Used by the best in the industry.
Now used by the best in academia.
Founded in 1754.
Over 100 Nobel laureates.
A big welcome to Sønr’s newest client, Columbia University.
I genuinely couldn’t be prouder to be working with one of the most prestigious universities out there. And providing the leaders of tomorrow with the very same research, insight and tools trusted by today’s top insurers.
Love it.
What I also realise is just how bad I’ve been at celebrating all the new clients we’ve welcomed on board this year.
That is about to change.
Starting next week. Tuesday 👀
The press release is signed.
Distribution lined up.
Social posts written.
Enough tease. Time for some news.
Voice, AI-Automation and the Future of Claims
A big week for Clearspeed which has secured $60 million in Series D funding.
These guys provide voice-based risk assessment technology for claims applications and are smashing it. I continuously hear good things about them from our clients and that’s got to be a good thing.
In related news, Sprout.ai – the insurance automation specialist – is expanding its partnership with MetLife to bring AI-powered claims automation to even more regions around the world, including the US, Asia, and Latin America.
Good work Sprout team.
Doubling Down on Parametric
Parametric is still one of the areas that interests me the most.
This week a couple of interesting announcements.
Descartes Underwriting, the Paris-based parametric insurer for climate and emerging risks, had a strategic investment by Battery Ventures.
What I really like about this one is Marcus Ryu, Partner at Battery Ventures and former CEO and co-founder of Guidewire Software, is joining the Board. That can only be a good thing.
A few Descartes stats:
Now operating in over 60 countries across four continents.
230 employees.
And generating $200m+ in GWP.
Another I enjoyed digging into this week is AIM listed CPP Group.
It’s announced a strategic pivot to focus exclusively on its Blink Parametric insurance technology platform and divest its legacy businesses.
It stated its current share price is “significantly undervalued” relative to its true worth and does not capture “Blink’s full commercial promise”.
In 2024, Blink achieved a 62% year-on-year increase in ARR, reaching £1.6m. Its technology now powers over 1.5 million policies, supported by 28 insurance partners operating across 22 markets.
Let’s see if the move pays off.
Sønr’s Big Study – Beyond Boundaries 2025
The conversations are happening.
The research has kicked off.
LAST CALL: if you run a startup/scaleup and want to be considered for either the Signal 50 or Scale 50, you have a matter of minutes. Well a few days (30th June). Apply here.
Israel’s Global Impact on Insurance Innovation Kobi Bendelak and Dr. Yael Benvenisti delve into how Israel’s startup mindset and global connectivity are shaping the future of insurance innovation worldwide.
From next week, we’re shifting to some of the leading corporate innovators and thinkers in the space. And we’ve a great line up to come.
Up first is a deep dive into the work Gallagher Re are doing with Testudo. This is super good one – definitely make some time for it.
On the Gallagher from I also caught up with Andrew Johnston on Friday. My goodness there’s a lot of love for this man online.
The interviews will keep coming.
All the way to October’s launch.
Nice. And RAC Insurance has announced an exclusive partnership with telematics insurance specialist Ticker to licence and distribute a suite of connected motor insurance products aimed at consumers.
This initial launch is for new and young drivers, which will be followed by further products aimed specifically at older drivers and those who drive low mileages. Low miles. Who have low mileages. Hmm, maybe one of those.
Californian Climate Innovation
Now for the stuff I really love.
Pano AI, a San Francisco-based company pioneering AI-powered early wildfire detection, has secured a $44m Series B.
These guys integrate high-def cameras, satellite feeds, and proprietary AI models to provide real-time wildfire intelligence to emergency services and utility operators.
The Pano platform helps detect, verify, and assess wildfires in their earliest stages, enabling faster response times and minimizing environmental and economic damage.
And whilst California based currently, the investment round will support the expansion of its network across North America and Australia. Noice.
Another Californian company, AndrenaM – this one founded by SpaceX alumnus Matej Cernosek and software engineer Alex Chu – has raised a pretty decent $10m Seed. More impressively in just 36 hours.
The company is developing an AI-powered distributed sonar sensing network, or “sonar mesh,” aimed at providing real-time underwater surveillance and insights. As the tech matures, I’ve got no doubt it’ll become a valuable tool in the insurer’s arsenal.
Broking
Right, a quick run through a few more. I realise time is ticking and I might be losing my audience with the length of this SøNws 😉
Paris-based digital insurer Orus has raised a €25m Series B.
The money intended to fuel international roll-out and launch a new broker platform built to modernise the SMB insurance distribution model.
And AI-driven COVU has made it’s 4th acquisition (I mean I know I should check this but easier just to caveat it with words), buying Ford Insurance Agency that’s been around for 100+ years.
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Right, time to wrap up.
It’s my boy’s sports day and, aside from the 4pm call (which I’ll do from the car 🤦♂️), I want to be a present father. Way too much travel these last weeks.
Strong content. Some nice new formats. Got to hang out with Rose Hall. She’s ace. Oh and it was the Hyrox World Champs a couple of blocks from my hotel. That was a bonus.
A whole different vibe. Totally my vibe. Loved it. ~500 strong. Intimate. Everyone was super approachable and wanting to connect. Congrats Chris and team. Top job.
Next week heading to Oz to hang out with the rather brilliant team QBE. This I can’t wait for.
If you’re Sydney way and would like to meet up, drop me a line. If you have spare Lions tickets, I’m all ears 🤷♂️
Time to win the parents’ race head to my boy’s Sports Day.
