Marshmallow

Marshmallow is a British insurance company operating under the legal name Marshmallow Technology Ltd. It was founded in 2017 by twin brothers Alexander and Oliver Kent-Braham together with software engineer David Goate. The business grew from an earlier company called Twin Thinking, incorporated in the United Kingdom in 2016. The founding team began working on Marshmallow full time in 2017, initially operating from a local gym while developing the company and its technology-led insurance model. The company’s central proposition was to use software, data, and a more flexible underwriting approach to offer insurance to people who may be poorly served by conventional insurers. Its early positioning focused particularly on migrants and other customers whose international backgrounds, limited UK insurance history, or non-standard personal circumstances could make traditional insurance more difficult or expensive to obtain. Rather than presenting itself solely as a conventional insurance provider, Marshmallow emphasized a digital customer journey and the use of technology to simplify quotation, underwriting, and policy administration. Marshmallow obtained an early seed investment of $1.2 million in 2018 from Investec Bank and Passion Capital. The funding was associated with the company’s plan to build a technology-enabled insurer aimed primarily at migrants. That year also brought a trademark dispute over the use of the name “Marshmallow” with Marsh McLennan, the large US insurance and professional-services group. Marshmallow prevailed in the dispute, which attracted British press coverage because of the contrast in scale between the newly established company and the much larger incumbent. The business expanded rapidly during the following years. In 2021 it raised $85 million in a financing round that valued the company at $1.25 billion, giving it so-called unicorn status. The valuation reflected investor expectations for technology-led disruption in insurance and the company’s reported growth. The same year, Marshmallow became involved in an intellectual-property dispute with Mulsanne Insurance. That matter was ultimately settled out of court rather than resolved through a reported trial judgment. Marshmallow’s growth was also recognized in European business rankings. In 2023, the Financial Times ranked it as the second-fastest-growing company in Europe, citing a compound annual growth rate of 660 percent for the relevant ranking period. The company’s public identity has consequently combined three themes: digital delivery, a focus on customers underserved by established insurance processes, and rapid venture-backed expansion. Marshmallow is an insurance brand rather than a food company, despite sharing its name with the confectionery product. Available reference material identifies its insurance activity and migrant-focused origins but does not establish a complete current product catalogue, ownership structure, executive roster, or detailed geographic footprint. Those elements are therefore left limited where reliable information is unavailable.

Marshmallow’s origins lie in Twin Thinking, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom in 2016. The founding team—twins Alexander and Oliver Kent-Braham and software engineer David Goate—renamed the business Marshmallow Technology in 2017 and began working on it full time. The early operation was notably informal, with the founders developing the company from a local gym while building the technology and commercial model for a new insurer. The founders sought to apply software and data analysis to insurance, with an initial focus on migrants. This target group could encounter barriers in conventional insurance markets because insurers often rely on established local records, standardized histories, and assumptions that do not translate easily across national borders. Marshmallow’s intended response was to create a more flexible, technology-supported insurer capable of assessing customers whose circumstances did not fit traditional processes. In 2018 the company raised a $1.2 million seed round from Investec Bank and Passion Capital. The financing supported its ambition to build an insurer around digital systems and a customer segment it viewed as underserved. The same year, Marshmallow faced a trademark challenge from Marsh McLennan over the use of the word Marshmallow. Marshmallow won the dispute, an outcome portrayed in British media as a contest between a small start-up and a major established insurance group. The company’s next major phase was rapid expansion and venture financing. In 2021 Marshmallow raised $85 million at a valuation of $1.25 billion. This made it a unicorn and placed the company among the prominent examples of technology-driven growth in the insurance sector. The company also became involved in an intellectual-property case with Mulsanne Insurance during 2021. Unlike the earlier trademark matter, the Mulsanne dispute ended in an out-of-court settlement. By 2023 Marshmallow’s growth had received external recognition through the Financial Times’ European growth ranking. It was placed second in Europe, with the ranking reporting a 660 percent compound annual growth rate. The available source material does not provide a detailed account of later corporate ownership, leadership changes, product-level launches, or international expansion. Marshmallow is therefore best characterized on the documented record as an active British, privately held, technology-oriented insurance company whose distinctive early strategy centered on migrants and customers underserved by conventional insurance underwriting.

• 2023

  Ranked second among Europe’s fastest-growing companies

  [1]Marshmallow (company)en.wikipedia.org

  The Financial Times placed Marshmallow second in its European growth ranking and reported a 660 percent compound annual growth rate.

• 2021

  Unicorn valuation reached

  [1]Marshmallow (company)en.wikipedia.org

  An $85 million funding round valued Marshmallow at $1.25 billion.

• 2018

  Seed financing secured

  [1]Marshmallow (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Marshmallow raised $1.2 million from Investec Bank and Passion Capital to develop a technology-led insurer aimed primarily at migrants.

• 2018

  Trademark dispute won

  [1]Marshmallow (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Marshmallow prevailed in a dispute with Marsh McLennan concerning use of the Marshmallow name.

• 2017

  Marshmallow Technology established

  [1]Marshmallow (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Twin Thinking was renamed Marshmallow Technology, and the founding team began working on the insurance venture full time.

• 2016

  Twin Thinking incorporated

  [1]Marshmallow (company)en.wikipedia.org

  The company that preceded Marshmallow was incorporated in the United Kingdom under the name Twin Thinking.

A technology-led insurance provider focused on simplifying insurance access for customers who may be underserved by traditional underwriting, particularly migrants and people with limited UK insurance histories.

• Insurance · 2017

  Digital insurance

  Marshmallow’s documented business is technology-enabled insurance delivered through a digital operating model. Its early proposition was designed for migrants and other customers who might not fit conventional underwriting assumptions, using software and data to support a more flexible insurance application and servicing experience. The available reference material does not identify a definitive current list of individual policy lines.

• 2021

  Accepted growth financing at unicorn valuationOther

  Background

  Marshmallow pursued further expansion after establishing its technology-focused insurance proposition.

  Action taken

  The company raised $85 million in a financing round valuing it at $1.25 billion.

  Aftermath

  The transaction gave Marshmallow unicorn status and reinforced its profile as a major venture-backed insurance technology company.

  Funding round and implied company valuation. $85 million raised; $1.25 billion valuation (2021)

  Source

• 2017

  Adopted a technology-led insurance model focused on migrantsStrategy

  Background

  The founders identified migrants as a customer group that could be underserved by conventional insurance processes and sought to use technology to address those limitations.

  Action taken

  The company was renamed Marshmallow Technology and developed as a digital insurer rather than a traditional intermediary or general technology business.

  Aftermath

  The strategy formed the basis for early fundraising, later rapid growth, and the company’s distinctive market positioning.

  Source

1. 1Marshmallow (company)en.wikipedia.org