Exclusive: Stand raises $70 million at $1 billion valuation to price wildfire risk by treating homes like airplanes in flight

Stand, a San Francisco-based home insurer, has raised $70 million in a Series C funding round at a $1 billion valuation to redefine how it calculates wildfire risk. Rather than relying on zip-code based models, Stand uses digital twin technology to simulate each individual home and demonstrate to owners which changes could reduce their insurance premium.

Founded by Matt DiStefano, Stand's 29-year-old chief science officer, the company currently insures over $10 billion in property, up from $1 billion a year ago. The company has seen growth of about 15% per month in its two markets: California for wildfire and Florida for hurricanes. Stand's digital twin technology simulates the effects of a wildfire or tropical cyclone on a specific home, taking into account factors such as materials, arrangement of trees, wind direction and weather conditions.

Using this model, Stand claims to accurately predict whether a home will burn or survive with an 85% success rate, compared to 50-55% for competing models. DiStefano, who has a background in aerospace engineering, says Stand is bringing a new level of detailed analysis to the insurance industry, similar to the work done on designing airplanes.