Online insurance startup Acko may raise funding from Binny Bansal

Mumbai-based online startup Acko General Insurance Co. Ltd may raise $25 million (Rs 175 crore) from Flipkart co-founder and former group chief executive Binny Bansal, said a report, citing people in the know.

The investment is part of a larger financing round of $60-80 million, the people told The Economic Times.

Email queries to Acko founder Varun Dua and Bansal did not get any response till the time of publishing this report.

For active angel investor Bansal, who usually writes cheques of $1-10 million, the investment in Acko, when it materialises, would be his biggest so far. 

Acko, which was registered in August 2016, was founded by Dua, an alumnus of Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA). It operates as an independent general insurance company, offering its services through a digital platform. It provides personalised insurance products based on user behaviour, as well as general and automobile insurance.

In May, Acko secured $12 million (around Rs 80 crore) in a funding round led by e-commerce giant Amazon.

Acko is also backed by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, through Pratithi Investment Trust; Hemendra Kothari of DSP Blackrock; Atul Nishar, founder and chairman of Hexaware Technologies; Rajeev Gupta, veteran investment banker and founder of Arpwood Capital; and Venk Krishnan and Subba Rao of NuVentures.

Bansal’s investment in Acko comes at a time when he’s trying to seek a cash payout of $100 million from US retail giant Walmart after his abrupt resignation as group chief executive of Flipkart last month following an investigation into alleged misconduct. He had denied the allegation.  

Bansal had been appointed as group chief executive in January last year and had previously held the posts of chief executive and chief operating officer.

A Mint report had said that Bansal may use the money from the payout to invest in startups. One investment that he has already zeroed in on is consulting platform xto10x, the report added.

Bansal’s investments include Supercraft3D, an additive manufacturing startup; biotech-based 3D printing firm Pandorum Technologies; smart electric scooter maker Ather Energy; and media startup Inshorts.