Oyen, Malaysia’s digital-first pet insurer, raises funding to boost ecosystem

Oyen, a Malaysia-based digital-first pet healthcare insurance provider, has raised $420,000 in seed funding to enhance its digital insurance platform and boost its market position in the country.

In a statement, the startup said the funding round was participated by notable backers such as Hustle Fund and angel investors who are former and current executives from Airbnb, Facebook, and Rocket Internet.

Oyen’s pet insurance platform is aimed at giving pet owners greater peace of mind in managing their pets’ medical needs via seamless insurance purchase and claims experience.

The company added that its services are integrated with a panel of veterinary clinic partners in Malaysia.

The fresh funding will be used to enhance Oyen’s proprietary digital insurance platform and reinforce its market position within Malaysia’s pet healthcare insurance ecosystem.

To achieve this, the company is aggressively expanding its recruitment in various roles in technology (such as software engineering) and non-technology (such as growth marketing).

“The number of people who have pets for companionship has increased during one of the world’s biggest recent crises, and our platform was specifically designed to alleviate concerns by pet owners – especially
new ones – when managing their pets’ medical needs,” said Kevin Hoong, founder and CEO of Oyen.

Oyen’s seed funding comes as the pet care market in the Asia-Pacific region is estimated to reach $132 billion by 2027 as pet ownership continues to grow, according to reports.

This trend escalated even further during the COVID-19 pandemic, with several pet owners noting that their pets are helping them cope with their mental health during the crisis.

Oyen is gearing towards having 100,000 pets insured in Southeast Asia within the next three years – half of which is expected to come from the company’s first market, Malaysia.

“Southeast Asia is an exciting region with a lot of growth ahead of it, driven not just by accelerating technology adoption across industries, but also startups like Oyen who bring a product-led, customer-centered perspective to traditional products like insurance,” said Shiyan Koh, general partner and co-founder at Hustle Fund.