FinTech Weekly | Issue 57

Insurance technology Bimaplan received $3.5 million in financing

The insurance technology company Bimaplan invested by Combinator announced a $3.5 million financing, led by Orios Venture Partners, with existing investors Finsight Ventures and 2am VC also participating in this round of financing. Bimaplan was founded in 2020, and its embedded insurance platform helps insurance companies design cost-effective insurance products, thereby attracting more middle and low-income consumers.

 

Information link:

https://www.cnbctv18.com/binge/insurtech-startup-bimapla-8hlojDiy_Uw.ht

Comment: Bimaplan's partners are all based in rural and suburban markets, providing convenient services for insurance sales on its embedded platform as channel partners. This round of financing funds will be used to strengthen the functionality and scalability of its technology platform, while launching new products to meet consumer needs.

 

Lendbuzz, an automotive fintech company, received $345 million in financing

Lendbuzz, a technology company that utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning, announced a $345 million financing from existing investors 83North, O G. Venture and other leading investors. The financing funds will be used to increase investment in product research and innovation. Lendbuzz was established in 2015 to strive for better credit products for consumers through artificial intelligence, machine learning technology, and data.

 

Information link:

https://www.lendbuzz.com/

Comment: The company evaluates the credit value of consumers across the entire credit range, including those from traditional banks, and provides proprietary software for dealer partners to accelerate the loan process.

 

Zurich to acquire a brokerage company for $760 million

Zurich's financial report shows that its property and casualty insurance and life insurance businesses saw significant growth in the first nine months of this year. Driven by the growth of commercial and retail insurance and a 6% increase in premium rates, property and accident insurance revenue surged by 9%.

 

Information link:

https://www.zurich.com/

Comment: The company's strategic initiatives include plans to acquire three brokerage entities and a flood planning services department for $760 million, which is expected to improve customer service and retention rates.

 

Radius agent financing $13 million

Real estate brokerage firm radius agent raised $13 million in B-round financing involving AXA Venture Partners, NFX, Cota Capital, and others. Founded in 2015, radius is a comprehensive service brokerage company that provides real estate professionals and their teams with the support and tools they need to develop their business through a simplified and reasonable commission structure.

 

Information link:

https://www.finsmes.com/2023/11/radius-agent-raises-13m-in-series-b-funding.html#: ~: text=Radius% 20Agent% 2C% 20a% 20San% 20Francisco% 2C% 20CAbased% 20provider% 20of, Capital% 2C% 20and% 20Sierra% 20Ventures% 20among% 20other% 20existing% 20investors

Comment: The company also provides guidance, recruitment, financial services, and marketing resources for the team to establish and expand their own brand.

Baoshi Allstate has released new features for mobile applications

Insurance company Allstate has released the latest version of its mobile application, offering features beyond insurance, including a parking reservation platform from SpotHero, to help customers quickly find parking spaces and save costs; Weather risk resources from Risk Factor to understand household climate risks

 

Information link:

https://blog.spothero.com/spothero-now-available-in-the-allstate-app

Comment: From the repair shop search service of Good Hands. The new features bring more value to customers and change the way people interact with insurance companies.

 

Online insurance technology company Coalition launched in Australia

Online insurance technology company Coalition has announced the official launch of the Australian market, and they have now launched in the US, UK, and Canadian markets. Coalition collaborates with Allianz Australia to provide insurance products to consumers. Allianz is its strategic partner and also provides underwriting capabilities for their network insurance products in the United States and the United Kingdom.

 

Information link:

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231106574951/en/Coalition-Launches-Active-Cyber-Insurance-in-Australia

Comment: Nowadays, Australian insurance brokerage companies can sell Coalition's network insurance and technical negligence liability insurance to businesses with a turnover of up to AUD 2 billion.

 

Amazon Launches New Healthcare Benefits

Amazon has announced a new Prime membership benefit that will bring "high-quality" care to One Medical, a primary care provider acquired by the company for $3.9 billion last year. One Medical membership covers unlimited access to 24/7 on-demand virtual care, including video chats with licensed providers, and a simple "immediate treatment" feature within the application, allowing members to quickly take care of common problems such as colds and flu, skin problems, allergies, urinary tract infections, and more.

 

Information link:

https://health.amazon.com/prime

Comment: Virtual care is provided nationwide, and members are not required to bear any additional fees for on-demand virtual care services - all fees are borne by the membership.

 

CLARA Analytics Launches Industry's First Loss Claims Intelligent Platform

CLARA Analytics, a claims optimization technology company, has launched the CLARAty.ai platform to promote the insurance claims process and assist claims personnel in their daily work. This new platform adopts a comprehensive claims settlement method, providing users with intelligent insights, obtaining the necessary information, and solving claims cases with higher operational efficiency and lower costs.

 

Information link:

https://claraanalytics.com/

Comment: The CLARA platform is not only suitable for individual claims for personal insurance, but also supports work injury compensation, car insurance, and general liability insurance claims activities, and will add more services in the future.

Moneythor Launches Customer Activation Management Platform

Moneythor, a personalized and digital engagement solution provider in Singapore, has launched a new service, the Customer Activation Management Platform, which aims to help banks achieve long-term customer profitability. The customer activation management platform provides a series of functions including advanced recommendation management, points, vouchers and gift cards, cash returns, challenges, and gamification technology.

 

Information link:

https://www.moneythor.com/

 

The Central Bank Digital Currency Collaboration (CBDCCO) has been officially established and has reached an action plan

On November 14th, the Central Bank Digital Currency Collaboration (CBDCCO) officially announced its establishment and held its first closed door meeting in Munich, Germany. This marks a milestone in the application of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) technology, especially in adopting innovative solutions to promote efficient and reliable carbon infrastructure and settlement as the preferred scenario.

 

Information link:

https://www.nobelsustainability.org/post/central-bank-digital-currency-collaboration-organization-cbdcco-will-be-founded-in-august

 

Green Dot, US Digital Bank Appoints Senior Vice President Dave Harden as New CTO

Green Dot, a digital banking and fintech company in Texas, has appointed Dave Harden as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Harden previously served as Senior Vice President of Product Development and has been in this position since February 2022. He will be responsible for overseeing and driving the development and delivery of Green Dot's technology platform.

 

Information link:

https://www.fintechfutures.com/2023/11/us-digital-bank-green-dot-appoints-svp-dave-harden-as-new-cto/

 

HMBradley's New Bank Closes Retail Business and Turns to Technology Sales for Enterprise Customers

HMBradley, a new bank focused on savings users, is closing its consumer oriented business and focusing instead on selling its technology to traditional banks. Zach Bruhnke, CEO and co founder of the company, stated on Wednesday. Bruhnke said in a message to platform users that the fintech company will gradually close its consumer deposit and credit card programs over the next 30 days.

 

Information link:

https://www.hmbradley.com/

GRI and IFRS announce an initiative aimed at helping companies establish sustainability reporting capabilities

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announced plans to establish a new Sustainable Innovation Laboratory (SIL) and collaborate with the IFRS Foundation as a convening partner to help companies meet evolving sustainability disclosure requirements.

 

Information link:

https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2022/03/ifrs-foundation-signs-agreement-with-gri/

 

Indonesia launches the largest floating solar power plant in Southeast Asia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has launched the 192 megawatt peak (MWp) capacity floating solar power plant (PLTS) in Pulwakarta, West Java Province, making it the largest and third largest floating solar power plant in Southeast Asia and the world.

 

Information link:

https://zh.vietnamplus.vn/

 

BlackRock and Occidental will develop the world's largest direct air capture plant

American oil company announced that BlackRock will invest $550 million on behalf of its clients in the development of the world's largest direct air capture (DAC) facility, Stratos, in Exeter County, Texas. Through a fund managed through its diversified infrastructure business, BlackRock has signed a final agreement to form a joint venture with Occidental's subsidiary 1PointFive, which will own Stratos.

 

Information link:

https://www.oxy.com/news/news-releases/occidental...

 

The second plenary meeting of the ESG Leaders' Forum Council was held

On November 7th, the second plenary meeting of the ESG Leaders' Forum Council was held in Shanghai. The meeting summarized the results of the third ESG Global Leaders Conference, approved relevant voting matters, and approved McDonald's joining the ESG Leaders Organization Forum.

 

Information link:

https://finance.sina.com.cn/esg/2023-11-09/doc-imztytuu4629860.shtml?r=0&tr=174

Digital payments by large US technology companies may face strong regulation

On November 8th, the highest consumer finance regulatory agency in the United States proposed on Tuesday to regulate the digital payment and smartphone wallet services of technology giants, stating that they are comparable in scale and scope to traditional payment methods but lack consumer protection.

 

Information link:

https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/usstock/c/2023...

 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore collaborates with the industry to develop a generative AI risk framework for the financial sector

On November 15th, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the successful completion of the first phase of the MindForge project. The project aims to develop a risk framework for the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in the financial sector, with the support of a consortium consisting of DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, UOB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Citigroup Singapore, HSBC Bank, Google Cloud, Microsoft, MAS, Accenture, and the Singapore Banking Association. A white paper detailing the risk framework will be released in January 2024.

 

Information link:

https://www.163.com/dy/article/IJLFKBIT05198086.html

 

IBM will launch a $500 million venture fund to invest in artificial intelligence companies

On November 7th, IBM announced the launch of a $500 million venture fund to invest in a series of generative artificial intelligence companies. Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer of IBM Software, stated that the company plans to invest in startups in stages, but has not set an annual investment target or capital deployment schedule.

 

Information link:

https://newsroom.ibm.com/2023-11-07-IBM-Launches-500-Million-Enterprise-AI-Venture-Fund

 

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has found that companies should strengthen their anti fraud systems and must better treat fraud victims.

On November 7th, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK is collaborating with payment service providers to take more measures to protect consumers from fraud, including authorized push payment (APP) fraud. FCA found in the review that: 1) companies should take more measures to strengthen systems aimed at detecting and preventing fraud; 2) Many companies do not attach enough importance to providing good consumer outcomes; 3) Some companies should take more measures to improve support for fraud victims; 4) Some companies have inadequate complaint handling, including companies often taking a long time to respond to complaints, and customers receiving decision letters that are sometimes unclear, confusing, and contain useless or even accusatory language.

 

Information link:

https://www.fca.org.uk/

The Hong Kong Financial Development Council Announces the Establishment of the Hong Kong Institute of Wealth Inheritance

On November 14, 2023, the Hong Kong Financial Development Authority (HKDF) announced the establishment of the Hong Kong Institute of Wealth Inheritance and announced the appointment of board members. The Hong Kong Wealth Inheritance College was established by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, commissioned by the Golden Development Bureau, to turn Hong Kong into a leading global hub for family offices. The college will provide services such as communication and collaboration, knowledge sharing, and talent training, committed to building a win-win ecosystem for global family office managers, asset owners, wealth management practitioners, and others, and enhancing Hong Kong's international position as a hub for family offices.

 

Information link:

https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_25319363#

 

The EU Tax Observatory proposes to impose a global minimum tax rate of 2% on the wealth of billionaires

According to a recent report by Agence France Presse, the European Union Tax Observatory has proposed a global minimum tax rate of 2% on the wealth of approximately 2800 billionaires. The EU Tax Observatory stated that European billionaires currently only pay $6 billion in taxes annually. If a 2% tax is imposed on the wealth of these billionaires, tax revenue can increase by about 7 times, reaching 40 billion euros in Europe and over 200 billion euros worldwide.

 

Information link:

https://finance.jrj.com.cn/2023/10/23083038041891.shtml#:

 

Nearly 85 trillion US dollars in global wealth will be passed on to the next generation

On November 10th, the "2023 UBS Inheritance Forum", which focuses on the new trend of Chinese entrepreneur inheritance and charity, was held in Shanghai. At the media sharing meeting, many entrepreneurs faced the problem of "second generation succession". According to the 2022 UBS Investor Observation Report, the world is expected to experience the largest wealth transfer period in history over the next 20 years, with nearly $85 trillion of wealth expected to be passed on to the next generation.

 

Information link:

https://www.21jingji.com/article/20231110/herald/0...

 

International industry elites are optimistic about Hong Kong's status as an international financial center

Recently, the highly anticipated Second International Financial Leaders' Investment Summit was successfully held in Hong Kong. This summit demonstrates the confidence and composure of the saying 'Hong Kong has a beautiful scenery', and declares with facts and actions that Hong Kong's position as an international financial center is unbreakable.

 

Information link:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/gangao/2023-11/11/c_1212300619.htm

Famous companies such as Microsoft, Citigroup, and Merck have all released GPT-4 related positions

On January 13th, the field of Large Language Modeling (LLM) grew rapidly, with a surge in demand for professionals in deep learning, machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP). Famous companies such as Microsoft, Citigroup, and Merck have all released positions related to GPT-4.

 

Information link:

https://www.chinaz.com/2023/1113/1574806.shtml

 

Google Maps Launches New AR Features

On November 14th, the new version of Google Maps recently added a new AR feature called Lens in Maps, which can help mark objects and locations through AI. Users can request AI to tell you more information about the location and how to reach the destination.

 

Information link:

https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/20/22892152/google-project-iris-ar-headset-2024

 

Google Warns Hackers to Post False Bard AI Assistant Advertisements

On November 15th, Google released a report this week warning a group of hackers to advertise fake Bard AI assistants on major platforms. After clicking on a fake advertisement, the victim will be redirected to a phishing website and directed to install malicious software. Google is not aware of the true identities of these hackers, but based on their IP addresses, it is speculated that these hackers may be located in Vietnam.

 

Information link:

https://blog.google/technology/ai/try-bard/

 

Amazon has launched an intelligent robot to provide patrol, monitoring and other services for small and medium-sized enterprises

On Wednesday, November 16th, local time, Amazon launched an intelligent robot Astro for Business, providing patrol, monitoring, intelligent alerts, and other services for small and medium-sized enterprises to reduce burglaries and other threats.

 

Information link:

https://www.36kr.com/newsflashes/2520390067922688

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: The content is from the Internet, WeChat official account and other public channels. We are neutral about the points in the article. This article is only for reference and exchange.