Insurance startup Corgi reportedly raised more money at $4B — its third round in 8 weeks
Insurance startup Corgi reportedly raised more money at $4B — its third round in 8 weeks
Insurance tech, data room software, and coffee-shop startup Corgi is reportedly raising yet another round that closely follows its last raise and would double its valuation, sources have told Forbes.
据《福布斯》消息来源透露，保险科技、数据室软件及咖啡店初创公司 Corgi 据悉正在进行新一轮融资。此轮融资距离其上一轮融资时间极短，且估值翻了一番。
The round is said to be a second extension of its Series B round and has already closed. Corgi announced its last round, the B1 round of $106 million at a $2.6 billion valuation at the end of May, about eight weeks ago.
据悉，该轮融资是其 B 轮融资的第二次延展，且已经完成交割。Corgi 上一次宣布融资是在约八周前的 5 月底，当时完成了 1.06 亿美元的 B1 轮融资，估值为 26 亿美元。
In the AI-funding frenzy, many startups are raising back-to-back rounds at ever-increasing valuations — but even by those standards, Corgi stands out.
在人工智能融资狂潮中，许多初创公司都在以不断攀升的估值进行连续融资，但即便以这些标准来看，Corgi 依然显得格外突出。
The Y Combinator alum (summer 2024) raised a $108 million Series A in January at an undisclosed valuation. (PitchBook estimates $630 million post-money.) Four months later, in early May, it raised its Series B: $160 million at a $1.3 billion valuation. Just three weeks later, it announced a B1 round from the same investors, saying they’d invested $106 million at a $2.6 billion valuation. Now, eight weeks later, sources tell Forbes there’s a B2.
作为 Y Combinator（2024 年夏季班）的校友，该公司在 1 月份以未披露的估值完成了 1.08 亿美元的 A 轮融资（PitchBook 估算其投后估值为 6.3 亿美元）。四个月后的 5 月初，它完成了 B 轮融资：以 13 亿美元的估值筹集了 1.6 亿美元。仅仅三周后，它又宣布了由同一批投资者参与的 B1 轮融资，称以 26 亿美元的估值投入了 1.06 亿美元。如今，八周过去了，消息人士告诉《福布斯》，该公司又完成了 B2 轮融资。
Forbes did not report the amount of money that Corgi raised, though, and the company declined to comment on the potential funding. Corgi is backed by TCV and Kindred Ventures. Kindred’s Kanyi Maqubela cited the startup’s momentum to TechCrunch as justification for the last valuation leap.
不过，《福布斯》并未报道 Corgi 此次筹集的具体金额，该公司也拒绝就潜在的融资事宜发表评论。Corgi 的背后支持者包括 TCV 和 Kindred Ventures。Kindred 的 Kanyi Maqubela 此前曾向 TechCrunch 表示，该初创公司的强劲势头是其上一次估值大幅跃升的理由。
The apparent justification for the new valuation is the startup’s revenue trajectory. When Corgi announced its Series A seven months ago, the founders said their company had already hit $40 million in annualized revenue run rate. Sources told Forbes it’s now on track to increase run rate to $450 million by the end of the year.
此次新估值的明显依据在于该公司的收入增长轨迹。七个月前 Corgi 宣布 A 轮融资时，创始人称公司年化收入运行率已达到 4000 万美元。消息人士告诉《福布斯》，目前其运行率有望在年底前增加到 4.5 亿美元。
Corgi offers AI-powered insurance. It uses AI to give prospects fast quotes and to speed payments on claims. It offers startups various types of liability insurance like general liability, coverage of tech-related incidents, and employment liability, as well as business renters’ and auto insurance.
Corgi 提供人工智能驱动的保险服务。它利用 AI 为潜在客户提供快速报价，并加快理赔支付速度。它为初创公司提供多种责任保险，如一般责任险、技术相关事故险、雇佣责任险，以及商业租户险和汽车保险。
Insurance is an inherently cash-intensive business but perhaps even more so for Corgi because it uses a type of insurance structure known as a Risk Retention Group (RRG). This is a way for people in the same industry, or those facing similar liabilities, to pool their resources and self-insure collectively.
保险本质上是一项资本密集型业务，但对于 Corgi 来说可能尤为如此，因为它使用了一种被称为“风险自留组织”（RRG）的保险结构。这是一种让同一行业或面临相似责任的人汇集资源并进行集体自保的方式。
According to Corgi’s website, RRGs aren’t subject to all the same state regulations as traditional, rated, underwritten insurance carriers. Corgi has adopted some different structures for different types of insurance, however, a spokesperson says. In addition to RRGs, some policies might use state-regulated carriers, for instance.
根据 Corgi 官网介绍，RRG 不受传统评级承保保险公司所面临的所有州级法规的约束。不过，一位发言人表示，Corgi 针对不同类型的保险采用了不同的结构。例如，除了 RRG 之外，某些保单可能会使用受州监管的保险公司。
However, in an RRG insurance business, claims are paid out of the pool, and a steep claim can impact how much is left in the kitty to pay other claims. RRGs aren’t backed by state guaranty funds, so if the pool can’t pay, members bear the loss. If the claims are big enough, they can even bankrupt the RRG.
然而，在 RRG 保险业务中，理赔款是从资金池中支付的，巨额索赔可能会影响池中剩余资金，进而影响其他理赔。RRG 没有州担保基金的支持，因此如果资金池无法支付，成员将承担损失。如果索赔金额足够大，甚至可能导致 RRG 破产。
Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that Corgi wants to grow its coffers. But even as the startup has expanded the types of insurance it offers, it has also branched out in other ways. Corgi now offers data room software, having weathered a recent uproar over how that software was vibe coded.
因此，Corgi 希望增加资金储备也就不足为奇了。但即便在扩大保险业务范围的同时，这家初创公司也在其他方面进行了多元化扩张。Corgi 现在还提供数据室软件，尽管此前曾因该软件的“氛围编程”（vibe coded）方式引发过争议。
Plus, the startup operates two 24-hour coffee shops with cute and sometimes ad-sponsored drink names like “Brexspresso.” Its shops are located in San Francisco and Atlanta, but it says it’s planning to launch five more soon, including several in New York and one in London. Opening up physical cafe locations also requires cash.
此外，该公司还经营着两家 24 小时营业的咖啡店，店里提供名字可爱且有时带有广告赞助的饮品，例如“Brexspresso”。其门店位于旧金山和亚特兰大，但公司表示计划很快再开设五家分店，包括在纽约开设几家，在伦敦开设一家。开设实体咖啡店同样需要大量现金。
Meanwhile, Corgi has a reputation in Silicon Valley for having a demanding corporate culture after founder-CEO Nico Laqua said he expects his employees to work seven days a week.
与此同时，Corgi 在硅谷以严苛的企业文化而闻名，此前创始人兼首席执行官 Nico Laqua 曾表示，他要求员工每周工作七天。