151 million euros for the Berlin startup Wefox

Following restructuring and a change in management, Wefox receives 151 million euros in fresh capital to expand its business in Europe.

The struggling Berlin-based insurance startup Wefox has raised fresh capital – and not a small amount: a total of 151 million euros is flowing into the company.

According to the company, the sum consists of a capital increase of EUR 76 million, mainly from existing investors such as Target Global and Chrysalis, as well as the refinancing of a EUR 75 million credit line by Searchlight Capital Partners.

The financing follows an extensive restructuring program in which Wefox, among other things, sold its subsidiaries in Liechtenstein and its companies in Italy and left the German market .

With the new capital, the company intends to expand its activities in Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland and to advance its restructured business model , which ties up less capital and focuses on digital services.

Wefox was founded in 2015 by Julian Teicke, Dario Fazlic, and Fabian Wesemann with the goal of making the insurance industry more digital and efficient. This vision won over numerous investors: The founding team raised over one billion dollars in multiple rounds.

Wefox reached a milestone in 2019 with its Series B financing: At that time, the company initially raised $125 million – the largest financing round for an insurance startup in Germany to date . Shortly thereafter, the round was expanded by a further $110 million . The startup was subsequently valued at around €1.5 billion , becoming the first German insurtech to become a unicorn.

Internal disputes arose in the summer of 2024. Decisions were also made regarding controversial personnel matters. According to a Wefox announcement, Mark Hartigan was re-elected to the board of directors. This followed attempts by the founders to oust Hartigan from the board – apparently also because of his alleged plans to sell. As the Daily Mail reported , Hartigan was to receive a bonus of £20 million in the event of a company sale.

As part of the further restructuring , Joachim Müller, a former manager at Allianz, took over the role of CEO in September 2024. The Board of Directors was also re-staffed – including Müller himself and Prateek Puri of Searchlight Capital Partners. Founders Teicke, Wesemann, and Fazlic lost their seats on the Board of Directors .

According to information from Manager Magazin, the company's valuation was around 500 million euros in December 2024. By comparison, Wefox was valued at 4.5 billion US dollars at the beginning of 2023. A total of more than 1.5 billion euros has flowed into the insurtech in recent years.