Research Note: OneDegree Global

Apr 12

Executive Summary

OneDegree Global has positioned itself as a leading technology company specializing in innovative solutions at the intersection of insurance, cybersecurity, and Web3, with its flagship IXT insurance core platform enabling carriers to accelerate digital transformation and operational efficiency while enhancing customer experiences. The Singapore-incorporated company offers a modern, cloud-native insurance technology stack that streamlines the entire insurance value chain from product configuration to claims management, empowering insurers, managing general agents (MGAs), and brokers to rapidly launch new products and optimize operational processes. OneDegree Global distinguishes itself through its digital-first, API-driven architecture and strategic integration of cutting-edge technologies, including Azure OpenAI Service, which enables advanced AI capabilities across its IXT insurtech and Cymetrics cybersecurity offerings. This research note provides a comprehensive analysis of OneDegree Global's market position, product capabilities, and strategic direction for CEOs and CIOs considering insurance platform modernization and digital transformation initiatives to address evolving market demands and customer expectations in the increasingly competitive insurtech landscape.

Corporate Overview

OneDegree Global is headquartered in Singapore with a substantial presence across Asia and the Middle East, functioning as the technology arm of the broader OneDegree Group, which also includes OneDegree Hong Kong, a licensed digital insurer. The company was established as part of the OneDegree Group ecosystem, which was founded in 2016 by Alvin Kwock and Alex Leung, with OneDegree Global specifically focused on providing B2B technology solutions to insurance companies and service providers. In May 2023, OneDegree Group announced the appointment of Michelle Ip as CEO of OneDegree Global, strengthening its leadership team as it expanded its technology solutions across multiple markets. The company maintains significant operational centers across Asia, with established presence in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, enabling it to provide localized support while expanding its reach across the broader Asia-Pacific region.

OneDegree Group has secured substantial funding throughout its development, with a Series A round in 2019 raising over US$30 million, led by BitRock Capital and other investors. In June 2023, the company announced the completion of its Series B funding round, raising US$55 million to support global expansion of its digital assets insurance business and insurtech offerings. This funding has enabled strategic investments in platform development and market expansion, including OneDegree Global's first external investment in Thai SaaS insurtech Eazy Digital in November 2023, demonstrating its commitment to building a comprehensive insurtech ecosystem across Asia. The company maintains a private status, with investors including BitRock Capital and Cathay Ventures, while also receiving strategic support from Cyberport, a Hong Kong government-owned initiative focused on nurturing local technology companies.

OneDegree Global's primary mission is to revolutionize the insurance industry through advanced technology solutions that address critical pain points while enabling innovation and efficiency. The company has received industry recognition for its technological advancements, including ISO 27001 and ISO 27017 certifications for its information security management systems. In June 2023, OneDegree Global announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft Hong Kong to integrate Azure OpenAI Service into its IXT insurtech and Cymetrics cybersecurity solutions, showcasing its commitment to leveraging cutting-edge AI technologies to enhance its platform capabilities. This partnership was unveiled at the InsureTech Connect Asia 2023 conference in Singapore, where OneDegree introduced experimental Generative AI features, including IXT Seeble and Cymetrics Copilot, demonstrating its innovation leadership in the insurtech space.

OneDegree Global has implemented its solutions across various clients in the Asia-Pacific region, with notable implementations including First Insurance Co., Ltd. in Taiwan, which selected IXT to drive digital transformation at the 60-year-old insurance company, enhancing its technical capabilities and customer experience. In June 2024, the company announced a strategic partnership with Lexasure Financial Group to launch a digital-first cyber insurance platform addressing rising cybersecurity threats in South and Southeast Asia. In October 2024, OneDegree Global announced it was empowering Korea's first cloud-based insurance platform service, 'Yes, Sure,' with its modern IXT insurance core solution. The company primarily serves the insurance sector across Asia, with its IXT platform supporting a wide range of insurance lines, while its Cymetrics cybersecurity solutions cater to both insurers and broader enterprise security needs across industries.

Market Analysis

The global insurance platform market is experiencing significant growth, with projections indicating expansion from approximately $9 billion in 2023 to over $28 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of around 14% during the forecast period. OneDegree Global competes in this expanding market with its IXT platform, positioned alongside established vendors and emerging insurtech players offering core insurance systems. The company differentiates itself strategically through its cloud-native, API-first architecture and comprehensive approach that spans the entire insurance value chain while integrating advanced capabilities in cybersecurity and digital asset protection. This differentiation is particularly relevant in the Asia-Pacific region, where traditional insurers are accelerating digital transformation initiatives to meet evolving customer expectations and market demands.

Several market trends are driving demand for solutions like OneDegree Global's IXT platform, including increasing pressure for digital transformation across the insurance value chain, growing customer expectations for seamless digital experiences, the rise of embedded insurance models, and emerging demands for protection against new risks such as cybersecurity threats and digital assets. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated these trends, forcing insurers to rapidly enhance their digital capabilities to maintain business continuity and competitive positioning. Insurers implementing modern platforms like IXT have reported significant business benefits, including faster time-to-market for new products, streamlined operations through automation, and enhanced customer experiences through digital channels and personalization capabilities.

OneDegree Global's IXT platform targets multiple segments within the insurance industry, focusing primarily on property and casualty insurers, managing general agents (MGAs), and brokers seeking to accelerate digital transformation and operational efficiency. The platform has demonstrated particular strength in supporting emerging risk categories such as cyber insurance and digital asset protection, where traditional insurance systems often lack specialized capabilities. The company has established strategic partnerships that enhance its market positioning, most notably with Microsoft Hong Kong for integration of Azure OpenAI Service into its solutions, demonstrating its commitment to leveraging cutting-edge AI capabilities to address insurance industry challenges. Additional partnerships, such as those with Eazy Digital for agency management integration and Lexasure Financial Group for cyber insurance solutions, further extend the company's ecosystem and market reach across Asia.

The insurtech market is expected to continue evolving toward cloud-native, API-first architectures that support ecosystem integration, embedded insurance models, and advanced analytics capabilities. With its modern platform architecture and strategic focus on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, OneDegree Global appears well-positioned to capitalize on these trends. Insurance organizations typically allocate 15-25% of their IT budgets to digital transformation initiatives, with core system modernization representing a significant component of these investments. As competition intensifies and customer expectations continue to evolve, insurers are increasingly prioritizing platforms that enable rapid innovation, seamless integration with ecosystem partners, and robust capabilities for addressing emerging risks – areas where OneDegree Global has demonstrated strategic focus and capability development.

Product Analysis

OneDegree Global's flagship offering, IXT (Insurance Enterprise Results Platform), provides a comprehensive, cloud-native insurance core solution that covers the entire insurance lifecycle from product configuration to claims management. The platform is designed as a modern, digital-first solution that addresses critical pain points of traditional insurance systems, including slow product development, operational inefficiencies, and limited customer engagement capabilities. IXT enables insurers to streamline their value chain through automation and configuration capabilities that accelerate product launches and optimize operational processes. The platform's architecture emphasizes flexibility and scalability, supporting both cloud and on-premises deployment models while leveraging modern technologies to deliver enhanced performance and adaptability compared to legacy systems.

IXT's product configuration capabilities allow insurers to rapidly design, test, and deploy new insurance products through intuitive tools that reduce dependence on IT resources and accelerate time-to-market. The platform provides robust policy administration functionality, handling the complete policy lifecycle from quotation through endorsements and renewals, with automated workflows that improve operational efficiency and reduce manual processing. Claims management capabilities streamline the claims process through digitized workflows, automated validation rules, and integration with external systems and data sources, enhancing both efficiency and customer experience. The platform offers comprehensive customer management features that enable a unified view of customer relationships, supporting personalized engagement and improved service delivery across channels.

OneDegree Global has enhanced IXT's capabilities through strategic technology integration, most notably with Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service, which powers features such as IXT Seeble for streamlining insurance processes including pricing, underwriting, and claims. This integration demonstrates the company's commitment to leveraging advanced AI technologies to address complex insurance challenges while improving operational efficiency and customer experience. The platform's open architecture and API-first approach facilitate seamless integration with external systems and ecosystem partners, creating connected insurance environments that extend beyond traditional boundaries. IXT is continuously updated with new features on a quarterly basis, delivered by a team of R&D experts to ensure the platform remains current with evolving market requirements and technological advancements.

In addition to IXT, OneDegree Global offers Cymetrics, a comprehensive cybersecurity assessment SaaS platform specifically designed for the insurance industry. Cymetrics provides advanced security assessment capabilities that enable insurers to evaluate and mitigate cyber risks effectively, both for their own operations and as part of cyber insurance underwriting processes. The integration of IXT with Cymetrics creates a particularly compelling solution for cyber insurance, as demonstrated by the company's partnership with Lexasure Financial Group to deliver a digital-first cyber insurance platform for South and Southeast Asia. This integration leverages the strengths of both platforms to provide a comprehensive solution that combines insurance operational capabilities with specialized cybersecurity assessment tools, addressing the growing market demand for effective cyber risk management and protection.

OneDegree Global's product portfolio is further complemented by its expertise in digital asset insurance, leveraging the capabilities of OneInfinity, which provides specialized insurance solutions for Web3 businesses and digital assets. This expertise enhances the company's ability to address emerging risk categories and specialized insurance needs, particularly in the rapidly evolving digital economy. The company's product strategy demonstrates a clear focus on addressing both current operational requirements of insurers while enabling innovation and adaptation to emerging risks and market opportunities, creating a forward-looking platform that helps insurers navigate the evolving insurance landscape.

Technical Architecture

IXT's architecture is designed as a cloud-native, API-first platform that enables seamless integration with insurers' existing systems and ecosystem partners, providing flexibility and scalability while supporting modern deployment models. The platform employs a microservices-based architecture that facilitates independent scaling and deployment of components, improving resilience and enabling continuous delivery of new features and capabilities. Security is implemented through a comprehensive approach that includes data encryption, role-based access controls, advanced authentication mechanisms, and compliance with industry standards such as ISO 27001 and ISO 27017, ensuring protection of sensitive insurance data throughout its lifecycle. OneDegree Global's strategic partnership with Microsoft enables the platform to leverage Azure's enterprise-grade reliability, security, and global availability, enhancing both performance and protection capabilities.

The platform's API-first design provides extensive integration capabilities through RESTful APIs that enable connectivity with external systems, including policy administration, claims, billing, customer relationship management, and third-party services. This approach facilitates the creation of connected insurance ecosystems that extend beyond traditional boundaries, supporting emerging models such as embedded insurance and ecosystem-based distribution. IXT supports various deployment models, including cloud-based SaaS on Microsoft Azure and on-premises deployment, providing flexibility for insurers with different infrastructure preferences and regulatory requirements. The platform's cloud integration enables rapid provisioning of new environments, with implementation timelines significantly reduced compared to traditional insurance system deployments.

IXT incorporates advanced AI capabilities through its integration with Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service, which powers features such as IXT Seeble for automating complex insurance processes. This integration enables sophisticated natural language processing, intelligent automation, and enhanced decision support across underwriting, claims, and customer service functions. The platform's analytics capabilities provide comprehensive insights into business performance, customer behavior, and operational metrics, supporting data-driven decision-making and continuous optimization. IXT's technical architecture accommodates both full system replacement and phased modernization approaches, allowing insurers to implement the platform incrementally while maintaining connectivity with existing systems during transition periods.

OneDegree Global's Cymetrics platform complements IXT with specialized cybersecurity assessment capabilities, providing comprehensive security evaluation tools that enhance both insurer operations and cyber insurance underwriting processes. The integration between IXT and Cymetrics creates a unified platform approach for cyber insurance, combining core insurance operations with specialized risk assessment capabilities in a seamless technical architecture. This integrated approach is particularly valuable for addressing emerging risks such as cybersecurity threats, where specialized technical capabilities are essential for effective risk evaluation and management. The platform architecture supports high availability through redundant infrastructure, automated failover mechanisms, and comprehensive disaster recovery capabilities, ensuring business continuity for mission-critical insurance operations.

Strengths

OneDegree Global's technical architecture demonstrates particular strength in its cloud-native, API-first design, which enables rapid deployment, scalability, and seamless integration with broader insurance ecosystems. The platform's integration with Microsoft Azure and Azure OpenAI Service provides advanced AI capabilities that enhance automation, decision support, and customer experience across the insurance lifecycle, creating competitive differentiation in an increasingly technology-driven market. IXT's comprehensive functionality covering the entire insurance value chain from product configuration to claims management provides insurers with a unified platform that reduces system fragmentation and enhances operational consistency. The platform's quarterly update cadence ensures continuous innovation and feature enhancement, enabling insurers to stay current with evolving market requirements and technological advancements without disruptive upgrade cycles.

OneDegree Global's specialized expertise in emerging risk categories, particularly cybersecurity and digital assets, provides unique capabilities for insurers addressing these growing market segments. The integration between IXT and Cymetrics creates a particularly compelling solution for cyber insurance, combining core insurance operations with specialized risk assessment capabilities in a unified platform approach. The company's strategic partnerships, including those with Microsoft, Eazy Digital, and Lexasure Financial Group, extend its ecosystem and enhance the value proposition of its platforms through complementary capabilities and market reach. OneDegree Global's focus on the Asia-Pacific region provides deep understanding of local market requirements and regulatory environments, enabling the delivery of solutions that address specific regional needs while supporting global best practices.

Customer implementations have demonstrated IXT's ability to drive digital transformation and operational efficiency for insurers, with successful deployments across multiple markets in Asia. First Insurance in Taiwan selected IXT to enhance its technical capabilities and meet evolving customer expectations through digital transformation, validating the platform's effectiveness for established insurers seeking modernization. The platform's flexibility and configurability empower business users to implement product and process changes with minimal technical involvement, reducing dependency on IT resources and accelerating time to market for new offerings. OneDegree Global's continuous investment in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence positions insurers to capitalize on these innovations to enhance operations, customer experience, and competitive differentiation.

Weaknesses

While OneDegree Global has established a strong position in the Asia-Pacific region, its global market presence remains limited compared to larger, established insurance platform providers, potentially creating challenges in broader international expansion beyond its current regional focus. The company's relatively recent entry into the insurance platform market means it lacks the extensive implementation track record of more established competitors, which may create perception challenges for conservative insurers seeking proven, long-term solutions. Although OneDegree Global has secured significant funding, its financial resources are more constrained compared to larger enterprise technology providers, potentially limiting its ability to invest simultaneously across multiple growth initiatives, product enhancements, and geographic expansions.

The company's strong focus on the Asia-Pacific market, while providing deep regional expertise, may limit its immediate applicability for global insurers seeking consistent platform capabilities across multiple international markets. OneDegree Global's integration with Microsoft Azure creates a strong cloud partnership but may raise concerns for insurers with investments in alternative cloud environments or multi-cloud strategies, potentially requiring additional integration work or architectural compromises. While the IXT platform provides comprehensive insurance functionality, insurers with highly specialized or unique requirements may find limitations in the standard offering, potentially requiring custom development or alternative approaches to address specific needs.

OneDegree Global's size and relatively early stage of development may create concerns for large enterprise insurers regarding long-term viability and support capabilities, though the company's continued funding success and strategic partnerships help mitigate these concerns. Documentation and training resources for the platform may be less mature than those of more established competitors, creating potential challenges for self-service implementation and knowledge transfer. The company's rapid growth and expansion into multiple markets may create resource constraints affecting implementation support and ongoing service delivery, requiring careful management of organizational scaling to maintain service quality as the customer base expands.

Client Voice

Insurance carriers implementing OneDegree Global's IXT platform have reported significant results, with First Insurance in Taiwan leveraging the solution to drive comprehensive digital transformation at their 60-year-old insurance company, enhancing technical capabilities and improving customer experiences. Financial institutions utilizing the platform have successfully streamlined operations and accelerated product launches, with one client noting that IXT enabled them to "introduce automation and customization to allow insurers to release products quickly." Asian insurers have implemented the platform to support digital-first insurance offerings, with Yes, Sure in Korea using IXT as the foundation for the country's first cloud-based insurance platform service, demonstrating the solution's effectiveness for innovative insurance business models.

Clients typically report implementation timelines of 3-6 months for initial deployments, significantly faster than traditional insurance system implementations that often require 12-18 months or more. Insurance organizations consistently highlight the value of IXT's modern architecture and configuration capabilities, with one client noting that the platform's "scalable and secure" design "works as a robust middle office with automated rule engines and streamlined workflows across the entire insurance operation." Regarding ongoing operations, clients report that IXT's cloud deployment significantly reduces administrative overhead, with one insurer citing a "lower total cost of ownership" that enables them to "generate quick wins, create sustainable operational efficiencies, and gain competitive advantages" in their market.

Insurance clients in emerging risk categories particularly value OneDegree Global's specialized capabilities, with cyber insurance providers leveraging the integration between IXT and Cymetrics to deliver comprehensive risk assessment and protection solutions. Client feedback highlights the platform's flexibility and integration capabilities, with users appreciating the ability to connect with existing systems and ecosystem partners through the platform's API-first approach. Multiple clients cite OneDegree Global's industry expertise and customer-centric approach as key factors in their implementation success, with one partner highlighting the "strategic alliance" that enables them to "set a new standard in Asia's insurance sector." Enterprise clients emphasize the value of OneDegree Global's ecosystem of partners and integrated solutions, which extends platform capabilities and accelerates innovation beyond core functionality.

Bottom Line

OneDegree Global represents a compelling option for insurers, MGAs, and brokers in the Asia-Pacific region seeking a modern, cloud-native platform to drive digital transformation, operational efficiency, and innovation in a rapidly evolving insurance landscape. The company's IXT platform provides comprehensive functionality across the insurance lifecycle with particular strength in emerging risk categories, while its integration with Microsoft Azure and advanced AI technologies creates competitive differentiation through enhanced automation and decision support capabilities. OneDegree Global is best characterized as an emerging leader in the Asia-Pacific insurtech market, with growing capabilities and strategic partnerships that position it for continued expansion while addressing the specific needs of regional insurance providers navigating digital transformation.

Medium-sized insurers, digital challengers, and specialized risk carriers in the Asia-Pacific region would be best suited for OneDegree Global's IXT platform, which excels at supporting digital-first insurance operations while providing the flexibility and configurability needed for ongoing innovation. The platform's comprehensive functionality makes it particularly valuable for insurers seeking to accelerate digital transformation through a unified system that streamlines the entire insurance value chain. Large global insurers with significant operations outside the Asia-Pacific region may find OneDegree Global's regional focus limiting for comprehensive global deployments, though the platform's capabilities remain relevant for regional operations within its primary markets.

OneDegree Global has demonstrated the strongest domain expertise in property and casualty insurance, cyber insurance, and digital asset protection, where the platform's capabilities effectively address both traditional operational requirements and emerging risk categories. The decision to select OneDegree Global's IXT platform should be guided by factors including alignment with the company's Asia-Pacific focus, digital transformation objectives, innovation priorities, and specific requirements for emerging risk categories such as cyber insurance or digital assets. A minimum viable IXT implementation typically requires a budget of $500,000 to $2 million depending on scope and complexity, an implementation timeline of 3-6 months, and a dedicated team including business stakeholders, IT resources, and change management expertise to ensure successful adoption and value realization.

Strategic Planning Assumptions

Because OneDegree Global's IXT platform demonstrates the operational benefits of cloud-native insurance systems combined with increasing insurer demand for digital transformation capabilities, by 2027 over 65% of insurers in the Asia-Pacific region will adopt cloud-based insurance platforms, achieving 25-35% reductions in operational costs while gaining significant business agility and innovation capabilities. (Probability: 0.85)
Because OneDegree Global's integration with Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service enhances automation and decision support across insurance processes, combined with the growing adoption of AI technologies in insurance, by 2026 at least 50% of standard insurance processes including underwriting, claims, and customer service will be augmented or automated through AI technologies, reducing processing times by 40-60% while maintaining or improving decision quality. (Probability: 0.80)
Because OneDegree Global's specialized capabilities for cybersecurity risk assessment through Cymetrics address growing market demands for cyber protection, combined with escalating cyber threats across the Asia-Pacific region, by 2028 cyber insurance will grow to represent at least 10% of commercial insurance premiums in developed Asian markets, with digital-first platforms capturing 60% of this expanding segment through superior risk assessment and automated underwriting capabilities. (Probability: 0.75)
Because OneDegree Global's rapid implementation timelines demonstrate the benefits of modern platform architectures, combined with increasing insurer pressure for faster technology deployment, by 2026 the average implementation time for insurance core systems will decrease from 12-18 months to 3-6 months for mid-sized carriers, enabling 3-4 times faster realization of business benefits from digital transformation initiatives. (Probability: 0.80)
Because IXT's API-first architecture supports ecosystem connectivity and embedded insurance models, combined with the growing importance of distribution partnerships, by 2027 at least 30% of new insurance policies in Asia will be generated through non-traditional distribution channels including embedded insurance, digital ecosystems, and platform partnerships, fundamentally transforming insurance acquisition models. (Probability: 0.75)
Because OneDegree Global's quarterly platform update cadence enables continuous innovation, combined with accelerating market changes and customer expectations, by 2026 leading insurers will release new products and capabilities 4-6 times faster than today, creating significant competitive advantages through superior market responsiveness and customer experience. (Probability: 0.70)
Because OneDegree Global's configuration capabilities empower business users to implement changes with minimal technical resources, addressing growing demands for business agility, by 2027 at least 70% of insurance product and process changes will be implemented by business teams rather than IT staff, dramatically reducing time-to-market and enabling insurers to respond more rapidly to market opportunities. (Probability: 0.80)
Because OneDegree Global's specialized capabilities for digital asset protection address emerging market needs, combined with the growing adoption of digital assets and Web3 technologies, by 2028 digital asset insurance will emerge as a distinct category representing at least $5 billion in global premiums, with specialized platforms capturing 80% of this market through superior technical capabilities and risk assessment methodologies. (Probability: 0.65)
Because OneDegree Global's integration between core insurance and cybersecurity capabilities demonstrates the value of unified platform approaches, by 2027 successful insurtech platforms will expand beyond traditional core insurance functions to incorporate specialized risk assessment and protection capabilities for emerging risks, creating comprehensive solutions that address both operational requirements and evolving risk landscapes. (Probability: 0.75)
Because OneDegree Global's partnership strategy extends platform capabilities through ecosystem integration, combined with the growing importance of insurtech collaboration, by 2026 leading insurance platforms will maintain active integrations with more than 25 insurtech partners, creating richly connected insurance ecosystems that extend beyond traditional boundaries and enable continuous innovation through complementary capabilities. (Probability: 0.85)

David Wright https://www.fourester.com