- Empathy — a platform helping families navigate the journey they face after losing a loved one — announced it has raised $30 million. These are the details.
Empathy — a platform helping families navigate the journey they face after losing a loved one — announced it has raised $30 million in Series A funding. This funding round was led by Entrée Capital with participation from General Catalyst, and Aleph (who doubled down on their seed investment), as well as LocalGlobe, Primetime Partners, and prominent angel investors including Shai Wininger (CEO & Co-Founder of Lemonade), Sir Ronald Cohen, John Kim (ex-President of New York Life), and Micha Kaufman (CEO & Co-Founder of Fiverr).
The Empathy app offers all-encompassing support for families experiencing loss, from account cancellation to grief support. And the funding will be used to further expand Empathy’s presence across the US by releasing new products, fostering additional strategic partnerships, and growing its multidisciplinary team to achieve its mission of empowering bereaved families to handle all the responsibilities and emotions that come with loss. Empathy has raised a total of $43 million in the last year.
The US end-of-life industry is projected to grow to about $100 billion in the next 3 to 5 years, including death care, estate management, and other services, yet this industry remains outdated and fragmented. And this leaves bereaved families to deal with hundreds of hours of logistics and responsibilities that are confusing, unintuitive, and emotionally draining. Empathy’s app combines technology and human support to save families time, money, and stress. And the app streamlines end-of-life logistics, minimizes tedious tasks, and automates estate administration while providing emotional guidance along the way.
Since launching in April of this year with $13 million in seed funding, Empathy’s app has supported bereaved families by streamlining their logistics, and guiding them through the complex and daunting processes of probate, estate administration, taxes, and other bureaucratic tasks associated with loss. And in addition to launching its direct to consumer offering across the US, Empathy is working with leading enterprise brands in several industries, including insurance companies, hospice chains, and funeral homes to expand its reach through strategic partnerships. More recently, Empathy announced a partnership with America’s largest mutual life insurance company, New York Life, to expand the life insurance offering beyond financial peace of mind and include logistical and emotional support to families as well.
KEY QUOTES:
“Empathy is a customer-centric company with compassion at our core. We aim not only to help families who are dealing with loss but also to act as a catalyst for change in the industry at large. Thanks to the support from our new and existing investors, and our partnerships with trailblazing companies leading their respective industries, software is finally being leveraged to make a significant difference for families struggling with loss. We are humbled to hear from the bereaved families we’ve helped already, and are determined to continue working to help as many as we can in alleviating both the logistical and emotional burdens of a loved one’s passing.”
— Ron Gura, Co-Founder & CEO of Empathy
“We are proud to continue to support Empathy as it strengthens its position as a market leader in the end-of-life industry and provides a service that is incredibly necessary for families struggling with loss. Empathy has proven both its commitment and its determination to reach as many families as possible, partnering with companies across different sectors to connect with diverse audiences, as well as recruiting the best and the brightest to further their mission. We look forward to seeing Empathy continue to prove how technology can make a major difference for bereaved families.”
— Joel Cutler, Co-Founder and Managing Director at General Catalyst
“Empathy’s product is uniquely disruptive and a category-defining solution dealing with loss. Its holistic approach sets it apart, and this, together with its growth, drew our attention to the company. We look forward to working with Empathy’s founders and team as they grow by providing this much-needed solution to millions of people worldwide.”
— Avi Eyal, Managing Partner of Entrée Capital
“Empathy is proving that ‘values create value’ and is building a lasting business for the 21st century. Empathy treats you like a human being, removing the hassle through automation and slightly but consistently dulling the pain of loss through grief support. Any business that touches next of kin – from life insurance to hospice, funeral directors to bereavement counselors – will find Empathy’s solution a perfect fit for their customers and will enable them to lead with values.”
— Michael Eisenberg, Co-Founder and Equal Partner at Aleph
