Liberty Mutual Group has launched an in-house venture capital group to invest in early-stage companies whose products lie at the intersection of technology and services for the insurance industry. The insurance industry giant has committed an initial $150 million to the effort, whose first investment is in smart-lock maker August Home.
“We’ll have three core focus areas,” says Russ MacTough, a managing director with Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures. “The connected home, next-generation vehicles and the on-demand economy.”
MacTough adds that the group’s goal is to invest between $1 million and $5 million per deal ― usually as a co-investor ― which could range from institutional seed rounds through Series B.
In addition to MacTough, who previously was a VP with Morgan Partners, the group’s team includes managing director and Liberty Mutual vet Dan Robinson, associate Josh Cohen (also from Liberty Mutual) and senior analyst Annabel Ye (ex-Progress Partners).
Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures isn’t providing any details about the investment in August, except to say that it is separate from the San Francisco-based startup’s $38 million Series B funding from last year.