Insurtech Outmarket raises $34.5M just months after prior round

Vishal Sankhla, who previously led product at digital life insurer Ethos and held engineering roles at Facebook and Uber, launched Outmarket in late 2023 to address manual processes in insurance distribution. The startup applies AI to automate administrative paperwork for insurance agencies and brokers, with a focus on commercial insurance where policies often require bespoke tailoring for each business. Outmarket says its software helps brokers parse and complete the varied forms and documents tied to commercial coverages — a category that can include general liability, workers’ compensation and directors and officers (D&O) liability, among others. Sankhla noted there are more than 250 different types of coverages depending on business type and risk, which makes the application and documentation process highly fragmented. Since launching a new product 14 months ago, Outmarket reports onboarding over 300 insurance agencies, including about 25% of the top 100 agencies. The company argues that automating time-consuming administrative tasks enables brokers to spend more time on client-facing work, such as handling emergencies and advising on complex risk needs. Investors have backed that proposition: Outmarket raised $34.5 million in a Series B round led by SignalFire, with participation from Fika Ventures, Permanent Capital Ventures, TTV Capital and Dash Fund. According to a person familiar with the deal, this round — which follows a $17 million Series A four months earlier — valued the company at $335 million. Outmarket faces competition from other AI startups targeting broker workflows, including Fulcrum AI and Further AI, while pointing to the large U.S. property and casualty market — over $1 trillion in annual premiums — as room for growth.