French insurance unicorn Alain has just signed a multi-faceted deal with Belfius, one of Belgium's largest banks, that includes a distribution partnership in addition to a significant capital investment in the startup.
Belfius is leading Alan's Series F funding round, bringing the total amount raised to €173 million (approximately $193 million at current exchange rates), with some of Alan's existing investors again participating, specifically OTPP via Teachers' Venture Growth, Temasek, Coatue and Lakestar.
For those of you who don't know Alain, the company originally started out as a health insurance product to complement the French national health insurance system, which requires companies in France to offer health insurance to all employees upon joining the company.
Alan has optimized the core product as much as possible, providing a much better user experience than traditional insurance companies. For example, Alan has automated many parts of the claims management system, so that in some cases, reimbursements are deposited in your bank account just a minute after you leave the clinic.
Over time, the company has added other health-related services like chatting with a doctor, ordering prescription glasses, accessing preventive care content for mental health and back pain through a mobile app, and more recently, adopting AI to improve productivity.
Earlier this year, Allan shared some metrics about the company's performance. The company said that more than 500,000 people are covered by Allan's insurance products and that it would achieve profitability without raising a new round of funding.
But Alain said the partnership with Belfius was an opportunity to expand the bank's customer base in Belgium, where it plans to offer the startup's health insurance products to its corporate and institutional clients, who employ millions of people.
“This exceptional partnership with Belfius marks a new era for Alain in Belgium, after a truly inspiring transformation over the past decade. Belfius' investment will allow us to accelerate our development and expand our capabilities to offer cutting-edge, accessible health products and services to a wider audience,” Jean-Charles Samulian-Verbe, co-founder and CEO of Alain, said in a statement.
Alan has added 150,000 customers since February, including the French prime minister's office, and expects annual recurring revenue to reach 450 million euros ($500 million) this year.
But Alan isn't your typical software-as-a-service company — most of its revenue is reserved for handling insurance claims — and one thing's for sure: the company's growth isn't slowing down.