Ethos

Short description: American insurance company

Ethos

Type| Private company
Industry| Insurtech
Founded| 2016
Founders| Peter Colis,
Lingke Wang
Headquarters|

San Francisco, CA

United States

Area served

| United States

Key people

| Peter Colis (CEO),
Linkge Wang (President and CTO)[1]
Products| Life insurance

Number of employees

| 200 (July 2021)[2]
Website| ethoslife.com

Ethos is a San Francisco, CA-based technology company that sells life insurance online.[3] Founded in 2016, the company uses technology, data science and predictive analysis to simplify the buying process.[3]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Products
* 3 Operations
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## History

Ethos was founded in 2016 by Peter Colis and Lingke Wang, two entrepreneurs who were roommates while earning MBAs at Stanford Graduate School of Business.[4] The two previously founded Ovid Life, a company that operated a secondary marketplace where owners of life insurance policies could cash out their policies by selling them to others.[5] The goal of Ethos was to simplify the process of buying life insurance.[3] Colis became CEO, and Wang became President and CTO.[1]

In June 2018, Ethos raised $11.5 million in a Series A funding round, led by investment firm Sequoia Capital, with additional participation from musician Jay-Z's entertainment company Roc Nation's venture capital arm Arrive, Robert Downey Jr.’s Downey Ventures, basketball star Kevin Durant’s Durant Co. and actor Will Smith’s Smith Family Circle.[6] In October, the company announced a $35 million Series B funding round, led by investment firm Accel Partners, along with GV formerly (Google Ventures), return investors Sequoia Capital and Arrive, and Stanford University.[5][3]

In August 2019, the company raised $60 million in a Series C round, led by GV, Sequoia, Goldman Sachs and Accel.[4]

In May 2021, a $200 million Series D investment valued the company at $2 billion.[7] At the time of the funding, the company announced it was expecting to sell $20 billion in life insurance coverage in 2021, but that it was not yet profitable.[7] In July, Softbank invested $100 million from its Vision Fund 2, valuing Ethos at $2.7 billion.[2] In October 2021, Money named Ethos as best for underwriting, noting the simpler application process.[8]

## Products

Ethos uses artificial intelligence, machine learning technology, data science and predictive analysis to simplify the buying of whole or term life insurance.[3][9]

The company offers faster approval for life insurance by accessing data such as motor vehicle and prescription drug records, rather than requiring a medical exam, blood test, agent meetings and longer processing times.[3] Customers complete an online application and answer questions to retrieve quotes.[9]

The company offers three types of underwriting: simplified issue and fully underwritten, used for term life policies, and guaranteed issue, used for whole life policies.[8]

Ethos is not a provider of life insurance itself, but instead operates as an "insuretech", integrating third-party insurance carriers, providing access to underwriting, customer service, and improved onboarding and customization.[7] The company contracts with insurers like Legal and General America, AAA Life, Trustage and Americas Life Insurance Group to offer policies to customers.[2]

As of July 2021, it was licensed to operate in 49 states, excluding New York.[2]

## Operations

Ethos is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.[3] In July 2021, the company reported 200 employees.[2]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Real estate move, hiring ahead in Austin after Ethos snags fresh $100M". July 21, 2021. https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2021/07/21/ethos-raises-another-100m-ceo-expects-to-secure.html.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Insurtech Ethos Valued at $2.7 Billion After SoftBank Investment". July 21, 2021. https://www.barrons.com/articles/america-needs-strong-higher-education-more-than-ever-51633626774.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "S.F. startup backed by Kevin Durant raises $35 million, seeks larger HQ". October 30, 2018. https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2018/10/30/kevin-durant-will-smith-jay-z-ethos-life-insurance.html.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Ethos wants to make signing up for life insurance a pain-free process. Here's the pitch deck that convinced Alphabet's GV investing arm that it's worth $500 million.". September 24, 2019. https://www.businessinsider.com/life-insurance-startup-ethos-pitch-deck-60-million-2019-9.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Jay-Z-backed life insurance startup, Ethos, has raised $35 million". October 30, 2018. https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/30/the-jay-z-backed-life-insurance-startup-ethos-has-raised-35-million/.
6. ↑ "Robert Downey Jr., Jay Z, Durant Back Life Insurance Startup". June 14, 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-14/robert-downey-jr-jay-z-durant-back-life-insurance-startup.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Ethos picks up $100M at a $2.7B+ valuation for a big data platform to improve life insurance accessibility". July 21, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/21/ethos-picks-up-100m-at-a-2-7b-valuation-for-a-big-data-platform-to-improve-life-insurance-accessibility/.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "12 Best Life Insurance Companies of October 2021". October 7, 2021. https://money.com/best-life-insurance/.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Helping Provide Peace of Mind: Ethos Reimagines Life Insurance". August 12, 2021. https://www.yahoo.com/now/helping-peace-mind-ethos-reimagines-212840494.html.

## External links

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