First Up
Jim: Welcome back to The Beat. Before we begin, forward this newsletter to a couple colleagues. The Beat's more fun with friends.
Alright, let's dive in...
The Big One
A breakdown on the day’s biggest Inno story.
Jim: A Chicago startup for the commercial auto industry has raised a new round of funding to expand its service to more states--and it's led by the co-founder of Esurance. Katherine has more on this new insuretech startup.
Katherine: High Definition Vehicle Insurance (HDVI), founded in 2018, announced Wednesday that it raised $16M in a Series A funding round led by 8VC and Munich Re Ventures, with additional participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Autotech Ventures.
The startup makes a tech-based insurance service for trucking fleets that advertises itself as cheaper than traditional insurance models, while also helping its clients improve safety, compliance and operations.
Many tech-forward, personal auto insurance products have been launched by startups like Chicago-based Clearcover and Snapsheet, but the commercial trucking insurance industry has largely been stagnant, according to HDVI’s founders.
HDVI was founded by Reid Spitz, who previously worked at 8VC, and Chuck Wallace, who is also the co-founder of Esurance, which sells auto, home, motorcycle and renters insurance direct to consumers online and by phone.
Wallace helped launch Esurance in 1999 and built the company through the dot-com crash before leaving the company in 2007. In 2011, Esurance was acquired by Northbrook-based Allstate for approximately $1B.
Now with HDVI, Spitz and Wallace are building an insurance product that provides trucking fleet operators with an integrated suite of hardware, software and services that helps them easily manage their operations, as well as reward truck drivers for operating safely.
“We are rebuilding a commercial auto company from the ground up,” Spitz said. “The commercial auto industry has been a challenged space for a decades. It’s a space that’s deeply needed innovation.”
Read more: Esurance co-founder raises $16M for new trucking insurance startup
Making Moves
Inside the people, companies and organizations making moves in Chicago.
Jim: Fyllo, a fast-growing Chicago startup that helps cannabis brands execute and create ad campaigns, raised more funding as it looks to bring important data to the legal marijuana industry. Fyllo announced Wednesday that it raised an additional $10M in Series A2 financing. Investors in the round include JW Asset Management, K2 & Associates, Arcadian, Salveo Capital and Phyto Partners. The startup has now raised $26M to date. More here.
Katherine: Electric scooters officially hit Chicago streets today. Thousands of scooters from Lime, Spin and Bird were deployed across the city Wednesday, with as many as 10,000 scooters eventually coming to Chicago for the second pilot program. More here.
Jim: We brought you the scoop last week that Chicago startup Trala, an app that helps you learn to play the violin, raised more equity funding. The startup officially announced the round today: $3.5M in seed funding led by Next Play Ventures, an early-stage VC fund launched this year by former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. Trala’s app has been downloaded more than 250,000 times, and students spend an average of five hours per week on the app, the startup says. More here.
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