SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 has invested at a $2.7bn valuation, taking the Stanford-backed life insurance platform developer’s overall funding to over $400m.

Ethos Technologies, a US-based digital life insurance provider backed by Stanford University, has secured $100m in funding from internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of $2.7bn. Founded in 2016, Ethos operates an insurance online platform that uses machine learning and data science technologies to increase the addressable market for life insurance. The company’s technology is intended to break down barriers that prevent customers from purchasing life insurance, and is capable of underwriting a policy in minutes with no medical exams or complex paperwork. This round brings the company’s overall funding to more than $400m. It raised $200m in a May 2021 series D round backed by entertainment agency Roc Nation and GV, a subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet, valuing it at $2bn. The round was led by General Catalyst and included venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Accel, Will Smith’s Dreamers VC fund and an investment vehicle representing actor Robert Downey Jr that may have been Downey Ventures. Ethos had raised $60m in an August 2019 series C round led by GV and backed by investment bank Goldman Sachs, Sequoia Capital and Accel, having secured $35m in a 2018 series B round led by Accel, with contributions from GV, Sequoia Capital and Roc Nation’s investment arm, Arrive. The company had previously collected $11.5m of series A funding in a 2018 round led by Sequoia Capital that also featured Stanford University, Arrive, Downey Ventures, Durant Company and Smith Family Circle, while Silicon Valley Bank provided debt financing through its series A and B rounds. – A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

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