Bim Afolami, the UK’s economic secretary to the treasury from 2023 to 2024, has co-founded an AI-native insurance broker called i23 with Anand Sambasivan, one of the creators of PrimaryBid.
Sky News broke the GBP 4.9M seed, jointly led by Four Cities Capital and Outward VC, with Seedcamp and Insiders Ventures also participating.
PrimaryBid offered retail investors access to public company raises and was acquired by SoFi last year. The founding team also includes Mike Coombes, formerly chief operating officer at PrimaryBid, and Opriva co-founder Salman Valibeik.
The product targets a market worth up to GBP 22B a year, according to market data, that remains highly fragmented. Much of a broker’s day goes to routine administration: placing cover, chasing renewals, reconciling commissions, answering the same questions about policy wording.
i23 is building an AI operating model to run that administrative layer. The pitch is not to replace brokers but to let a small broking firm serve the volume of a much larger one, which matters in a sector dominated by hundreds of mid-sized regional players.
The timing is not accidental. Insurance distribution has become one of the more active hunting grounds for AI startups, because the work is document-heavy, rules-based and measured in minutes per transaction rather than creative judgement.
A former minister turning founder will also test how much of Afolami’s regulatory background transfers into commercial advantage. Broking relationships are built on trust, and the software has to earn it before the founder’s track record can.
