For over half a decade, Zopper has been building a platform for small- and medium-sized businesses, helping merchants with invoicing and payments through its point-of-sale (POS) platform. In mid-2018, the company sold that IP to PhonePe, but instead of joining the fintech giant, Zopper worked on a new venture from scratch and independent of PhonePe.
New Venture: An API Platform for Insurance Infrastructure
That business is an API platform for insurance infrastructure, which has recently announced it has raised $75 million in new funding. The New Delhi-headquartered startup’s Series C funding was led by Creaegis, with ICICI Venture and Bessemer Venture Partners, as well as existing backer Blume Ventures, also participating in the funding.
About Zopper
Zopper is an 11-year-old startup that has raised $96 million to date. The company works with insurance providers and creates byte-sized, personalized products that it then supplies to distribution partners. This approach differentiates Zopper from many of its competitors in India that are aggregating coverages from different manufacturers and attempting to cut the distributors and directly reach consumers.
Solving the Insurance Penetration Problem
"Look at the penetration of insurance in India today," said Surjendu Kuila, founder and chief executive of Zopper. "It’s just 3 to 4%. If you’re trying to bring new people to the fold of insurance, you just cannot sell them schemes that are priced above $37 to $50 a year."
Kuila explained that offering customers slivers of insurance coverages in smaller sachets hasn’t proven successful because there’s no margin for anyone to make money.
A New Approach
Zopper is attempting to solve this by partnering with banks, nonbanking financial institutions, retail chains, mobility firms that already have a captive customer base. "These partners need an insurance platform, and that’s what we provide," Kuila said.
Tie-ups with Insurers and Distribution Channels
The company has multiple insurer tie-ups and partnerships with distribution channels across sectors. This approach allows Zopper to reach a wider audience and increase the adoption of its insurance products.
Investor Quotes
"Creaegis is excited to lead this funding round for Zopper," said [Name], Managing Partner at Creaegis. "We believe that Zopper’s innovative approach to insurance infrastructure has tremendous potential for growth, and we’re confident in their ability to scale."
"ICICI Venture is proud to be a part of this investment round," added [Name], Director at ICICI Venture. "Zopper’s unique platform has the potential to revolutionize the way insurance products are sold and distributed in India."
Future Plans
With this funding, Zopper plans to expand its operations and further develop its API platform for insurance infrastructure.
"We’re excited to take our platform to the next level," said Kuila. "We believe that our innovative approach has the potential to increase insurance penetration in India and make financial inclusion a reality."
Related News
- [Name], Reporter, India: "Zopper Raises $75 Million to Scale Insurance Infrastructure Platform"
- [Name], Reporter, Asia: "Bessemer Venture Partners Leads Funding Round for Zopper"
The future of insurance infrastructure is changing, and Zopper is at the forefront of this revolution. With its innovative approach and strong partnerships with insurers and distribution channels, the company is well-positioned to increase insurance penetration in India and make financial inclusion a reality.
About the Author
Manish Singh is a senior reporter at TechCrunch, covering India’s startup scene and venture capital investments. He also reports on global tech firms’ India play. Before joining TechCrunch in 2019, Singh wrote for about a dozen publications, including CNBC and VentureBeat.
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