DataBraid raises $1.9M pre-seed to fix insurance brokers' portal-hopping problem
What's the deal? Toronto-based startup DataBraidDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised $1.9M in pre-seed funding to tackle a nagging inefficiency in insurance: brokers constantly switching between carrier portals to compare rates, submit applications, and process claims. The round came from Koru Ventures, a venture studio backed by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), and closed in April. It is DataBraid's first financing.
The startup's AI-powered software connects to existing broker management systems and propagates data across carrier portals automatically — eliminating redundant logins and manual re-entry. "The platform is essentially a unified broker workspace," said co-founder and chief executive officer Nick Romano.
Why now? DataBraid was born in late 2025 out of conversations between Koru and OTPP-backed Scoop Insurance Brokers, which has nearly 300 brokers and was feeling the pain of fragmented carrier systems firsthand. Koru's mandate is to create startups that benefit OTPP's portfolio companies, and Scoop became DataBraid's pilot customer.
Koru recruited Romano, previously chief executive officer of Montréal-based DeepliteDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which was acquired by STMicroelectronicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → last year. He brought on former colleague Atif Khan as co-founder and chief technology officer. Both have backgrounds in AI and enterprise software from their earlier work at Messagepoint, which Romano co-founded.
What could go wrong? DataBraid's success depends on integrating with a fragmented landscape of insurance carriers, each with its own portal and data standards. Winning carrier cooperation — and maintaining those connections — could prove difficult as the company scales beyond its Ontario pilot.
The pre-seed round is modest, and the six-person team will need to move fast. Competing against entrenched workflows and potential rivals with deeper pockets is a real risk for any early-stage insurtech.
The signal: DataBraid's genesis illustrates how large institutional investors like OTPP are using venture studios to commercialise pain points discovered inside their own portfolio companies — a model that gives startups a built-in first customer but also tests whether solutions born from one organisation's needs can generalise across an industry. With Koru structured as a corporate-backed vehicle, DataBraid's trajectory will be a litmus test for whether pension-fund-driven venture creation can compete with the speed and flexibility of independently funded insurtech startups.
Read more: BetaKit
