India-based fintech startup InsuranceDekho has raised USD 150 million from investors led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management , to target an under-served domestic market. TVS Capital Funds co-led the equity and debt financing, one of the largest Series A round for an Indian insurance technology company, the startup said in a statement.

Investcorp, Avataar Ventures and LeapFrog Investments participated. How will the funds be used? InsuranceDekho — Hindi for ‘Check Out’ insurance — was founded in 2016. It will use the new capital scale up technology and product, expand into new markets, and grow the company’s business with small and medium enterprises.

It could also bankroll acquisitions. Based in Gurgaon outside New Delhi, the company is targeting an annualized premium run rate of USD 423 million by March 2023. It competes in a busy market with rivals such as SoftBank Group-backed PB Fintech’s PolicyBazaar and Amazon.

com-backed Acko General Insurance. Most forms of insurance are still mainly purchased by India’s urban population, which accounts for about three-quarters of policies sold. But digital startups like InsuranceDekho aim to reach smaller cities and rural buyers by using technology for wider distribution.

InsuranceDekho’s officials said that there are two Indias within India. The real India is in the small towns and villages where trust and affordability hold the key to insurance purchase. Decreased fundings for the India market The investment round came at a tough time for the global venture capital market.

Funding in India dropped to USD 2. 7 billion in the last quarter of 2022, the lowest level in more than two years, according to CB Insights. InsuranceDekho, a subsidiary of used vehicle platform CarDekho, sells more than 80% of its insurance products outside the biggest cities.

The startup covers about 1,300 towns and aims to enlist over 200,000 advisers on its platform by the end of 2023. Insurance penetration in India is about 4. 2% of gross domestic product, compared with 12% in the US and below the global average of 7%, the company said, citing the India Brand Equity Foundation and Statista.

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