Max Kane
Former Lemonade executive Max Kane’s Novella, an AI-powered wholesale insurance broker, has announced a $21 million raise led by Boston-based Brewer Lane Ventures. Other participants included the Box Group, Crystal Venture Partners, SV Angels, Avid Ventures, Verissimo Ventures, Blank Ventures and global insurer Arch. The funding includes a Series A round.
The New York-based company builds AI agents to ease the job of brokers, notably in a segment of the insurance market known as excess and surplus (E&S). The segment provides insurance cover for high-risk, unique, or complex businesses, such as hurricane damage to skyscrapers, that are declined by standard insurers.
With an R&D facility in Tel Aviv, Novella has offices in Miami, Fla., and Houston, Texas, with plans to open one in southern California in the second quarter. It holds licenses in all 50 states. Novella was a participant in the Lloyd’s Lab startup program.
Chief Technology Officer Michael Tsibelman, a former Microsoft executive, and insurance broker Alex Broome, who previously held key positions at The Baldwin Group and ReShield joined Kane, who serves as Novella’s chief executive, in founding the company.
The industry is rich with $150 billion in annual premiums but bogged down by paperwork. Novella brings the promise of easing processes via its custom AI agents that are trained to help insurance brokers find coverage for their hardest-to-place customers and underwriters bind more accounts.
“We believe pairing world-class producers with world-class AI is the recipe for success,” said Kane, who spent about four years at Lemonade, an insure that went public in 2020.
Novella is targeting $10 billion in premiums within the next decade and a top five position in wholesale E&S broking. Nearly 100 specialty carriers and managing general agents (MGAs) have named Novella to broker property and casualty (P&C) insurance, while about 3,500 retail agencies direct business to the company.
Novella plans to use the new capital to hire brokers, continue developing its proprietary AI platform to help brokers become super-producers, and open more regional offices across the United States. The company reportedly reached a seven-figure revenue run rate just five months after its public launch.
Deloitte’s 2026 outlook projects continued underwriting pressure, with demand for trade credit insurance rising. The U.S. insurance market is projected to grow from $323 trillion in 2025 to over $335 trillion by the end of 2026, but the combined ratios for P&C insurers are expected to worsen to 98.5%-99% on account of inflationary pressures and increased repair costs.