Guidewire is set to expand its AI-driven insurance capabilities through an agreement to acquire hyperexponential, a London-based provider of underwriting and pricing technology, in a transaction valued at up to $2.1bn.
The deal comprises $1.7bn in cash, subject to adjustments, alongside up to $400m in additional consideration linked to recurring revenue milestones. Guidewire plans to fund the purchase using $1bn in new term loan financing and cash reserves, with Bank of America and Citibank committing to provide the debt.
The acquisition centres on the growing use of AI in commercial insurance underwriting. Guidewire aims to combine its insurance technology with hx’s platform to develop agentic underwriting capabilities, using AI agents to assist underwriters and actuaries with risk evaluation, pricing and decision-making.
The companies expect the combined offering to help insurers handle submissions more efficiently, apply expertise across larger volumes of business and reserve human input for more complex risks. Guidewire also sees opportunities for insurers to improve profitability, expand into new markets and make more effective use of underwriting talent.
Guidewire anticipates a positive impact on its financial performance, forecasting that the acquisition will add at least 650 basis points to annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth on an inorganic basis in fiscal 2027. From fiscal 2028, it expects organic ARR growth to benefit by at least 150 basis points annually, while maintaining its long-term margin objectives.
Founded in London, hx develops an AI-native platform designed to support commercial property and casualty (P&C) insurers across the underwriting lifecycle. Its technology covers submission triage, risk assessment, pricing, rating and portfolio management, with its software used in underwriting decisions involving more than $75bn in annual commercial premiums.
Its client base includes Aviva, Allianz, Sompo, Beazley, Markel, HDI, Cincinnati Financial, Convex and Bowhead, spanning insurers, reinsurers and managing general agents. hx is also a member of Guidewire’s PartnerConnect Technology Alliance programme.
Guidewire provides cloud software to more than 570 P&C insurers worldwide. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the company operates across 44 countries and has completed more than 1,700 implementation projects.
Research cited in the announcement from Celent highlighted the potential for AI to improve underwriting efficiency in complex commercial lines and reduce loss ratios. The technology can help insurers draw insights from information that has traditionally been difficult to structure and analyse, including telematics, satellite imagery and claims history.
Guidewire CEO Mike Rosenbaum said, “We’re delighted to welcome Amrit Santhirasenan and the team at hyperexponential to Guidewire. There isn’t another company in the world whose passion for insurance, technical ambition, and vision for the potential of AI in insurance align so closely with our own. Insurance is a distinctly complex industry, where the quality of risk decisions has an immense impact on business outcomes. Guidewire and hyperexponential are uniquely positioned to deliver industry-specific AI solutions that will transform commercial underwriting. Together we will bring greater and more scalable intelligence to the insurance decisions that will help underwrite the risks of tomorrow.”
hx CEO and co-founder Amrit Santhirasenan added, “We founded hyperexponential on the conviction that underwriting judgment is the highest-leverage work insurers do. Guidewire is the most trusted name in P&C insurance technology, with deep expertise in managing and safeguarding the policy and risk information insurers rely on throughout the insurance lifecycle. Together, we’ll bring insight from submission to bind and from the individual risk to the entire portfolio. With hx and Guidewire, insurers will be able to respond to submissions faster and, more importantly, improve loss ratios and allocate capital more effectively.”
The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of Guidewire’s fiscal 2027 year. The transaction will not change the company’s first-quarter guidance, announced on 3 September 2026, and updated forecasts are expected at its December 2026 earnings call.
Centerview Partners and Latham & Watkins are advising Guidewire on the transaction. hx is being advised by J.P. Morgan and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (UK).
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