OneDegree Announces A2 Funding Round

InsurTech Start-up OneDegree’s Series A Total Funding Tops US$30M After Extension Round

HONG KONG - (9th May 2019) - OneDegree, a Hong Kong-based insurance technology start-up under Cyberport Incubation Programme, extends its Series A round to above US$30 million, subject to regulator’s approval.

The A2 round is led by BitRock Capital, a leading fund manager sponsored by GLP which has over US$64 billion of global assets under management. Also participating in the round are Cyberport Macro Fund, Cathay Venture, and previous investors from Series A, completing a blue chip roster of investors across Asia Pacific.

OneDegree intends to use the funds to accelerate efforts to scale its end-to-end digital insurance platform, launch new product offerings in Hong Kong, and explore growth opportunities including the “Greater Bay Area” initiative.

Its proprietary platform provides a seamless and intuitive interface for the modern-day consumer to manage their insurance policies. But what differentiates OneDegree from its peers is its powerful back-end system that enables automation of traditionally manual insurance processes and dramatically increases efficiency for the company through its data and analytics capabilities.

Alvin Kwock, Co-founder of OneDegree, said: “Support from our investors underscores our potential to be the driving force for change in the insurance sector. Our strategy is not to compete head-on with traditional insurers, but rather to work together, steering the whole industry towards a fully digital ecosystem.”

“It is an opportune time for Hong Kong to secure its place as a leader in InsurTech in the region. ‘Greater Bay Area’ zone, home to almost 70 million people, will be a tremendous market for the city’s insurers when it is executed,” added Alex Leung, Co-founder of OneDegree.

“The emergence of new players with game-changing technology such as OneDegree is creating a momentum that cannot be ignored. Millennials as a consumer group are savvier and they want more personalisation and convenience. It’s inevitable that the insurance industry will have to rethink the traditional model and innovate to keep up with the changing demographic,” said Dr. Alfred Shang, Managing Partner of Bitrock Capital.

Dr. George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport, said: “Our investment in OneDegree not only shows our support for digital entrepreneurs, but also reaffirms our commitment to developing Hong Kong as Asia’s leading FinTech Hub. Cyberport has a vibrant entrepreneur community. We are dedicated to fostering innovation and technology development in Hong Kong, especially with the tremendous new opportunities brought by the Greater Bay Area. We will continue to support start-ups with high potential and strong capabilities through the Cyberport Macro Fund and connect them with new partners and investors to accelerate their healthy growth.”

“We invest in technology or business models that can be applied to innovative financial services. This round gave us the opportunity to be an early investor in OneDegree. We have great confidence in the OneDegree team as they have not only deep insurance expertise but also the technology know-how to drive fundamental change to the industry,” said Mr. Jenho Chang, Chairman of Cathay Venture.

About OneDegree

AI Financial Technology Holding Company (‘OneDegree’) is a technology company that aims to shake up the traditional insurance industry with its fully digital insurance platform. OneDegree Hong Kong Limited, its wholly owned subsidiary, is one of the few candidates under consideration for a digital insurer license in Hong Kong. The group also collaborates with global leaders in the insurance and healthcare space to deliver innovative technology and user experience. For more details, please visit www.onedegree.hk and www.onedegree.global.

About Our Investors

BitRock Capital is a leading investor with a focus on Fintech companies across Asia, United States and Europe. It focuses on identifying innovative and disruptive technologies, business models and talents, and driving value in the Fintech space. BitRock Capital is sponsored by GLP, a leading global investment manager specializing in logistics and related technology investments, with US$64 billion of assets under management in real estate and private equity funds around the world.

Cyberport, wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government, is an innovative digital community with more than 1,000 companies working in areas including blockchain, cybersecurity, AI, and big data. As the main driving force to accelerate growth in Hong Kong’s tech industry, Cyberport is committed to supporting start-ups and entrepreneurs by connecting them to strategic partners, providing state-of-the-art tech facilities, and driving digital adoption amongst corporates and SME. Cyberport Macro Fund, with an initial size of HK$200 million, targets to co-invest with other private and public investors in companies in the Cyberport community.

Cathay Venture is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holdings (TWSE: 2882) –  Taiwan’s largest financial holding company with primary subsidiaries including Cathay Life Insurance, Cathay Century Insurance, Cathay United Bank, Cathay Securities, and Cathay Securities Investment Trust. Cathay Venture has invested in more than 300 companies in a broad variety of fields to date, and continued investing in FinTech firms that can deploy cutting-edge technology solutions to optimise the Group’s financial services capacities and grow its presence in China and ASEAN.

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