With fresh funding, the insurtech startup plans to strengthen its AI models, expand product teams, and drive deeper penetration in the commercial insurance space
A New Boost for AI-Led Underwriting
Insurtech startup Pibit.AI has raised $7 Mn (~INR 62 Cr) in a Series A round led by Stellaris Venture Partners, with continued backing from Y Combinator and Arali Ventures.
- The funds will be deployed to:
- Expand R&D and engineering
- Strengthen risk models and backend controls
- Scale distribution and customer success teams
- Deepen data partnerships for newer risk categories
Founded in 2020 by Akash Agarwal, an IIT-Roorkee alumnus, the Bengaluru-based startup is working to automate and optimise commercial underwriting, a traditionally complex and data-sensitive segment of the insurance industry.
What is CURE?
At the core of Pibit.AI’s offering is CURE (Centralised Underwriting Risk Environment) — a platform designed to automate data ingestion, streamline analysis, and assist in accurate risk assessment.
The platform includes five key modules:
- DocumentCURE – Converts unstructured documents into structured data and detects inconsistencies
- ClearCURE – Automates early-stage triage of submissions
- WorkflowCURE – Offers a unified workspace for underwriters
- ResearchCURE – Provides risk scores and actionable signals
- RiskCURE – Evaluates risks with portfolio-specific insights
These tools are used by US-based insurance carriers like Kinetic, Shephard, and Method, Pibit’s primary customer base.
Why Underwriting Needs an Overhaul
Underwriting in commercial insurance is notoriously difficult to automate due to its dependence on highly precise, reliable data. Even small inaccuracies can break trust and derail workflows.
Founder Akash Agarwal said:
“Underwriting has been a hard problem to crack for decades. What we’ve built is a dependable AI layer — advanced models paired with a tightly controlled backend — to ensure underwriters always get clean, reliable data.”
The results are promising:
- Underwriting cycles sped up by 85%
- Gross Written Premium (GWP) per underwriter lifted by 32%
- Loss ratios improved by up to 700 basis points
A Strategic Growth Blueprint
Post-funding, Pibit.AI will focus on three core areas:
- Strengthening Risk Models: Investing in adaptive models that can handle emerging risks
- Scaling Distribution: Expanding go-to-market partnerships to grow its US footprint
- Team Expansion: Hiring across product, engineering, and customer success to support growth
This follows a $500K seed round in 2023 and Pibit’s participation in Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 cohort.
The Broader Insurtech Boom
Pibit.AI’s rise comes as AI rapidly transforms the global insurance ecosystem. In India and beyond, startups are now deploying:
- AI-led underwriting engines
- Behavioural risk scoring tools
- Instant digital claim systems
- Conversational AI for support
- ML-based fraud detection
These technologies are cutting costs, reducing underwriting turnaround from days to minutes, and restoring consumer trust in insurance processes.
India’s Insurance Market Opening Up
Pibit’s funding aligns with a wider trend: India’s insurtech sector is heating up, thanks in part to the Union Budget 2025-26, which:
- Lifted FDI limits in insurance to 100%
- Removed the 74% cap, provided premium funds remain in India
According to IRDAI, this reform could help India leap to the world’s sixth-largest insurance market within a decade.
The sector is also seeing strong investor interest — for example, cyber-insurance startup Mitigata recently raised $5.9 Mn in Series A, further validating the insurtech opportunity.
