Insurtech Platform Company LeaseLock Secures $52 Million

By Noah Long • Feb 15, 2021
  • LeaseLock — a leading insurtech platform for real estate — announced the closing of a $52 million Series B financing. These are the details.

LeaseLock — a leading insurtech platform for real estate — announced the closing of a $52 million Series B financing that will expand its industry-leading lease insurance product into the first AI-powered financial technology platform for enterprise real estate. And LeaseLock has insured $1 billion in leases to-date, across the nation’s largest multifamily operators and preeminent asset owners.

The funding round was led by Westerly Winds (founding partners from BlackRock) and Wildcat Venture Partners with major investors that include SoftBank Ventures Asia, Vertex Ventures US, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, American Family Ventures, Moderne Ventures, Strata Equity Group, Veteran Capital, and Mucker Capital.

LeaseLock utilizing property management system integrations and data science to engineer a modern financial technology platform for housing operators.

The pandemic is further pressuring housing affordability. And it has become a lightning rod issue for lawmakers at the local and national levels. Restrictive deposit legislation combined with a consumer cash crunch accelerated adoption of LeaseLock Zero Deposit — resulting in 400% growth in apartment homes on the platform in 2020, reaching more than 1.5 million homes.

The company’s key customers include Greystar, Cushman Wakefield, Avenue5 Residential, Harbor Group, LMC, RKW Residential, Goldman Sachs, ColRich, GoldCor, Olive Tree, TruAmerica, White Oak, Trinsic, and Goodman Real Estate. And LeaseLock clients are measuring 6-figure NOI lift per asset, thus resulting in millions in portfolio asset value increase.

KEY QUOTES:

“Security deposits are an inefficient financial instrument for all sides. Through technology, LeaseLock has intelligently solved this problem while setting the foundation for an end-to-end enterprise insurtech platform. We are excited to back the business as it continues to realize its vision.”

— Karim Abdel-Ghaffar Plaza, Founding Partner of Westerly Winds.

“As we surveyed the market landscape, LeaseLock stood out as the only company to truly develop a new insurance technology product—leveraged by AI—to deliver a financially sound and impactful solution. We are excited to partner with and support the company in furthering its mission.”

— Sherman Li, Partner of SoftBank Ventures Asia

“We’re a technology company at heart, fueled by data, and powered by insurance. We deploy our product directly through enterprise property software systems which drives a material data and product delivery advantage. We’re doubling-down on our core deposit replacement product, while investing in new insurance lines, payment and receivables technology, and market channels.”

— Derek Merrill, Co-Founder and CEO of LeaseLock

“The market is shouting for a better solution to upfront housing costs that serves both the renter and the operator. Our technology platform completely removes friction, cost, and regulatory risk from our customers’ operating infrastructure and P&L.”

— Reichen Kuhl, Co-Founder and President of LeaseLock