Early-stage investment firm Tech Square Ventures led a $2 million investment in Atlanta insurance technology startup Slope Software Inc., according to an Aug. 30 announcement.
Inside the deal: Alerion Ventures, Charlotte Angel Fund and existing investor Cofounders Capital also participated in the round. Slope Software previously raised $1 million in January 2020, according to Crunchbase.
About the company: Slope Software, founded in 2015 by CEO Andy Smith and Chief Technology Officer Taylor Perkins, makes financial projection modeling for actuaries in insurance companies more efficient. The cloud-based platform can simplify actuarial workflows for reserve calculations, product pricing, asset-liability management, embedded value and capital projections, according to the announcement.
Smith has a background as an actuary and found many modeling programs out of date or systems too old to handle newer software. He teamed up with Perkins, his brother-in-law, who had a computer science degree from Georgia Tech and experience in enterprise software-as-a-service development, according to the Slope website.
Why it matters: Slope Software could disrupt actuary modeling, a niche but worldwide market within the insurance industry. Tech Square Ventures partner Vasant Kamath believes the startup could become a leader in the space. The round is also an example of local venture capital firms investing back into Atlanta's innovation ecosystem, giving more early-stage startups runway for potential growth. Tech Square Ventures recently led another $2 million round in local sustainability startup Cloverly.
What’s next: Smith said in the announcement that the investor support will help Slope Software “transform the way actuarial work is performed across the industry.” Slope Software did not respond to comment by press time, and the announcement does not detail plans for the capital. The startup has two open positions listed on its website.
What they’re saying: “I would like to change the way actuaries do modeling,” Perkins said in a statement on the website. “They often have advanced math degrees — they’re brilliant people — and it’s a waste of time for them to sit around and turn on servers and think about how much memory they need; or worse, figure out how to basically be a programmer to write these variables.”
