Area insurance startup raises $100 million

TAMPA — Insurtech firm Slide, with a platform that utilizes artificial intelligence  and machine learning for homeowners, has raised $100 million in a Series A funding round.

The Tampa-based company, which says it uses its “cutting-edge technology to hyper-personalize, optimize and streamline every part of the insurance process,” oversubscribed its capital raise, according to a statement. The funding, the release states, will allow Slide to “accelerate the development of its data-driven technology and operations.” Slide intends to make its debut in the homeowners and commercial residential insurance marketplace in 2022.

Area insurance executive Bruce Lucas founded Slide. He previously founded Heritage Insurance, a publicly-traded company that grew from a single-state startup to over $1 billion in annual revenue in 15 states under Lucas. Lucas, CEO at Heritage until the end of 2020, launched Slide to “transform all aspects of the insurance process including operations, claims, underwriting and user experiences,” the release states.

"Traditional industries are being disrupted by modern technology, but the insurance industry has been particularly slow to adapt," Lucas says in the release. "As an industry insider, I have a deep understanding of where technology can be leveraged to enhance the user experience while maximizing profitability, something I rarely hear mentioned in the insurtech industry. Investors saw the future in my vision and the response was overwhelmingly positive."

Slide’s AI is powered by an extensive data set, the release adds, and is paired with a founding team that comes from several high-performing companies in the technology, financial services and insurance sectors. That team includes Slide's co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor, Hassan Sawaf, who has built and led AI programs at Amazon Web Services, Facebook AI and eBay.

Slide says its data feed is worth in excess of $1 billion. "Big Data is the key to our technological advantage,” Lucas says in the release. “It is impossible to have credible artificial intelligence and machine learning without it. Not only can we make better underwriting decisions, we can provide more options for the consumer. Modern consumers expect more, even from insurance, and Slide is primed to deliver.” 

Gries Investment Funds and Tampa Bay Ventures led the fundraising round. Skyway Capital Markets was an advisor.