Only weeks after its founding, Paris-based Little John has raised €1.1 million in pre-seed funding to build its generative AI platform, which will empower insurance brokers.

Febe Ventures, Vessoa Private Equity, and neo-insurer Leocare were all involved in this fundraising round. Business angels Didier Valet (General Partner at Varsity) and renowned UK investor Mark Ransford have also contributed to the €1.1 million investment.

“We firmly believe that independent brokers are the future of business insurance brokerage,” stated Olivier Legrand, CEO of the startup, in describing its objectives. They must, however, adapt their profession to the changes in the industry, and generative AI provides a tangible, instant solution to this need. Our goal at Little John is to give them the resources they require to maintain their competitiveness, fortify their privileged client relationships, and use their knowledge. In carrying out our mission to “Bring Gen AI at the heart of the Services Independent Insurance Brokers” provide to Corporates, this funding represents a significant turning point.

Little John was established in 2024 with the goal of revolutionizing the function of independent brokers in the €1.5 trillion European insurance market, which is driven by growing complexity and regulatory requirements.

In an effort to alleviate the growing strains on regional brokers, Little John focuses on operational solutions that help brokers with risk placement, compliance, and productivity.

Little John’s first GenAI-powered product, which is scheduled to debut on its SaaS platform in the spring of 2025, is at the center of this endeavor. Brokers will be able to automate processes with this tool, such as creating personalized insurer presentation notes and extracting and analyzing client data from emails and documents.

By February 2025, beta access will be available to early adopters in the platform’s “Sherwood community,” who will provide input to improve the solution’s usability.

By February 2025, a group of partner testers known as the “Sherwood community,” which consists of brokers in their Design Partnership, will have access to a beta version of the solution. Early access to the platform will be granted to certain users, who will also offer input to improve it and guarantee that its smooth integration and approachable AI solutions are suited to brokers’ everyday requirements.

The founding team of Little John combines technological and insurance experience, including:

• Former Brevo COO and LinkedIn Asia Pacific CEO Olivier Legrand oversaw a notable increase in membership and income.
• Former COO of Leocare and co-founder of UEX, Grégoire Rastoul, is an accomplished insurance brokerage entrepreneur who sold to APRIL Group.
• Pierre Sigwalt is an experienced CTO who has worked at UEX and APRIL International and has experience creating technology for the insurance industry.
• Senior Advisor Renaud de Pressigny has over 40 years of experience in the insurance industry and has held executive positions at major companies such as AON and Marsh.

The money will be used by Little John to advance its GenAI tools and cultivate a cooperative broker community that can pool resources and knowledge to remain competitive with bigger firms.