Original article appeared in Insurance Innovation Reporter May 2021
FINEOS (Dublin) has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Spraoi—pronounced “spree”—a Chicago-based provider of machine learning capabilities for the employee benefits and life insurance industry. The agreement with DigIn Technologies LLC, Spraoi’s parent company, is for FINEOS to acquire 100 percent of Spraoi’s issued securities for an upfront cash payment of US$4 million, and an earnout of up to US$6.6 million over three years subject to specific revenue hurdles being met. The acquisition will be funded by existing cash reserves and the issuance of 700,000 share options to Spraoi’s 3 founders and team of 23 employees.
Michael Kelly, CEO, FINEOS
Founded in 2017 and based in the U.S., with a software development and supporting team in India, Spraoi currently has eight clients and achieved revenues of US$6 million in the year to 31 December 2020 and is anticipated to be earnings accretive to FINEOS excluding transaction costs, after its first full year.
FINEOS characterizes Spraoi’s product and services offerings as a strategic addition with immediate opportunities to leverage from its existing client base and product capabilities to enhance FINEOS Engage and FINEOS Insight with additional digital smart-portal options, industry specific operational and analytical models, as well as machine learning capabilities across the FINEOS Platform.
“We’re very happy to welcome the Spraoi team and their clients to FINEOS, and look forward to adding their advanced digital and machine learning capabilities to the FINEOS Platform for the benefit of all of our clients,” comments Michael Kelly, CEO, FINEOS. “This acquisition will greatly enhance the digital and data capabilities of FINEOS Engage and FINEOS Insight, to complement the power of our FINEOS AdminSuite, making the FINEOS Platform the only purpose-built Employee Benefits platform, from quote to claim with advanced machine learning capabilities.”
“The North American employee benefits industry is undergoing tremendous change, which is continually accelerating due to the competitive and regulatory environment, as well as the constant advancement of technology capabilities,” Kelly adds.
Deep ML, Data and Customer Experience Capabilities
“Spraoi is an innovative InsurTech in the Employee Benefits space whose leaders have a strong background in the life, accident and health industry, as well as deep expertise in core systems and machine learning,” says Karan Mishra, co-founder, Spraoi. “That combination makes Spraoi a natural addition to the FINEOS team as we continually improve the FINEOS Platform to meet the needs of our clients.
Karan Mishra, co-founder, Spraoi
“Spraoi’s technology offering, and services have allowed our clients to successfully optimize outcomes and see measurable ROI,” Mishra adds. “Our deep machine learning, data and customer experience capabilities coupled with the robust FINEOS Platform enables clients to have a one-of-a-kind pre-integrated platform to get the most out of their technology investments.”
A statement from FINEOS on the acquisition characterizes Spraoi as an insurance technology solutions provider combining “Big 4” insurance consulting experience with Silicon Valley technology acumen and offshore capability and scale in India. Its focus is on assisting carrier clients with the two most pressing needs confronting them today: how to leverage their data to optimize outcomes using the patent pending Spraoi platform and; how to better engage customers throughout the lifecycle using their customer engagement infrastructure. Spraoi has also created an innovation framework that provides accountability from concept through execution, eliminating technology as the impediment to progress.
Making Best Use of ML Across Core, Digital and Data
FINEOS says the acquisition will enable it to make the best use of machine learning across the three pillars of the FINEOS Platform: Core, Digital and Data. Spraoi’s machine learning capabilities and service framework will increase digital service reach, reduce customer service friction, and provide much greater insight into the carrier/customer dynamic across the entire customer lifecycle, making the FINEOS Platform an even more attractive offering to the Employee Benefits and Life assurance industry, the FINEOS statement says.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to complete quickly. As FINEOS integrates Spraoi over the coming months, it says its priority will be to continue to operate on a business-as-usual basis in order to meet client needs.
By Anthony O’Donnell, Executive Editor of Insurance Innovation Reporter.
See Press Release for more information.
