Sam Altman Backs Crypto Life Insurance Startup with $19M

Bermuda-based Meanwhile, a digital asset-denominated life insurance provider, announced today that it has raised $19 million in seed funding.

The round was led by OpenAI CEO and Worldcoin founder Sam Altman, alongside former head of Stripe issuing Lachy Groom. Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI fund, also participated.

Meanwhile claims to be the first and only life insurer to offer products entirely denominated in crypto. The company says that its products are designed to provide peace of mind to cryptocurrency investors and protect their assets in the event of death.

The fresh funding will be used to help Meanwhile obtain a license and become regulated as a life insurance firm by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. The company will also use the funds to hire new employees and develop new products.

“As one of the few innovations in money in the last century, Bitcoin is on track to become a global store of value and functional currency,” said Zac Townsend, co-founder and CEO of Meanwhile, in a written statement.

“When you combine that with artificial intelligence, we see the potential to build a full-stack life insurance company with the aim to reach over a billion people globally. To start, it makes perfect sense for long-term holders of BTC to invest in life insurance denominated in that asset and to enable a percentage of their BTC holdings to become active.”

Meanwhile’s funding round comes at a time when the cryptocurrency market is experiencing renewed interest. The price of Bitcoin has recently reached record highs, and the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has surpassed $2 trillion.