Shepherd
Shepherd is an AI-native commercial insurance platform providing primary casualty, excess casualty, and builder's risk coverage for construction, AI infrastructure, and renewable energy projects, serving 600+ enterprise customers through brokers and direct sales.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Shepherd does
Shepherd is an AI-native commercial insurance platform providing tech-enabled insurance for commercial construction, infrastructure, and energy projects. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company offers three core insurance products — Primary Casualty, Excess Casualty, and Builder's Risk — as a unified suite targeted at middle-market to enterprise customers. Its underwriting engine integrates real-time construction data from partners including Procore, Autodesk, and Brickeye (IoT risk intelligence), processes quotes in seconds rather than the weeks required by traditional carriers, and is publicly committed to a two-year path toward fully autonomous underwriting with a targeted 10x increase in underwriter capacity by 2027.
The company generates revenue through commercial insurance premiums on a recurring basis, distributed through a combination of leading retail insurance brokerages (including Marsh) and direct enterprise sales. Its customer base spans AI labs, chip manufacturers, hyperscalers, energy developers, and commercial contractors, with reported metrics of 600+ customers, 1,500+ policies issued, and $400B+ in insured project value. Shepherd reports 7x revenue growth over the trailing 24 months and 75% faster indication times compared to traditional underwriting workflows.
Shepherd has raised $67 million across three disclosed funding rounds: a $6.15 million seed in September 2021 led by Spark Capital, a $13.5 million Series A in February 2024 led by Costanoa Ventures, and a $42 million Series B in March 2026 led by Intact Private Capital (the venture arm of global insurer Intact). Leadership includes Justin Levine as CEO, Stephen Buonpane as Co-Founder and Chief Insurance Officer, and Mohamed El Mahallawy as CTO. The company's strategic positioning is to bridge traditional insurance distribution (broker networks) with a technology stack purpose-built for large, complex construction and infrastructure projects — particularly those tied to the AI infrastructure buildout and renewable energy transition.
Shepherd firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Shepherd
- Legal name
- Shepherd
- Website
- https://withshepherd.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Shepherd is an AI-native commercial insurance platform providing primary casualty, excess casualty, and builder's risk coverage for construction, AI infrastructure, and renewable energy projects, serving 600+ enterprise customers through brokers and direct sales.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Shepherd industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Insurance
- NAICS
- Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Carriers (524126), Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242)
- SIC
- Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Liability Insurance (FSAJAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Property Insurance (Homeowners, Renters & Commercial Property) (FSAJAKAH)
Keywords
Where Shepherd is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Shepherd business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Commercial Insurance Premiums: Shepherd generates revenue through commercial insurance premiums for construction, infrastructure, and energy projects, including primary casualty, excess casualty, and builder's risk coverage products
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Shepherd product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Shepherd sells tech-enabled commercial insurance for the construction, infrastructure, and energy sectors through three core products: Primary Casualty, Excess Casualty, and Builder's Risk. The offering is delivered via an AI-native underwriting platform that integrates real-time construction data from partners such as Procore and Autodesk, and IoT risk intelligence from Brickeye, enabling quote processing in seconds and dynamic, behavior-based risk pricing for middle-market to enterprise customers.
Product overview
Shepherd is an AI-native commercial insurance platform providing a unified product suite of three core insurance products: Primary Casualty, Excess Casualty, and Builder's Risk. The platform integrates real-time construction data from partners like Procore and Autodesk with proprietary AI underwriting technology to enable dynamic risk pricing and autonomous underwriting. The three products work together as a one-stop solution for middle-market to enterprise-scale customers in construction, renewable energy, and AI infrastructure sectors, offering coverage from essential foundational protection through excess layers to project-specific Builder's Risk coverage.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Primary Casualty Foundational liability coverage for construction, infrastructure, and energy projects, providing essential protection for middle-market to enterprise customers' annual programs or specific projects.
- Excess Casualty Additional liability coverage that supplements primary casualty insurance, strengthening the safety net for larger or more complex risks faced by commercial contractors and asset owners.
- Builder's Risk First-party property coverage that protects projects while they are still under construction, integrating IoT risk intelligence from Brickeye for verified real-time risk assessment and better insurance terms for builders deploying IoT protection technology.
Quantifiable outcome
- Processing quotes in seconds versus weeks required by traditional carriers
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Shepherd
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Shepherd technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability7 records
Feature3 records
Shepherd partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- BrickeyecoreShepherd and Brickeye partnered to integrate Brickeye's BuildersRiskIQ IoT risk intelligence into Shepherd's AI-powered commercial insurance underwriting platform. This enables builders who deploy IoT protection technology to receive verified risk classifications and better Builder's Risk insurance terms. The partnership initially covers U.S. Builder's Risk for vertical construction and targets a $5B global market.
- ProcorecoreData integration partner providing real-time construction data that feeds into Shepherd's AI underwriting platform for risk assessment.
- AutodeskcoreData integration partner providing real-time construction data from Autodesk construction management tools into Shepherd's AI underwriting platform.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Shepherd competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Next Insurance: Tech-enabled commercial insurance carrier targeting small and mid-market businesses with simplified digital underwriting. Comparable to Shepherd as a B2B insurtech modernizing specialty commercial lines with AI-driven pricing and broker-friendly digital workflows.
- Coalition: AI-native insurtech specializing in cyber and specialty commercial risks for mid-market and enterprise. Comparable to Shepherd in using AI and external data signals to underwrite specialty lines faster and more accurately than traditional carriers.
- At-Bay: Insurtech combining AI-driven underwriting with specialty commercial coverage for technology and SMB risks. Comparable to Shepherd as a venture-backed digital carrier using data signals (security telemetry in At-Bay's case, construction telemetry in Shepherd's) to price risk.
Broad incumbents
- Markel: Specialty commercial insurance carrier with deep construction, energy, and infrastructure practices. Comparable to Shepherd as a direct competitor in builder's risk and excess casualty for large construction projects, but operating at much greater scale via traditional underwriting.
- Travelers: Large diversified P&C carrier with a significant construction services practice. Comparable to Shepherd as a competitor in casualty and builder's risk, but distributes primarily through traditional agency channels without Shepherd's AI-native speed advantage.
- AXA XL: Global specialty insurance and reinsurance division underwriter with large construction and energy practices. Comparable to Shepherd in builder's risk and excess casualty for major construction projects but with traditional underwriting workflows and global balance sheet.
- Beazley: Specialty commercial insurer with construction, energy, and complex risk practices. Comparable to Shepherd in targeting large commercial construction projects but with traditional underwriting and global distribution rather than AI-driven processing.
- Zurich North America: Major P&C carrier with construction, energy, and large-project specialty practices. Comparable to Shepherd in primary casualty and builder's risk coverage for enterprise construction clients but with legacy underwriting systems.
Others
- Marsha (Marsh): World's largest commercial insurance broker and risk advisor, and a visible distribution partner on Shepherd's homepage. Comparable as a channel through which Shepherd's policies are placed; not a direct competitor but a critical distribution counterpart for placing enterprise construction risk.
- Aon: Global insurance brokerage and risk management firm, also visible among Shepherd's broker partners. Comparable as a major distribution channel for Shepherd's specialty construction products; not a direct competitor but the dominant broker intermediating large commercial placements.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Shepherd social profiles
Digital presenceShepherd financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Shepherd leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Shepherd funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Shepherd M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Shepherd
What does Shepherd do?
Shepherd sells tech-enabled commercial insurance for the construction, infrastructure, and energy sectors through three core products: Primary Casualty, Excess Casualty, and Builder's Risk. The offering is delivered via an AI-native underwriting platform that integrates real-time construction data from partners such as Procore and Autodesk, and IoT risk intelligence from Brickeye, enabling quote processing in seconds and dynamic, behavior-based risk pricing for middle-market to enterprise customers.
Is Shepherd a public or private company?
Shepherd is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Shepherd founded?
Shepherd was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Shepherd based?
Shepherd is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Shepherd make money?
One revenue line is on record: commercial Insurance Premiums.
Who are Shepherd's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Next Insurance, Coalition and At-Bay. Broad incumbents are Markel, Travelers, AXA XL, Beazley and Zurich North America. Others are Marsha (Marsh) and Aon.
Does Shepherd have an API?
No public API is recorded for Shepherd.
What industry is Shepherd in?
Shepherd's product category is Commercial Insurance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAJAKAD, General Liability Insurance, with a secondary code of FSAJAKAH, Property Insurance (Homeowners, Renters & Commercial Property). Its NAICS code is 524126 and its SIC code is 6331.