AI Insurance Broker Harper Raises $46.8M in Series A and Seed to Revolutionize SMB Coverage

Harper, an AI-native insurance brokerage, has secured $46.8 million in a combined Series A and seed funding round.

The round was led by Emergence Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and Peak XV Partners.

Transforming Insurance for Small Businesses

Founded in 2024 as part of Y Combinator's W'25 batch, Harper automates commercial insurance for small- to mid-sized businesses like daycares and manufacturers.

The platform matches clients with over 160 carriers for workers’ compensation, general liability, and professional liability coverages.

By leveraging AI, Harper completes processes in one to two days, compared to five to seven days for traditional brokers.

This efficiency allows Harper to serve over 1,000 customers monthly, far surpassing human teams' capacity of 20-30 deals.

CEO Dakotah Rice and co-founder Tushar Nair, both veterans from Rice's prior venture Poolit, drew inspiration from Rice's family insurance brokerage roots.

Despite initially despising the industry, Rice returned with an AI-driven solution to eliminate outdated email-and-spreadsheet inefficiencies.

In a fragmented market, Harper stands out against competitors like Gyde by focusing on fully autonomous operations for middle-market businesses.

The funding will expand Harper's engineering team and brand, building on serving over 5,000 customers already.

Looking ahead, Harper aims to evolve into a comprehensive platform for entrepreneurs, covering risk, compliance, and back-office needs.

This raise underscores the growing trend of AI agencies achieving software-like margins, as noted by Y Combinator.