Pie Insurance raises $118M Series C, with plans to keep hiring lots of tech talent

Pie Insurance said Thursday that it raised $118 million in new funding. It’ll help the Downtown D.C. insurtech company continue growth that has led to the addition of more than 120 new team members in the last year.

The Series C round was led by Allianz X, the investment firm of Germany-based financial services giant Allianz, and VC firm Acrew Capital. It also included participation from existing investors in the company, including Greycroft, SVB Capital, SiriusPoint, Elefund and Moxley Holdings.

Everyone loves pie! We at Allianz X are no exception. That's why we're delighted to have a led a USD 118 million #investment round in #insurtech @pie_insurance, a leading digital provider of workers' comp #insurance in the U.S.

More here: https://t.co/egJlpOBXJe

— Allianz X (@AllianzX) March 25, 2021

In a statement, Allianz X CEO Dr. Nazim Cetin said the company is “fundamentally transforming the commercial property and casualty insurance market in the U.S.” Plus, Allianz sees “plenty of opportunities for cooperation with Pie,” potentially in jointly developing insurance solutions itself, or working with its B2B portfolio companies.

Pie Insurance has now raised over $300 million in outside funding. This is the second year in a row that Pie Insurance has raised a “megaround,” which is the name given to investment rounds over $100 million that are a key indicator for regional VC totals: Last year, it raised $127 million in a Series B. Pie’s latest deal is also the second megaround announced in the District this week, following Monday’s $100 million round for McLean, Virginia-based ID.me.

Founded in 2017, Pie Insurance has grown through bringing software tools to workers comp insurance for small businesses. The company says it has partnered with more than 1,000 agencies, and is active in 36 states and D.C.

“With this Series C funding, we will continue to invest in our core workers’ comp insurance offering and will also begin prepping for future lines of business. Pie’s foundation is built on advanced analytics and automation capabilities,” CEO John Swigart told Technical.ly. “We’ll continue to invest in these technologies, ultimately resulting in time and money savings for our small business customers.”

That investment will mean hiring in engineering roles to build and maintain those technologies. Over the last year, the company grew from 140 “Pie-oneers” to more than 260 team members. It currently has 20-plus roles open across its office locations and remote positions as it looks to continue to build.

Pie Insurance maintains a dual headquarters of D.C. and Denver. It’s one of a number of tech companies in the District that have grown from startup to growth phase in recent years. Swigart said the District “has matured alongside us over the past four years.”

“The talent pool in D.C has grown exponentially as more and more startups and established tech companies have put down roots in the city,” he said. “As Pie continues to expand and scale our business, we are confident that being located in the District will continue to benefit us in the long-term.”