Loading organizations...
Vesttoo operated an AI-powered marketplace designed to connect the insurance industry with capital markets. The company leveraged its proprietary technology and expertise in data science, insurance, and finance to facilitate the transfer of non-catastrophe insurance-based risks. This platform aimed to provide insurers with additional capacity for underwriting while offering investors access to uncorrelated, low-volatility insurance-linked assets for diversification.
The company was founded in 2018 by Yaniv Bertele, Ben Zickel, and Alon Lifshitz. Their foundational insight was the untapped potential in efficiently matching the insurance sector's need for alternative capital with the capital markets' demand for new, diversified investment opportunities. They sought to bridge this gap by employing advanced technological solutions to streamline traditional risk transfer mechanisms.
Vesttoo’s product served a broad clientele, including global insurers, various financial institutions, and large multinational brokers. Its long-term vision centered on revolutionizing the traditional reinsurance landscape by creating a more interconnected and efficient ecosystem for risk transfer. This involved broadening access to capital for insurers and unlocking new asset classes for investors through technological innovation.
Vesttoo has raised $101.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Vesttoo has raised $101.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Vesttoo has raised $101.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $80.0M Series C in January 2026.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2026 | $80M Series C | Hanaco Ventures, Mouro Capital | Black River Ventures, Gramercy Fund, MS&AD Ventures, Gramercy Ventures | Announced |
| Nov 30, 2021 | $15M Series B | Mouro Capital, MS&AD Ventures | — | Announced |
| Aug 1, 2021 | $6M Series A | Hanaco Ventures | Fresh.fund, Prime Ventures, Amiad Solomon | Announced |
Vesttoo was an insurtech company founded in 2018 in Tel Aviv, Israel, that built a global insurance risk transfer platform to connect insurance companies with institutional investors in capital markets, focusing on non-catastrophe life and property/casualty risks.[1][2][4] It served the insurance industry by using AI to facilitate collateralized transactions via letters of credit (LOCs), enabling alternative reinsurance and earning a unicorn valuation over $1 billion after raising $102 million.[1][2][3] However, in 2023, the company collapsed amid a massive fraud scandal involving counterfeit LOCs worth over $4 billion, leading to bankruptcy, massive layoffs, and fallout for partners like Aon and Clear Blue Insurance.[1][2][3]
Vesttoo was established in 2018 by a team aiming to disrupt traditional reinsurance by creating the world's first marketplace for non-catastrophe insurance risk transfer and investments.[1][2][4] The idea emerged from identifying inefficiencies in linking insurance risks to capital market investors, leveraging AI for efficient matching and collateral management via LOCs, which quickly propelled it to popularity and $100 million in funding from VCs, hitting a $1.1 billion valuation.[2][3] Early traction was strong, with rapid growth in smaller insurance lines, but pivotal moments turned disastrous in July 2023 when a whistleblower exposed fraud by four high-level executives who, with bank accomplices, forged LOCs and identities, triggering an internal probe, executive exits, FBI investigation, and bankruptcy by September.[1][2][3]
Vesttoo rode the insurtech wave of digital disruption in insurance, particularly AI-driven risk transfer and alternative reinsurance amid rising demand for non-traditional capital sources post-2010s low-interest environments.[1][2] Its timing capitalized on VC-fueled growth in fintech, but the scandal highlighted market forces like pressure for hyper-scaling over governance, casting doubt on insurtech's rapid valuations and exposing vulnerabilities in collateral verification.[2][3] The fallout rippled through the ecosystem, impacting partners like Clear Blue (under AM Best review) and Aon ($197M reserves), while prompting calls for blockchain to enable immutable, regulator-visible ledgers for LOCs, influencing future insurtech standards on transparency and fraud prevention.[2][3]
Vesttoo's story serves as a stark cautionary tale for insurtech: unchecked growth and fraud can obliterate even unicorn promise, with the company now bankrupt and defunct.[1][3] Looking ahead, its legacy may drive stricter due diligence and tech like blockchain in risk transfer platforms, shaping a more resilient sector amid ongoing AI insurtech evolution. While Vesttoo's influence ends in infamy, it underscores that true differentiation demands ironclad trust over flashy scale, tying back to a once-promising platform reduced to a fraud-fueled cautionary hook.[2][3]
Vesttoo has raised $101.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Vesttoo's investors include Hanaco Ventures, Mouro Capital, Black River Ventures, Gramercy Fund, MS&AD Ventures, Gramercy Ventures, fresh.fund, Prime Ventures, Amiad Solomon.
