Home-grown InsurTech Start-up OneDegree Raised HK$100+ Million in Series A Funding
OneDegree, a Hong Kong-based insurance technology start-up under Cyberport Incubation Programme, announced today the full subscription and execution of its Series A funding, with investors committing HK$100 million, plus an additional HK$100 million for future financial support at the company’s option, subject to regulatory approval. This sum represents the largest ever fundraising round for a pre-revenue Insurtech start-up in Hong Kong.
The amount raised in the Series A funding will be used to further advance OneDegree’s technology development, expand product portfolio, support customer acquisition, and serve as the risk capital for its pending insurance operation. The company is in the process of obtaining authorisation to operate as a digital insurer in Hong Kong under the Insurance Authority’s “Fast Track” scheme launched last September.
OneDegree has built a highly scalable end-to-end digital insurance platform with the flexibility to support all personal-line general insurance and health insurance products. This proprietary platform integrates a user-friendly front-end app, making it easy for consumers to purchase and manage their insurance policies with a powerful back-end system that enables advanced analytics and automation of traditionally manual process across claims processing, policy management, and customer service. To facilitate a fundamental change in the Hong Kong insurance industry, OneDegree has entered into partnerships with leading organisations in insurance, reinsurance and health services to pilot its technology.
Alvin Kwock, Co-founder of OneDegree, said, “Today’s insurance models are no different from how it was done 100 years ago, and one of the major reasons of this inertia is outdated technology systems. We’re taking on a tall task by modernising an industry with large incumbent players, and building a highly flexible and scalable insurance technology platform from scratch. We’re on the cusp of a new era, and our end goal is to empower customers with a smooth and seamless experience.”
As a local start-up incubated by Cyberport, Kwock highly appreciates the entrepreneurial support Cyberport offers through its Incubation Programme. He remarked, “Cyberport’s relentless support has helped turn our seemingly impossible ideas into a truly differentiating product during the pre-revenue phase. With the new funding, we are going to commercialise our technology platform and change the market.”
Dr George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport, applauded, “On behalf of Cyberport, I would like to congratulate OneDegree on achieving yet another important milestone! As a key driver of digital technology development in Hong Kong, we are definitely excited to see local Fintech start-ups like OneDegree successfully securing recognition from renowned institutional investors and attracting sizable funding that will enable faster growth. We are so proud to have OneDegree in the Cyberport family. Indeed, with devoted efforts, we have already established a strong Fintech cluster with close to 300 Fintech companies in our community. We will continue to provide comprehensive incubation, acceleration and investment support to start-ups, empowering them to drive Hong Kong's industry transformation and new economy growth.”
- END -
