Harper Secures $47 Million to Automate Commercial Insurance Through AI Technology

Funding the Future of Main Street

Harper, an AI-native commercial insurance brokerage, has successfully closed a $47 million funding round combining Seed and Series A capital. Led by Emergence Capital, the round features major participation from Y Combinator and Peak XV. This investment represents a landmark moment for the industry, as it is the largest publicly disclosed Series A ever raised by a Black founder, Dakotah Rice. The company focuses on complex American businesses that have traditionally been underserved by both legacy brokers and simple digital platforms. Industries such as manufacturing, trucking, and healthcare often wait weeks for insurance quotes due to manual processing. Harper solves this by acting as the brokerage itself, utilizing proprietary AI to manage the entire customer relationship from application to binding.

Intelligence at Scale

By deploying large language models to handle judgment-heavy back-office tasks, Harper has effectively cut the insurance procurement timeline from weeks down to just 24 to 48 hours. These AI agents automate the reading of complex forms and the routing of submissions to a network of over 165 underwriters. This speed allows essential businesses like daycares and logistics fleets to start operations without being hindered by bureaucratic delays. In just thirteen months, the firm has already served more than 5,000 businesses across the United States. The founders, Dakotah Rice and Tushar Nair, designed the platform to bring Fortune 500-level service to the small and mid-sized companies that anchor the real economy. Rice, a former Goldman Sachs and Coatue investor, was inspired by his family's own struggles with the commercial insurance system in rural Alabama.

Growth and Expansion

The newly acquired capital will be directed toward three primary goals: scaling the internal team, expanding carrier relationships, and refining AI infrastructure. Harper plans to hire more engineers and account managers to support its rapid growth of roughly 1,000 new customers per month. They also intend to develop exclusive insurance programs tailored to the unique risks of their core industries. As the company expands, it remains committed to replacing the legacy era of insurance with a system that is simple, fair, and fast. By owning the brokerage relationship rather than just selling software, Harper ensures that AI is applied where speed directly impacts business outcomes. Business owners can find more details on these developments at the company's official announcement.

Harper has announced a $47 million combined Seed and Series A funding round to scale its AI-powered commercial insurance platform. Led by Emergence Capital, the investment supports the company goal of replacing manual, paper-heavy processes with automated systems. The round is notable for including the largest publicly disclosed Series A ever raised by a Black founder, CEO Dakotah Rice (https://www.harperinsure.com/news/series-a-announcement). The company focuses on complex risks like manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation fleets that typically face weeks of processing delays. Using proprietary AI models, Harper handles unstructured data and underwriter routing to provide coverage in just 24 to 48 hours. This speed has allowed the firm to serve more than 5,000 businesses across the United States in just over a year.

A Full-Stack Approach to Brokerage

Unlike many startups that sell software to existing agencies, Harper operates as the brokerage itself. By owning the customer relationship, the company ensures that AI-enabled speed directly improves outcomes for business owners. "We are the brokerage," Rice stated, explaining that owning the process allows them to deliver superior service at a larger scale. Dakotah Rice and CTO Tushar Nair founded the company after holding leadership roles at Goldman Sachs and Coatue Management. Rice was inspired by his childhood in rural Alabama, where he watched his family struggle with an insurance system that felt unnecessarily difficult. This background fuels the company focus on supporting the businesses that anchor local communities.

Scaling Infrastructure and Carrier Access

With the new capital, Harper plans to significantly expand its team of engineers and insurance operators. They intend to deepen their network of over 165 carrier relationships and secure more direct appointments with underwriters. These steps will provide the capacity needed to offer elite service to small and mid-sized operators. The final phase of the company roadmap involves further investment in AI infrastructure to manage complex, judgment-heavy tasks. By scaling human expertise through software, Harper aims to make simple and fair insurance the standard for every industry. They remain focused on businesses that have historically been told their insurance needs are too difficult for digital platforms.