Japan-based insurance group Sompo Holdings has formed a partnership with Stanford University and an American startup incubator to jointly develop insurance-related products and services in the advent of autonomous vehicle technology.
This is the first time for both the Centre for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS) and San Francisco-based venture capital firm Comet Labs to collaborate with a Japanese non-life insurer.
Comet Labs, which started in 2015, has been engaged in the funding of various startup firms in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics.
Meanwhile, Sompo has been researching heavily on insurtech, aiming to promote innovation and keep the insurance industry abreast the latest developments in technology. In April 2016, the company launched its Sompo Digital Lab facilities in Tokyo and Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley lab has also partnered with Plug and Play, LLC, another US-based startup accelerator.
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