shared,
“We are extremely excited to welcome Igloo as the first insurtech in our portfolio. Insurtech companies are at the forefront of driving digital transformation in the digital industry, creating innovative products to serve millennials better. We believe that Igloo’s advanced tech stack can drive real change in the industry and bring the focus back to consumers’ needs.”
