Jerry raises $75M at a $450M valuation to build a car ownership ‘super app’ – ProWellTech

Just months after raising $ 28 million Jerry announced today that it raised $ 75 million in a Series C round that valued the company at $ 450 million.

Existing financier Goodwater Capital doubled its investment in Jerry and led the “oversubscribed” round. Bow Capital, Kamerra, Highland Capital Partners and Park West Asset Management also participated in the financing, bringing Jerry’s total capital to $ 132 million since its inception in 2017. Goodwater Capital also led the startup’s Series B earlier this year. Jerry’s new review is on about “4x” of the company in its Series B round, like that Co-founder and CEO Art Agrawal.

“What goes into the current rating is our annual recurring revenue, growing customer base, and total addressable market,” he told ProWellTech, declining to give any details about RR other than saying it was “very fast.” grows. He also said the company “continues to achieve and exceed growth and sales targets “with its first product, a service for comparing and buying motor insurance. At the time of the company’s last raise, Agrawal said Jerry had increased his sales 10 times in 2020 compared to 2019.

Jerry, who says it has evolved its model into a “super app” for car ownership, aims to save its customers time and money on car costs. The Palo Alto-based startup launched its auto insurance comparison service using artificial intelligence and machine learning in January 2019. Since then, it has amassed nearly 1 million clients as a licensed insurance broker in the United States.

“Today, as a consumer, you have to go to many different places to do different things,” Agrawal said on the company’s last raise. “Jerry wants to change that.”

The new round of funding promotes the launch of the company’s “compare-and-buy” marketplaces in new industries, including Financing, repairs, guarantees, parking, maintenance and “additional money-saving services”. While Jerry also offers a similar home insurance product, the focus is on car ownership.

Agrawal told ProWellTech that the company is on track to triple policy sales over the past year and that its policy sales volume makes Jerry the leading broker for some of the top 10 insurance carriers.

“The US auto insurance industry is a market worth at least $ 250 billion,” he added. “The market opportunity for our first auto finance service is $ 260 billion. As we are entering more and more motor vehicle cost categories, our addressable overall market continues to grow. “

Photo credits: Jerry

“Access to reliable and affordable transportation is critical to economic empowerment,” said Rafi Syed, Jerry board member and general partner at Bow Capital, which also doubled its investments in the company. “Jerry helps car owners get the most out of every dollar they make. While we see Jerry as a great technology investment that demonstrates the power of data in financial services, it’s also a powerful investment in terms of the financial inclusion that it supports. ”

Goodwater Capital partner Chi-Hua Chien said the company’s recurring revenue model sets it apart from lead-generation comparison sites for auto insurance.

Agrawal CEO agrees, noting that Jerry’s powerful, annually recurring revenue model has made the company “attractive to investors,” in addition to the fact that the startup is an automotive, e-commerce, fintech, and insurtech startup. overstretched “.

“We realized that these investment opportunities could help our business move faster and resulted in the round being raised earlier than expected,” he told ProWellTech. “We are keen to introduce new categories to save customers time and money on car costs, and the new investment will reduce our time to market.”

Agrawal also believes that Jerry differs from other automotive-related marketplaces in that it is designed to help consumers with various aspects of car ownership (from repairs to maintenance to insurance and warranties) rather than just one. The company also sees itself set apart from its competitors in that it does not refer a consumer to the website of an insurance company, so that, for example, they still have to register with them separately. Rather, Jerry uses automation to provide consumers with tailored offers from more than 45 insurance carriers “in 45 seconds”. Consumers can then use Jerry to sign up with the new wireless operator, who can then cancel previous policies on their behalf.

Jerry makes recurring income by earning a percentage of the premium when a consumer purchases a policy from providers like Progressive on his website.