Raise Financial Hires Ex-Upstox Exec

Fintech unicorn Raise Financial Services has appointed former Upstox executive Abhishek Singh as the chief executive officer of its new insurtech vertical, Pluto Insurance. Singh confirmed the appointment in a LinkedIn post, where his profile now reflects the new designation.

Singh stated he is joining Pluto Insurance after twenty-three years in the industry. "I’ve spent most of my career wanting to build things that solve real problems for real people, not just move numbers on a board." he said, according to the source. In his post, Singh added that Pluto plans to build a platform for “what the customer actually needs, backed by cutting edge tech and AI”.

Leadership and Background

Abhishek Singh is an alumnus of ICFAI Business School with over two decades of experience. His previous roles include positions at Aviva India, PNB Metlife, and Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance. He was most recently a senior director at Upstox, as per his LinkedIn profile.

Singh is the second senior executive to join Pluto Insurance recently. In late-July, Ranjeet Walunj said he had joined as chief product and technology officer. Walunj stated the platform would aim to be “spam-free, easy-to-use, product-tech led, enabled with AI and most importantly, a platform that puts consumers and their needs first!”, the source reports.

Corporate Structure and Acquisition

The appointment follows Raise Financial's acquisition of GreenLife Insurance Broking Pvt Ltd (GIBL) three months ago in an undisclosed cash-and-stock deal. Pluto Insurance will be housed under GIBL and shares the same IRDAI registration number and licence code. At the time of the acquisition, Raise Financial said it would invest $15 Mn in GIBL to build a direct consumer insurance distribution platform.

Recent reports have suggested GIBL has been rebranded to Pluto Insurance, though Raise Financial has made no public announcement of this change. The new platform's website is not yet live but is inviting users to join a waitlist.

Raise Financial's Portfolio and History

Raise Financial was founded in 2021 by former Paytm Money CEO Pravin Jadhav, Alok Pandey, Jay Prakash Gupta, and Raunak Rathi. The unicorn operates multiple fintech platforms. Its portfolio includes stock broking platform Dhan, financial market information platform Upsurge, market research platform ScanX, and AI-driven trading insights platform FuzzAI. The company also acquired media startup Filter Coffee last year.

The startup achieved unicorn status in October last year after raising $120 Mn in a Series B round led by Hornbill Capital and Japan’s MUFG, reaching a valuation of $1.2 Bn. Pluto Insurance will look to leverage GIBL’s existing B2B insurance distribution network, which reportedly spans over 50 cities and towns.