Israeli grief support company Empathy today announced the completion of a $47 million Series B financing round led by Index Ventures with participation from General Catalyst, Entrée Capital, Latitude, and Brewer Lane, as well as strategic investments from six major life insurance firms – Allianz, MassMutual Ventures, MetLife, New York Life Ventures, Securian Financial, and Sumitomo. These latest funds bring the total amount raised by Empathy to $90 million.
With offices in Tel Aviv and New York, Empathy was founded in 2020 by CEO Ron Gura and CTO Yonatan Bergman.
Gura said, “Dealing with the loss of a loved one is one of life’s most challenging moments, yet there has been a problematic gap in the traditional support systems and benefits that barely touches on what families need. Empathy continues to set new standards for supporting families through grief and loss. We are honored to provide help in a sustainable, scalable way by working with employers and insurance carriers to become the new standard for modern benefits. Embracing empathy in the workplace is good for families, good for business, and good for our society as a whole.”
In the past three years, Empathy has made a full range of assistance with grief, estate settlement, probate and more available to five million employees and 35 million policyholders in the US. This support comes at no cost to families, provided either through their life insurance benefits or coupled with bereavement leave through an employer. Empathy will use the latest funding to expand its services and cover new industries and regions nationwide.
Gura added, “Our goal is not only to support and advocate for families going through bereavement, but to shift the way everyone thinks of and approaches loss. Bringing loss and grief out of the shadows and giving it its rightful place as an important and normal part of life is vital. Our Series B is an important step on our path toward paying the attention and care it deserves and giving every bereaved family everywhere the support they need.”
The strategic investment from six of the world’s largest life insurance companies is a strong signal that the industry sees this cultural shift toward an emphasis on showing up for people when they need it the most. Empathy is at the forefront of the transformation in the insurance industry that emphasizes improving the user experience and adding value for beneficiaries and businesses, while also showing true care and compassion for families.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on March 12, 2024.
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