London AI startup Cytora raises £25m from Swedish backer EQT Ventures

Cytora, a provider of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to transform commercial underwriting in insurance, has today closed a £25m series B funding round led by EQT Ventures.

Existing investors Cambridge Innovation Capital and Parkwalk also participated in the round, as well as a number of angel backers.

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The startup was founded and spun out of the University of Cambridge in 2014 before landing in Shoreditch. Its technology, which applies AI to data to better predict risk, ensure more transparent pricing and enable businesses to buy insurance online in less than a minute, is used by industry giants such as Axa.

Cytora chief executive and co-founder Richard Hartley said the firm will use the funding to expand internationally.

"With this investment, we're looking forward to widening our impact and helping accelerate the insurance industry’s digital transformation," said Hartley.

"Over the next 24 months, we’re going to scale across the insurance value chain and move into new geographies."

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EQT, which has previously backed the likes of contraception app Natural Cycles, said Cytora will disrupt business insurance in the same way challengers such as Monzo have changed banking.

"We’re seeing a radical transformation in insurance, with organisations now expecting the same level of simplicity, transparency and convenience from their business insurers as they’re getting from consumer insurers and digital banks,” said Lyle Fong, partner and investment adviser at EQT.