Exclusive: Slingshot Raises $27M In Seed Funding To Build An Insurer For Those Small Policies Sold At Checkout

figure — slingshot Insurance, an AI-native embedded insurance startup, is emerging from stealth with $27 million in seed funding, it tells Crunchbase News exclusively. Rally Ventures and Skyward Group co-led the round, with participation from insurance industry veterans including Jim Hays, who will join Slingshot’s board.

Rally is also a co-founder of the Minneapolis-based startup, as part of the firm’s broader approach. So far, it has co-founded roughly eight portfolio companies that have either launched or remain in stealth. Ethan Genteman, co-founder and CEO of Slingshot Insurance. (Courtesy photo) Slingshot, which is led by first-time founder and CEO Ethan Genteman, focuses on small insurance policies that consumers can buy as part of another purchase, such as coverage when booking a flight. Known as embedded insurance, the model puts coverage in front of customers when they might need it. The startup’s software helps businesses offer those policies by connecting them with insurers that back the coverage. It uses AI to process and share data between the two sides, aiming to reduce the administrative work that can make inexpensive policies costly to offer. Its first customer and design partner is Vertical Insure, which serves more than 750,000 customers at an average premium of $25, according to Slingshot. Genteman told Crunchbase News that Slingshot’s first program will launch this month. For now, Slingshot earns revenue as a technology provider working with outside insurers. But the six-person company, which formally began operating July 1, is also pursuing an acquisition that would allow it to back policies itself. “We’re not a carrier yet, but we are rapidly closing on our carrier,” Genteman said in an interview. Making the math work on a $25 policy One product Slingshot is working on would let parents buy insurance when signing a child up for youth sports, Genteman said. A parent spending $2,000 on a volleyball league, for example, might be offered a $25 policy covering cancellation or an injury during the season. Each policy includes paperwork and coordination with an insurer, and can bring potential claims.