Ornikar reels in $120m in Series C funding to expand its insurance offering

April 23, 2021

Paris-based online driver training and road awareness platform Ornikar raised $120m led by KKR in an effort to scale up its car insurance product.

The round, which also saw participation from BPI, Elaia, Brighteye Ventures and H14, brought the firm’s total funds raised $175m to date.

Following its expansion into Spain and the launch of its auto insurance offering, Ornikar will use the capital to accelerate its international development under the Onroad brand, develop new resources and expand its range of services.

Founded in 2013 by Alexandre Chartier and Benjamin Gaignault, Ornikar is the de-facto online driver education platform in France and is making rapid headway in Spain. It offers comprehensive online driver education courses and matches students with independent driving instructors.

Just last year, the company took a step further in the complete driver experience, jumping into the insurance market with the launch of Ornikar Assurance. The Assurance product is tailored to a digital-first market and systematically matches insurance products based on individual drivers’ needs. With this new product, the firm aims to hit some 20,000 users by August this year and is set to take on the $20bn car insurance market in France.

While the Covid-19 pandemic limited people to their homes with restrictions on going outside, the firm saw business growing by 30% each month last year as people were looking to use the time productively with a view to driving more in the future, it said. Furthermore, in 2020 the firm saw 420,000 new users and to date has served over 1.5 million customers.

Commenting on the round, Gaignault said, “We have proven the effectiveness, sustainability and flexibility of the model we created, including showing that Ornikar can be replicated outside France. Our ambitions are far-reaching and we aim to drive innovations that reimagine how drivers are trained and insured.”

Building on the firm’s growth, KKR director Patrick Devine said, “Ornikar has done a tremendous job creating a great experience for students and driving instructors through engaging online education courses and a well-designed marketplace.

“We are thrilled to invest behind Benjamin, Flavien, and their talented team as they expand internationally and accelerate their insurance offering following the successful launches of Onroad in Spain and Ornikar Assurance.”