Ex-City minister raises millions for insurance AI start-up i23

A former City minister has raised millions of pounds in funding for an AI-driven start-up which will target the vast global insurance broking market.

Sky News has learnt that Bim Afolami, who served as economic secretary to the Treasury during Rishi Sunak's Conservative administration, has established i23 alongside Anand Sambasivan, one of the co-founders of PrimaryBid, the digital retail investing pioneer.

The duo have secured $5.5m (£4.9m) in an oversubscribed seed funding round for i23, with UK-based venture capital firms including Outward VC, Seedcamp and Insiders VC among those leading the raise.

Four Cities Capital, another early-stage investor, also jointly led the financing.

The start-up says it is developing an agentic operating model which will take on routine administrative work from insurance brokers, while boosting revenue generation for clients.

The name i23 is derived from a combination of I, signifying intelligence and 23 referring to the 23 pairs of human chromosomes, reflecting the company's belief that technology should amplify human expertise, according to insiders.

"It's obvious that AI is going to have a profound impact on all industries: we have a view about how to use it to help commercial insurance businesses be the best version of themselves," Mr Afolami, who will serve as the company's president, told Sky News.

"Fundamentally that's about supporting the human broker much more."

I23 is expected to acquire an existing insurance broker in the coming months, according to insiders.

Insurance broking remains a highly fragmented market worth nearly $700bn globally, according to market data.

"A bigger commercial insurance business is not automatically a better one," Mr Sambasivan, i23's chief executive, said.

"We believe AI can change that: brokers serve clients better, and revenue can grow without admin work growing with it."

(c) Sky News 2026: Ex-City minister raises millions for insurance AI start-up i23