The month of May has once again been active, with seven deals announced. This marks the second-best month in terms of deal volume and reflects levels above the monthly average from last year. Furthermore, since the beginning of 2025, the decline in pure InsurTech investments appears to be slowing. The gap with last year’s pace at the same point is now down to just 4%, which means we're getting very close to last year's levels.
On the funding side, €65 million in public investments were announced, making May the second most lucrative month of the year. However, it’s worth noting that a single deal accounted for €40 million, which reminds us to be cautious with euro-based analysis. If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you know I prefer to focus on the number of deals rather than total investment amounts. Deal count offers a more consistent view of innovation dynamics, especially in a period when startups are expected to be more capital-efficient. Since mid-2022, overall funding has declined across all industries. Counting deals helps gauge momentum in a less distorted way, unaffected by a few outlier mega-rounds or fleeting investor sentiment.
So, in short: 7 deals, €65 million invested — that’s the key takeaway in terms of raw numbers.
Subscribe to our newsletter:
Let’s now take a closer look at the three most significant deals of the month, and try to extract a few insights — either about the startups themselves or about broader trends they illustrate.
Starting with MarvelX, which takes third place. This Dutch startup announced a notable seed round of $6 million, led by EQT Ventures. That amount makes more sense when you realize MarvelX is tapping into the hottest trend in tech right now: artificial intelligence. The company offers AI agents for insurers, targeting three main use cases: claims handling, fraud detection, and customer service. It’s early days still — the company is barely out of stealth mode, and no client names have been disclosed yet. However, eight employees are currently listed on LinkedIn — a 300% increase over the past two months, coinciding with the company’s formal launch.
In second place, we have Kota, which raised $14.5 million. For context, this Irish startup has developed a fully digital platform to help HR teams manage employee benefits — including health insurance and retirement savings — and integrate them via API with partner tools such as payroll software. This is the company's second funding round, coming 18 months after a €5 million seed round. This new round is significantly larger and sees the arrival of Eurazeo alongside existing investors. At the time of this raise, Kota reports serving more than 150 small and medium businesses. According to LinkedIn, the company now employs 110 people, a 162% year-on-year growth.
Finally, at the top of the podium, we have Tinubu, with the largest raise of the month. The French-origin startup announced a $45 million round to support further development of its technology for trade credit insurance players, pursue strategic acquisitions, and expand into the broader specialty commercial lines segment. This latest raise, led by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, coincides with Tinubu’s acquisition of Innoveo, a UK-based company known for its InsurTech-as-a-Service offering. Founded in 2000, Tinubu has had several funding rounds over the years, including a €53 million raise in 2017 when Long Arc Capital became the majority shareholder alongside BPI France. As of now, Tinubu lists 193 employees on LinkedIn — a 7% decline year over year.
