Guidewire to buy hyperexponential for up to $2.1 billion

Guidewire has agreed to buy London-based insurance software company hyperexponential in a transaction that could reach $2.1 billion, adding AI-native underwriting and pricing technology for commercial property-and-casualty insurers.

$1.7 billion in cash, with a conditional extra payment

The agreement includes $1.7 billion in cash, subject to adjustments, plus up to $400 million contingent on specified recurring-revenue targets. The maximum headline value is therefore not the same as a guaranteed payment at closing.

Hyperexponential develops software used by underwriters and actuaries to assess and price commercial insurance risk. Guidewire said the combination would bring that work together with its broader insurance software platform.

AI ambitions extend into underwriting decisions

Guidewire expects hyperexponential's AI agents to help underwriters and actuaries assess risk, price policies and make decisions. Those are the companies' projected benefits of the proposed combination, rather than independently demonstrated results from an acquisition that has already closed.

Guidewire says more than 570 property-and-casualty insurers in 44 countries use its software. Hyperexponential says its platform has supported decisions across more than $75 billion in annual commercial P&C premiums. That premium figure describes the insurance business supported by the platform, not hyperexponential's own revenue.

Debt and cash would fund the purchase

Guidewire expects to finance the acquisition with $1 billion in new term loans and cash on hand. It said it had received a binding debt commitment from Bank of America and Citibank.

The company expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of its fiscal 2027, subject to closing conditions and risks. It does not expect a change to its previously issued first-quarter fiscal 2027 guidance and plans to update the full-year outlook on its December earnings call.

Until the closing conditions are met, the announcement remains an agreed acquisition, not a completed transfer of ownership.

Sources

• Reuters: Guidewire to buy hyperexponential in deal worth up to $2.1 billion
• Guidewire: Definitive acquisition agreement announcement
• Guidewire Engineering Blog: Bengaluru office image and context