Breathe Life Secures $11.5 Million CAD To Accelerate Digital Transformation of Life Insurance Industry

MONTRÉAL AUGUST 26, 2020

Breathe Life, the enterprise SaaS platform provider for the life insurance industry, today announced it has secured an additional $11.5 million CAD in funding to enhance its digital distribution platform for insurance carriers. The $6.5 million Series A was co-led by Real Ventures & Investissement Québec with participation from Clocktower Technology Ventures,Cameron Ventures, Desjardins, NAventures, and Diagram Ventures. The remaining $5 million is made up of a $4.2 million debt financing from National Bank of Canada’s Technology and Innovation Banking Group and various government grants.

Breathe Life provides insurers a modern digital platform for the distribution of life insurance products that increases sales and speed of policy delivery while reducing operational costs. Breathe Life enables carriers to quickly deliver a fully-branded, user-centric experience that streamlines the online buying process for consumers. This “ease of engagement” is especially important as carriers continue to navigate the global coronavirus pandemic, which has largely eliminated traditional face-to-face sales and paper-based distribution processes.

“In our current global context there is an increased need to develop digital services in all sectors, and we’re convinced that this promising Montreal company will play an important role in bringing innovation to the insurance industry,” stated Guy LeBlanc, President and CEO of Investissement Québec. “Our investment in Breathe Life reaffirms Investissement Québec’s leadership role among Québec-based venture capital and private investors.”

Breathe Life’s omnichannel platform breaks through data silos to unify customer information into a single profile, making it easier to convert leads to policies across products and channels. Advanced analytics and machine learning continuously provide recommendations on product and market opportunities to help grow customer-lifetime value. Today, carriers across the U.S. and Canada are using the platform to achieve double-digit sales and premium increases while reducing customer acquisition costs by almost a third.

John Stokes, Partner at Real Ventures, noted: “Until recently, the insurance industry has approached digital transformation as a multi-year effort. If the last six months have taught the industry anything, it’s that the time to go digital is now. Breathe Life has a proven track record helping carriers across North America quickly deliver high-quality digital experiences to consumers that drive growth while also generating valuable, data-driven insights back to the business.”

“Our Group is pleased to partner with some of the greatest Canadian success stories, and we believe Breathe Life will be among them," said Mathieu Apuzzo, Senior Director, Technology and Innovation Banking Group, National Bank of Canada. "Our partnership with Breathe Life goes back to their early days, and we’re proud to support them in this next phase of growth. We’re thrilled to promote innovation in a space that is increasingly dynamic and rich with investment opportunities. We share the passion the Breathe Life team puts in every day and are very excited about their bright future.”

“Everything that has happened this momentous year has raised the stakes for carriers, forcing them to quickly and effectively modernize their operations to meet the pressing financial-security needs of billions of consumers worldwide,” said Ian Jeffrey, CEO of Breathe Life. “Helping consumers engage online -- and making it easy for advisors to help them there -- is no longer a ‘nice to have,’ but an urgent requirement of the new normal. Breathe Life is empowering carriers to transform now. Using our digital distribution platform, carriers can quickly attract, service, and win new business cost-effectively across channels.”

ABOUT BREATHE LIFE
Breathe Life is an enterprise Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, platform for the individual insurance industry. We provide insurers with a modern end-to-end platform that increases the speed of policy delivery and reduces operational costs for the distribution of financial security products. We believe that technology will help eliminate the financial insecurities of generations to come. Breathe Life is venture-backed by Real Ventures, Invest Quebec, Diagram Ventures and a variety of industry veteran angel investors from AXA, AIG, and RGA. Learn more about Breathe Life at breathelife.com or on our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

ABOUT REAL VENTURES
Real Ventures serves mission-driven entrepreneurs and nurtures the communities in which they thrive. Established in 2007, the firm backs visionary founders building innovative tech companies that will have large-scale positive impacts on society. The firm also helps entrepreneurs to realize the full potential of their companies by providing them with the guidance, stage-specific help and communities required to develop the self-awareness and operational capabilities for global success. Real has invested in over 280 companies across five funds, with $330 million under management. Real’s active portfolio companies have a total current value of over $5 billion.

ABOUT INVESTISSEMENT QUÉBEC
Investissement Québec’s mission is to play an active role in Québec’s economic development by spurring business innovation, entrepreneurship and business acquisitions, as well as growth in investment and exports. Operating in all the province’s administrative regions, the Corporation supports the creation and growth of businesses of all sizes with investments and customized financial solutions. It also assists businesses by providing consulting services and other support measures, including technological assistance available from Investissement Québec – CRIQ. In addition, through Investissement Québec International, the Corporation also prospects for talent and foreign investment and assists businesses with export activities.