General Atlantic looks to increase stake in Indian insurtech Acko

New York-based growth equity investor General Atlantic is in talks to invest roughly $50 million in Acko, doubling its bet on the Indian insurtech unicorn.

General Atlantic is positioning to lead a new financing round of nearly $100 million in the Indian startup, the sources said. The new round—which is likely to be almost completely financed by existing backers—is likely to move ahead at a nearly flat valuation of $1.2 billion to $1.25 billion, one of the sources said.

However, the sources cautioned the terms of the deal may still change as the investment hadn’t closed yet.

Acko—which counts CPPIB, Amazon, Lightspeed Venture Partners India, and Multiples Private Equity among existing backers—is among a handful of startups that are attempting to take on the country’s antiquated insurance industry with a digital-first product.

The Indian insurtech startup develops and sells bite-sized auto insurance products aimed at drivers and others in transportation-related scenarios, healthcare protections to employers, and protection on gadgets.

The firm’s new funding deliberations come at a time when the dead flow activity has taken a severe hit in the South Asian market as investors grow cautious of making new investments and evaluate their underwriting models after valuations of publicly listed firms take a drop.