We’re excited to announce our participation in Sixfold’s Series A. Sixfold automates and augments pieces of the underwriting process to enable carriers to underwrite higher priority, higher volume submissions in a fraction of the time. The platform delivers a step-function improvement in the automated underwriting experience by becoming an underwriter’s copilot solution.
Sixfold has demonstrated innovation in both product and GTM, two critical drivers to vertical software success. While repeat founders with a winning track record always pique VC interest, they are particularly appealing in vertical software, where familiarity with the market and preexisting relationships can be make-or-break. Insurance is a complex industry with many stakeholders and a finite number of entities that have the ability to pay millions, with frustrating sales processes with years of trials and delays. So, direct experience can play a major role in success.
Sixfold founders Alex Schmelkin and Jane Tran met while building Unqork, a rapidly scaling no-code solution focused on the insurance and financial services sectors. Fortunately for us, they wanted to go back to the earliest building days and decided to found Sixfold. We’re seeing the benefits of their experience in the early GTM traction they have delivered so far.
Of course, you can’t build a company solely on relationships or GTM expertise (or at least not one we would invest in). The second piece of the puzzle is their leverage of generative AI to help insurers with one of their largest problems: driving more business.
Despite years of investment to automate underwriting, most carriers and product lines are still heavily reliant on human underwriters to review submissions from brokers. The volume is unmanageable, and the quality of submissions wildly varying, with most carriers only responding to a percentage of submissions (response rates can be as low as 15%). Imagine the revenue opportunities missed, and the frustrations from submitting brokers.
Luckily, the nature of underwriting makes it a clear candidate for AI support. Underwriting is filled with large volumes of historical data which Sixfold can understand, and submissions are often text-heavy files that can be understood and summarized. Sixfold uses all this data to build understanding, make recommendations, and focus attention.
We think there is a lot more to come from this team in the coming years, and are excited to be here for this step of the journey. We’re also excited to be working again with Salesforce Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Crystal Venture Partners. Onwards and upwards.
