Root Reportedly Nears Finish of $350 Million Financing Round: WSJ Report

August 20, 2019 by Mark Hollmer

Root Insurance is reportedly nearly finished raising $350 million in new financing, The Wall Street Journal is reporting.

Roots’ latest funding round is expected to be completed sometime this month, a source told the newspaper, adding that the new financing would boost Root’s value to $3.65 billion.

DST Global and Coatue Management are reportedly leading the investment, according to the Journal.

Root declined to comment on the report. An unnamed spokesperson told Carrier Management via email that “Root doesn’t comment on financing plans.” (The full WSJ link can be accessed here, though subscription is required.)

If true, Root’s reported near-complete financing round would rival the fundraising efforts of another InsurTech startup in recent months. Lemonade, a peer-to-peer insurer focused on homeowners and renters insurance, pulled in $300 million in financing via a round disclosed in April designed to fuel a U.S. and European expansion. Lemonade has raised nearly $500 million to date.

Root, founded in 2015, uses telematics and smartphone-related technology to reward good drivers with cheaper insurance rates. The company last raised money – $100 million in new financing – in a Series D funding round announced in August 2018 and led by Tiger Global Management. Redpoint Ventures, Ribbit Capital and Scale Venture partners all participated as follow-on investors. Funding from that round was designed to fuel market expansion and hiring as the company expanded nationally.

Before that, Root raised a $51 million Series C round in March 2018.

Earlier in August, Root disclosed it had entered the California market, though telematics aren’t used in the state, with Root’s typical savings generated from telematics data it uses in other states not applicable there.

Beyond California, Root as of early August is also available in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.

Root, a digital auto insurance/InsurTech startup, recently hired Daniel Rosenthal as its new chief financial officer, effective Nov. 11, 2019.