INSURTECH startup Axinan, which was rebranded as Igloo this month, has raised an undisclosed sum for its Series A+ funding round led by InVent, the corporate venture capital (VC) arm of asset management and investment firm Intouch Holdings.

The fund raising brings Igloo's total funding to US$16 million. Other participants in the round include existing investors Openspace Ventures and Shanghai-based early-stage VC firm Linear Capital, as well as new investors Singtel Innov8, global investment firm Partech Partners, and global VC fund Cathay Innovation.

The startup is in advanced discussions with telcos, banks, non-banking financial firms and online travel agencies to offer products through its insurance partners. It currently works with leading e-commerce and travel players in South-east Asia including Bukalapak, Lazada, Reddoorz and Shopee, as well as regional insurance partners Allianz, Baoviet, FWD Singapore, Mercantile and Sompo.

The company, which was founded by former Grab chief technology officer Wei Zhu, will use the fresh capital to expand into Vietnam and strengthen its foothold in the Philippine and Thai markets, growing its presence in South-east Asia to six key markets. It will also double its business development and engineering teams.

Igloo will focus on customer acquisition, dynamic risk assessment and expedited claims management, which will be offered to its insurance partners via an open platform.

Insurance products by Igloo, which was founded in 2016, have served more than 15 million customers. They protected over 50 million transactions from February 2019 to February 2020, in categories such as electronics, personal accident and travel.

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"We see that digital insurance is on the rise in South-east Asia, and we believe that Igloo, with our digital-first approach and expansion of our product portfolio into personal health, accident and other related products, can help fill those gaps and address consumers' needs for personal well-being," said Mr Wei.

The company was rebranded as Igloo in a nod to the name of its flagship digital insurance product line.