Vitesse PSP has raised US$26 million (£19.16 million) in a Series B funding round led by Prime Ventures. The proceeds will be used to drive further digitisation of the insurance market, the UK-based financial technology firm said.
Other participants of the funding round included Octopus Ventures, which led the 2020 Series A funding round and one of Europe's largest and most active venture capital investors, and Hannover Digital Investments, the corporate venture capital fund of major European insurer HDI Group. Existing angel investors and industry figures such as Ron Kalifa, OBE, former Worldpay CEO and author of the Kalifa Review, and Shane Happach, CEO of Dutch payments firm Mollie, also participated.
Vitesse works with many established companies in the insurance sector, including over 70% of the insurers within the Lloyd’s of London market. It supports insurers in digitising their operations and developing new real-time products such as parametric covers. Vitesse’s platform is also being adopted by tech-focused insurers such as BoughtByMany pet insurance.
Proceeds from the round will support Vitesse's expansion in Europe and the US. Vitesse said that it will continue to invest in its product offering and customer service as part of its goal to become the payment partner of choice for the insurance industry.
“We are thrilled to have our new investors on board,” said Phillip McGriskin, CEO of Vitesse. “The Vitesse team have built an incredibly strong and highly regulated platform, supported by our own global payment network and treasury capability, and we have successfully shown the value of these assets to our fast-expanding customer base. We have strong ambitions to grow and to continue our success with a strong focus on the insurance market.”
As part of the investment, Thijs Emondts, principal of Prime Ventures, will join Vitesse’s board.
“We believe the value-add of Vitesse is immense,” Emondts said. “With annual claims volumes and related funding in the trillions of dollars, it provides a platform for real-time insights and full control over those accounts. The insurance landscape is complex, but finance connects it all. As such, Vitesse is well-positioned to claim an important place in this critical infrastructure required for the much-needed digitisation in insurance. Coupled with its experienced management team and ambitious vision, we are proud to be investing in the company. We look forward to supporting Phil and the team through their next stage of growth.”
