Empathy – a company changing the way the world deals with grief and loss – announced a $47 million Series B round led by Index Ventures with participation from General Catalyst, Entrée Capital, Latitude, and Brewer Lane, along with strategic investments from major life insurance carriers Allianz, MassMutual Ventures, MetLife, New York Life Ventures, Securian Financial, and Sumitomo. This funding round raised Empathy’s total funding to $90 million.
Over the past three years, Empathy has created a full range of assistance with grief, estate settlement, and probate, and it is available to 5 million employees and 35 million policyholders nationwide. This support is provided at no cost to families and is available either through their life insurance benefits or with bereavement leave through an employer. The Series B funding round will be used to expand Empathy’s services and cover new industries and regions nationwide.
The strategic investment from six of the world’s largest life insurance companies indicates that the industry sees this shift toward emphasizing showing up for people when they need it the most. Empathy has been at the forefront of the transformation in the insurance industry, improving user experiences and adding value for beneficiaries and businesses while also expressing true care and compassion for families.
The new funding round will enable Empathy to expand substantially, guaranteeing that it stays the course in this transformation to make loss and end-of-life issues less of an ordeal for bereaved families.
KEY QUOTES:
“Dealing with the loss of a loved one is one of life’s most challenging moments, yet there has been a problematic gap in the traditional support systems and benefits that barely touches on what families need. Empathy continues to set new standards for supporting families through grief and loss. We are honored to provide help in a sustainable, scalable way by working with employers and insurance carriers to become the new standard for modern benefits. Embracing empathy in the workplace is good for families, good for business, and good for our society as a whole.”
“Our goal is not only to support and advocate for families going through bereavement but to shift the way everyone thinks of and approaches loss. Bringing loss and grief out of the shadows and giving it its rightful place as an important and normal part of life is vital. Our Series B is an important step on our path toward paying the attention and care it deserves and giving every bereaved family everywhere the support they need.”
- Ron Gura, Co-Founder and CEO of Empathy
“Empathy’s approach to grief and loss support is defining the emerging compassionate economy, built around anticipating the needs of employees outside of work. Empathy stands at the forefront, integrating heartfelt support into the employee journey with a solution that helps businesses and insurance carriers of all sizes to invest in their human capital and do better for all.”
- Danny Rimer, Partner at Index Ventures
