Plug and Play is a seed and early-stage investor focused on great teams leading emerging growth companies.  Plug and Play runs 12 industry-specific accelerator programs twice a year, that acts as a platform for major corporations and high quality startups to connect and collaborate.  Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Plug and Play participates in Seed, Angel and Series A funding where they often co-invest with their strategic partners. Through years of experience and as part of their network, Plug and Play has put together a world-class network of serial entrepreneurs, strategic investors, and industry leaders who actively assist the firm with its successful and growing investment portfolio.  SEED ROUND. Plug and Play participates in seed round investing through a program called Startup Camp. Startup Camp is a 10-week program based in Silicon Valley for top-notch entrepreneurs to work intensively on building out their business model. Select startups will refine their business models and prototypes with help from a combination of structured workshops, speaker series and mentorship sessions, as well as active coaching from their investment team. At the culmination of Startup Camp, founders will have crystalized their business plans and pitched their company to the venture capital community at EXPO Demo Day.''  ANGEL ROUND Plug and Play makes angel round investments throughout the year, sourced from their monthly Plug and Play Angels (PAPA) sessions. They are partnered with local angel investors in Silicon Valley who participate in PAPA to find the most promising startups and best new technologies.  SERIES A. Series A typical Series A round is in the range of $2 million to $10 million, and is intended to provide operating capital for the company for six months to two years. This round capitalizes the company as it develops its products, performs initial marketing and branding, acquires talent, and conducts other early-stage business operations. It is in this stage that Plug and Play will co-invest with over 180 venture capital partners.  Plug and Play has helped grow market leaders such as PayPal, Danger, Google, DropBox, LendingClub, Zoosk, SoundHound, CreditSesame, Skytree, and has over 400 more early-stage startups in its portfolio.

Plug and Play

Speedinvest is one of Europe’s most active early-stage investors, with more than €1bn AUM, 40 investors, and offices in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, Vienna and San Francisco.  Your success is our priority, so we don’t just send some money and ''check in'' at board meetings. Our mission is to empower you with game-changing support through every stage of your journey.  Our focused investment teams know your industry inside and out. Their Deep Tech, Fintech, Industrial Tech, Network Effects, Digital Health and Subscriptions experience, know-how and deep networks are yours from day one.  You also have full access to our in-house Platform+ team of operational experts who can provide tailored growth marketing, people (HR), US business development, and networking support throughout every stage of your journey.

Speedinvest

Markd is a venture capital company focused on funding and partnering with transformative Insurtechs.

Markd

Cyberwrite

Cyberwrite provides cyber insurance policies and technology for SMBs, supported by the patented 4SEEN algorithms used for underwriting and risk management. The company was founded by industry veterans and insurance executives and is serving carriers and brokers in over 20 countries in seven languages.,

Cyberwrite offers a SaaS platform and application programming interfaces (APIs) for carriers, brokers, and agents to carry out cyber insurance risk modeling on potential clients based on information sources such as customer-specific data, geographic risks, and industry risks. Through this, the platform helps facilitate underwriting decisions for micro, small, and mid-sized businesses in real-time and on-demand.

The latest line of defense against rising cyber attacks

Cyber Insurance

Howden collabs with Cyberwrite to increase cyber resiliency for clients worldwide

Munich Re

HSB extended its partnership with Cyberwrite to better leverage data and technology in cyber insurance underwriting and portfolio management.

Provides solutions for insurers/brokers to obtain an overview of security health and risk exposure for potential and existing clients

Cyberwrite offers a SaaS platform and application programming interfaces (APIs) for carriers, brokers, and agents to carry out cyber insurance risk modeling on potential clients based on information sources such as customer-specific data, geographic risks, and industry risks. Through this, the platform helps facilitate underwriting decisions for micro, small, and mid-sized businesses in real-time and on-demand.Cyberwrite automatically collects data from the internet, the dark web, and its proprietary cyber risk database on an ongoing basis. This is combined with its AI-powered models, actuarial science, and advanced machine learning-based algorithms to generate risk scores and compile cyber insurance policy recommendations. HSB, a company affiliated with reinsurer Munich Re also subscribes to Cyberwrite’s platform to support the financial quantification of cyber risks for its policies.The company raised an undisclosed amount at its last funding round in May 2021. The company had raised USD 1.5 million in seed funding in 2017.

Corvus offers commercial cyber insurance policies to cover cyberattacks-related incidents such as business interruption, system failure, ransomware attacks, and even regulatory fines and penalties. It uses its proprietary “Corvus Scan” platform to analyze a company’s current cybersecurity posture to determine pricing and coverage options. As part of the policy issuing process, Corvus also provides a report with IT security recommendations and access to its dedicated response teams for proactive cyber risk management. This team also works with clients during the claims process.For policyholders, Corvus also provides a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) offering—consultative sessions with Corvus’ in-house security teams—while helping them get concessionary rates on cybersecurity solutions from companies such as SentinelOne and Tetra Defence. The company also offers cyber reinsurance, technology errors and omissions (E&amp;O) insurance, and a specific policy for ocean cargo.In June 2023, Corvus introduced a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19678">cyber risk prevention platform</a>: Corvus Signal, and an incentive program encouraging policyholders to engage with the solution.Corvus Insurance <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7543?industryIds=52">acquired the cyber underwriting platform Tarian Underwriting </a>from Beat Capital Partners in January 2022. Tarian Underwriting is an underwriter of cyber and technology insurance risks that creates tailored solutions and underwrites on behalf of a consortium of Lloyd’s syndicates. The acquisition will help Corvus to expand its international footprint across Europe, Africa, and Australia, and add global underwriting capability with access to Lloyd’s cyber insurance capacity.In November 2023, Corvus <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23562">announced</a> it had entered into an agreement to be acquired by property and casualty insurance giant Travelers for ~USD 435 million.Key customers and partnershipsCorvus Insurance covers companies in industries such as healthcare, retail, financial institutions, manufacturing, and construction (earning up to USD 2 billion in gross revenue), offering them a coverage limit of up to USD 10 million.In July 2022, the company expanded its <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11826">partnership program </a>with global specialty insurer and reinsurer, SiriusPoint, and program management solution provider, R&amp;Q Accredited.Funding and financialsCorvus Insurance received a strategic investment of <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11826">USD 100 million </a>building upon the initial investment and multi-year underwriting capacity partnership announced in September 2021. The funds were utilized to develop its Smart Cyber Insurance solutions and target policyholders globally.In March 2021, the company raised USD 100 million in a Series C funding round led by Insight Partners at a valuation of USD 750 million. The company utilized the funds to develop its underwriting capabilities, product development, and go-to-market strategies. This Series C round was extended in May 2021 by another USD 15 million led by FinTLV and Aquiline Technology Growth (ATG).The company grew its gross written premium by 250% in 2020 and had an annual premium run rate of USD 120 million during January 2021. As of March 2021, the company had an average policy size of USD 9,000 annually and employed 140 staff.

Corvus Insurance

BitSight offers a data-driven security rating system for financial services, retail, manufacturing, telecom, and cyber insurance companies. BitSight’s risk rating system is backed by a company’s historical data as well as industry benchmarks. The platform collects data from over 260 billion cyber events daily from 120 data sources. In the areas of cyber insurance, it allows insurers to determine the rate of premiums while also enabling the continuous monitoring of security posture during the coverage period. BitSight also offers cyber risk modeling services, helping businesses financially quantify enterprise cyber risk.In September 2021, BitSight acquired VisibleRisk, a cyber risk rating startup created by the credit ratings agency Moody’s Corporation and the venture capital firm Team8. BitSight integrated VisibleRisk’s cyber risk assessment capability to enhance its Financial Quantification tool to better estimate the financial exposure of an organization to cyber risk. Following the acquisition, BitSight was to set up a Risk Solutions Division that focuses on cybersecurity insights for the board of directors and C-suite executives.In August 2022, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12196">acquired </a>the third-party risk management startup, ThirdPartyTrust. ThirdPartyTrust was integrated into BitSight’s existing TPRM solutions to deliver real-time insights throughout the entire third-party lifecycle and extended supply chain.Key customers and partnershipsBy July 2021, the company had analyzed the security ratings of over 27,000 companies. During that period, the company claimed that 50% of all cyber insurance policies underwritten globally were by its customers and 20% of governments worldwide use BitSight data for national security. Overall, the company had over 2,300 customers globally and an employee headcount of 500 as of September 2021.Bitsight announced an <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17887">expanded partnership with Moody’s Analytics </a>in April 2023, providing analysts with enhanced insights, and making Bitsight’s analytics available through Moody’s BVD Orbis database. The firm also added a response function to its TPRM platform.Funding and financialsIn conjunction with the acquisition of VisibleRisk in September 2021, BitSight also secured USD 250 million in funding from Moody’s at a valuation of USD 2.4 billion. The company utilized the funds to pursue growth and further enhance its product offerings and capabilities.

BitSight

Embroker offers commercial insurance for startups, law firms, and other private companies. It covers incidents such as commercial crime, professional liabilities, and cyber insurance. Policies issued by Embroker are underwritten using data-driven models that it claims can reduce premiums for businesses by 20%.Embroker’s cyber insurance product helps companies cover against both first- and third-party financial losses resulting from cyberattacks. These include costs relating to data loss, recovery, business interruption, extortion, and fraud. Embroker also offers technological errors and omissions (E&amp;O) for technology companies. Policies issued by Embroker are backed by Clear Blue Specialty Insurance Company (reinsured by MunichRe) and as of December 2021, the company served over 20,000 users; counting companies such as Icebreaker Health, Pandia Health, Renew Energy Partners, JDJ Engineering among its clients.Key customers and partnershipsEmbroker <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20434">announced partnerships </a>with cyber insurer Cowbell and password management platform Dashlane in July 2023. Cowbell’s admitted insurance product will be bundled with Embroker’s lawyer’s professional liability (LPL) offering, while Dashlane will be made available to Embroker customers at a discount.Funding and financialsDuring Q1 2021, the company surpassed USD 20 million in gross written premium and experienced a customer retention rate of 100%.The company raised USD 100 million in Series C funding in June 2021 led by FTV Capital. The company expected to use the funding to transition into a full-stack insurance carrier.

Embroker

Resilience (formerly known as Arceo.ai) is a cyber insurance provider, covering incidents of business interruption costs, responding costs, and extortion losses for businesses with revenue between USD 100 million and USD 5 billion. Resilience’s claims process is handled by a 24/7 in-house team that will also assist the covered companies with incident response. Resillience’s insurance products are underwritten by Homeland Insurance Company and it has licenses to operate in all 50 US states.In October 2023, Resilience <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22471">announced</a> it was increasing its cyber insurance coverage to GBP 10 million (~USD 12.1 million) for insureds in the UK and Europe, backed by a strategic partnership with RSA Insurance and R&amp;W Accredited.The company offers a ransomware readiness framework to help enterprises prepare and plan for ransomware attacks. It also offers a platform that helps build cyber health strategies, monitor cyber risk on an ongoing basis, and implement readiness measures to cyber incidents.In May 2023, Resilience introduced <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18168">a holistic cyber risk solution</a> allowing organizations to assess, quantify, and manage cyber risk. This solution integrates Resilience’s insurance coverage with an AI risk management platform, a decision and risk action plan, expert support, and an advocacy program to build an organization’s cyber culture.Funding and financialsThe company’s last funding round was in September 2019 where it raised USD 37 million led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Founders Fund.

Resilience

CyberCube offers a SaaS platform for insurers, reinsurers, and brokers to carry out risk modeling on potential clients, based on multiple information sources and data from over 1,000 points of failure. This facilitates underwriting decisions along with risk monitoring and stress testing to monitor ongoing portfolio risk. CyberCube also has a consultancy service line, helping insurers with bespoke underwriting assignments and other areas like strategic development and project management. The company also offers value-added services such as concierge services (to offer domain insights to clients) and staff training resources. The company launched three cyber-specific scenarios for Lloyd’s of London in January 2022. The three scenarios, including a cyber power outage, a widespread malware event, and a cloud outage event, were expected to be used as part of Lloyd’s of London’s annual Realistic Disaster Scenarios (RDS) exercise. Lloyd’s of London’s managing agents and syndicates can stress-test their risk portfolios against these scenarios and generate the necessary information on losses for Lloyd’s of London. CyberCube models can also be used in data gathering exercises for cyber-specific RDS.CyberCube’s team comprises cybersecurity, actuarial modeling, insurance, data science, and artificial intelligence professionals.In December 2023, the company launched marginal risk analysis capabilities as part of a new release of its account manager SaaS solution, leveraging catastrophe loss modeling to quantify the impact of a single account on an underwriter’s entire portfolio.Key customers and partnershipsThe company serves insurers and reinsurers across the US and Europe, counting companies such as Munich Re, Chubb, Guy Carpenter, Relm Insurance, Elpha Secure, Kapnick, and Converge Insurance among its clients.CyberCube partnered with Aviva in April 2023 to help the incumbent insurer grow its cyber book sustainably by incorporating risk modeling into its underwriting process.Funding and financialsIn December 2022, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15419">raised USD 50 million </a>in additional growth capital funding led by Morgan Stanley Tactical Value. The funds were utilized to accelerate the commercial development of its products and fuel its go-to-market expansion in the global insurance, reinsurance, and broking industry.

CyberCube

Provides cyber insurance as a core product, often bundled with cybersecurity solutions and a team that assists in detection and response

Provides commercial property and casualty insurance products with cyber insurance as an additional product offering

Provides solutions for insurers that use AI-based approaches and predictive models to quantify the financial impact of cyber risks

Platforms under some segments are offered under a B2B SaaS model

Uses AI/ML for making underwriting decisions and claims processing

Cyberwrite

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless