Insurance company Laka gain investment from Porsche Ventures
Porsche Ventures, the venture capital arm of German automobile company Porsche AG, has invested US$1.5mn into Laka, a digital mutual insurer focused on providing cover for bicycles and related equipment.
Porsche Ventures’ investment brings Laka’s latest Series A round to a total of US$13.5mn, where the company plans to use the new capital and network opportunities to facilitate its European expansion.
“With no major European player for cycling and e-mobility insurance, we're uniquely placed and first-to-market with an insurance model that has customer interest built-in to the core,” says Laka.
It will expand its product offering to e-scooters, e-mopeds and, eventually, e-cars to better serve Europe-wide partnerships including manufacturers, retailers and leasing businesses.
Addressing the global insurance market
Laka will be exploring opportunities with the Porsche Ventures portfolio, initially partnering with German cycling brand Cyklaer to offer new and existing customers built-in digital insurance products.
Cyklaer will be joining Laka’s partners which include Decathlon, Raleigh and Le Col, as well as Santander Consumer Finance and Monzo. The partnerships enable the brands to provide end-to-end digital experiences by immediately protecting their customers from theft and damage at the point of sale.
“The increasing digitisation and variety of sustainable mobility offers leads to the need for an innovative and customer-centric offer in the field of digital insurance. With the investment in Laka, we are pleased to support a strong team that is addressing the global insurance market with a unique, highly adaptable and digital business model, which focuses above all on the customer experience,” said Porsche Ventures head of Europe & Israel Patrick Huke.
Porsche Ventures joined the existing investor list including Autotech Ventures, Ponooc, ABN AMRO Ventures, Creandum, LocalGlobe, 1818 Ventures and Elkstone Partners.
Tobias Taupitz, CEO and co-founder of Laka, said: “2021 truly depicted an inflection point for Laka as we moved from a pure direct-to-consumer play towards retail and commercial partnerships.
“E-mobility is redefining transport globally, and Laka has set out to build the backbone to support the e-mobility segment at a time when “Net Zero Emissions” has rightly become front of mind for consumers, businesses and government policy. To support this shift towards a greener future, we have a bold vision to become the world’s largest e-mobility insurance partner.”
