Insurtech start-up Coherent secures US$14M Series A investment led by Cathay Innovation

November 17, 2020
Asia

Coherent provides digital platforms and data intelligence engines to empower insurers to evolve and shape the post-COVID future of insurance

(Hong Kong, Paris, 10 November 2020) – Coherent, the provider of digital platforms to insurers, today confirmed a US$14M Series A funding round led by global VC fund Cathay Innovation, with participation from Franklin Templeton. The funds will fuel the insurtech start-up to expand its Asia presence, increase customer reach and scale its already profitable business which is on track to grow four times in revenue by the end of FY 2020.

Founded in Hong Kong, Coherent’s mission is to provide digital platforms and data intelligence engines to help large and growing insurers evolve their business and processes to meet the demands of the post-COVID future of insurance. Insurers today face multiple challenges — the need to accelerate product development to create new products; ongoing legacy system and process issues that hinder progress; and finally, the urgency to supplement the traditional sales experience with digital in the face of changing environments due to COVID-19.

Coherent is in prime position to accelerate its growth as the insurance market outlook is forecasted to be positive. Swiss Re predicts that there will be a strong V-shaped recovery in the global insurance market within 2021, returning to pre-pandemic levels. This is particularly evident in emerging Asia, where insurance premiums are forecast to grow 7% in 2021.

“The insurance sector today has a unique opportunity to accelerate growth to new levels but also faces a historic challenge as legacy systems have created a vortex of process pain for insurers which have slowed their potential to innovate and fully harness the vast distribution scale they possess,” said John Brisco, CEO, Coherent. “Coherent will empower insurers to unlock that potential with our digital platforms and data intelligence engines to help them develop at speed, sell with ease and engage with precision.”

Backed with a management team with decades of global insurance experience and over 100 engineers and actuaries, Coherent is intent on building on its profitable status and help accelerate the potential of the insurance industry in Asia and beyond.

“As a VC global investor, we are convinced of the opportunities offered by digital platforms and data intelligence to shape the future of insurance,” said Nicolas Ducray, Partner at Cathay Innovation. “Cathay Innovation’s lead investor role in Coherent’s financing round is part of a longstanding strategy of investing in leading fintechs and insurtechs to support their scale-up journey. We look forward to working with Coherent’s fantastic management team to expand their footprint and positively impact the evolving insurance sector”.

Harshendu Bindal, Head of Digital Strategy and Wealth Management at Franklin Templeton, said, “Coherent has established themselves as the market leader for insurance technology solutions in a short span of time and this investment is a testimony of our belief in the potential of the company. In addition, we are also delighted to be their exclusive asset management partner as they expand their business in Asia. This synergistic partnership will provide opportunities for Franklin Templeton to use our multi-asset capabilities to design and implement investment solutions integrated with their platform to fulfil the needs for insurers who are increasingly focusing on end-customer outcomes and evolving their value propositions. It underscores Franklin Templeton’s ongoing commitment in using technology and our experience to help financial institutions digitize their client experience and sales process.”

The new funding from Cathay Innovation and Franklin Templeton provides Coherent with the ability to invest and rapidly expand its operations and capability.  Coherent will add technology and actuarial talent to its growing workforce at its current offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Manila plus hire new teams in Japan, USA and Thailand. The increased reach will also extend its customer portfolio which currently covers large insurers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Mainland China, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil and Myanmar.

About Coherent Group

Established in 2018, Coherent Group is a Hong Kong headquartered insurtech company that creates digital platforms that help insurers transform key stages in their business lifecycle including product development, sales and customer engagement. Coherent employs more than 120 team members across Hong Kong, Mainland China, the Philippines and Singapore who are passionate about helping the insurance industry evolve to its full potential. For more information please visit: www.coherent.com.hk

About Cathay Innovation

Cathay Innovation is a global venture capital partnership, created in affiliation with Cathay Capital, investing in startups at the center of digital revolution across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Its global platform unifies technology investment across continents, investors, entrepreneurs and leading corporations to accelerate startup growth with access to new markets, invaluable industry knowledge and introductions to potential partners from the start. As a multistage fund with over $1.5 billion assets under management and offices across San Francisco, New York, Paris, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore, Cathay Innovation partners with visionary entrepreneurs and startups positively impacting the world through technology. To learn more, please visit www.cathayinnovation.com or follow us on Twitter @Cathayinnov.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 165 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, alternatives and custom multi-asset solutions. With offices in over 30 countries and 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has more than 70 years of investment experience. In July 2020, Franklin Templeton completed the acquisition of Legg Mason, Inc. [NYSE:LM] and its specialist investment managers. The newly-combined organization establishes Franklin Templeton as one of the world’s largest independent, specialized global investment managers with a combined approximately US$1.4 trillion in assets under management (AUM) across one of the broadest ranges of high-quality investment teams in the industry as of September 30, 2020. For more information, please visit https://www.franklintempleton.com.hk/