AI fintech Earnix becomes Israel’s latest unicorn with “pre-IPO” round
Earnix, a fintech which allows banks and insurance firms to model prices and products on artificial intelligence (AI) data, has just become Israel’s latest unicorn.
The Givatayim-based firm has raised $75 million, which pushed its a pre-money valuation over the $1 billion mark.
The fintech’s $75 million raise marks its first funding round since 2017
Led by New York-based Insight Partners, the round also saw participation from existing backers Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), Vintage Investment Partners and Israel Growth Partners.
“The company is growing to a point where this was a pre-IPO [initial public offering] round,” Erel Margalit, the founder of JVP who is set to become Earnix’s chairman, tells Bloomberg.
JVP has facilitated a number of IPOs on NASDAQ. These include $4.7 billion-valued CyberArk Software, $4 billion-valued QLIK Technologies and $3 billion-valued Cogent Communications.
Growing in all directions
Earnix is in the swings of growing its presence in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Israel. Margalit adds: “This is an industry that’s been waiting for the disruption. It’s been waiting for a platform that is both AI and very dynamic.”
The fintech’s $75 million raise marks its first funding round since 2017. It brings total capital raised to date by the fintech to around $100 million.
The start-up cites a whole host of growth verticals – including geographies, products, employees, as well as merger and acquisitions.
Udi Ziv tells Bloomberg Earnix plans to expand its workforce from around 200 at the start of 2021 to 350 by year’s end.
Currently, the 2001-founded firm’s cloud-based platform can tweak firms’ rates according to their customers. Its self-designed “expower” enterprise rating engine underpins the solution.
Major clients include NatWest Group and Liberty Mutual.
Just a week earlier, US and Israel-based data analytics firm Personetics also raised $75 million. Led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, the raise goes to a firm which isn’t dissimilar from Earnix. Personetics uses real-time analytics to “accurately predict customer intent”.
Read next: Personetics raises $75m from Warburg Pincus
