Harper Raises $47 Million to Automate Commercial Insurance
Harper, an AI-powered commercial insurance brokerage, closed a combined Seed and Series A funding round of $47 million in February, led by Emergence Capital. The round marks the largest publicly disclosed Series A raised by a Black founder, according to the company.
CEO and co-founder Dakotah Rice started the company after years in finance-including roles at Goldman Sachs, Coatue Management, and The Carlyle Group-watching the insurance industry operate on outdated systems. He left Harvard Business School to build the company.
What Harper Does
Harper compresses the insurance application process from weeks to 48 hours. The startup offers general liability, professional liability, garage liability, commercial auto, commercial property, cyber, and umbrella coverage.
The company uses AI for insurance applications that read submissions, manage quotes, route them to underwriters, and handle other judgment-heavy work that typically slows traditional brokerages. Unlike software vendors selling to legacy brokers, Harper operates the brokerage itself and owns the customer relationship.
The startup serves manufacturers, healthcare providers, hospitality groups, transportation fleets, construction firms, and restaurants. It reports 6,000+ clients and a 98.8% retention rate.
Growth and Funding Use
Harper grew to $5 million in annual recurring revenue within months of launch in 2024. Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Tushar Nair joined Rice to build the platform.
Emergence Capital led the round, with participation from Y Combinator, Peak XV, Antler, 10X Founders, Fellows Fund, and Outset Capital. The company plans to use the funding to hire engineers, account managers, and operators, expand carrier relationships, and invest in AI agents and automation infrastructure.
The Problem Rice Saw
Rice grew up in rural Alabama watching his father run a nightclub and his uncle operate a trucking fleet. He saw firsthand how insurance requirements-certificates of insurance for landlords, proof of coverage for banks-created weeks of calls and paperwork that confused business owners and frustrated them with brokers.
"Insurance always got in the way," Rice said. His uncle's trucking fleet didn't fail because of poor operations. Financing and insurance costs crushed the business before it had a real chance.
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