Founded in 2016 by Peter Colis and Lingke Wang, Ethos was built to fix one of the most broken consumer experiences in financial services — buying life insurance. Traditional life insurance required weeks of medical exams, paper applications, and agent calls. Ethos replaced all of that with a 10-minute online application powered by data and machine learning, giving most applicants an instant decision. On May 6, 2026 — just 5 days ago — Ethos raised a $22.75 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), signaling continued investor conviction in AI-driven insurance disruption. Ethos has now helped hundreds of thousands of families get covered who previously had no life insurance at all.
Active Founders
Peter Colis
Founder / CEO
Peter Colis is the co-founder and CEO of Ethos. He studied at the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School before co-founding Ethos. Peter was driven by the stark reality that millions of Americans have no life insurance, not because they do not need it, but because buying it was too complex and slow. His vision to use data science to make underwriting instant has transformed Ethos into one of the most consumer-friendly insurance platforms in the United States, recently closing a fresh Series A from a16z on May 6, 2026.
Lingke Wang
Co-Founder / CTO
Lingke Wang is the co-founder and CTO of Ethos. A machine learning engineer with a background from Stanford University, Lingke built the data-driven underwriting engine that powers Ethos's instant decisions. His ability to translate complex actuarial models into real-time software decisions has been core to Ethos's competitive advantage, enabling the platform to accurately assess risk in minutes rather than the weeks required by traditional insurers.
