“Can a single API-first insurance infrastructure platform replace legacy policy administration systems for insurers, MGAs, and embedded distribution partners globally?”
Founded in 2016 in South Africa as an API-first insurance platform for digital and embedded insurance, Root initially served South African insurers, MGAs and retailers. The company expanded its scope from pure policy administration to a full end-to-end insurance infrastructure platform, adding Product Workbench, Claims AI, and embedded insurance tooling. In 2022, Root launched into the UK market and introduced Root Embed, explicitly targeting the embedded insurance distribution trend. The company's thesis has consistently been that insurance technology infrastructure — not the insurance risk itself — is the missing layer enabling embedded, personalised digital insurance at scale.
Root processes payments through Stripe Connect.
Root uses ComplyAdvantage for KYC and identity verification.
Root integrates with Codat.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 4 layers in Root's stack: Payments / PSP (Stripe Connect); Unified APIs (Codat); KYC (ComplyAdvantage); Accounting (Codat).
Root was founded by Louw Hopley and Malan Joubert and is founded in 2016, headquartered in London, UK (also Cape Town, South Africa).
Root has raised $4.5M in total (latest round: Seed, November 2021).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Root and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.