Koïos Intelligence, a Quebec-based start-up that provides insurance professionals with an AI-powered conversational assistant, has secured $6.5 million in funding as it looks to revolutionize the operations of organizations in the insurance industry.
The financing round was led by Propulia Capital, Canada Economic Development, Export Development Canada, Caisse Desjardins des Technologies, and other private investors.
This new investment will enable Koïos Intelligence to rapidly expand into new markets, while continuing to develop its virtual assistant, Olivo.
The company aims to become the first conversational assistant in the insurance industry in Canada and the United States.
"Our growth has been significant since the company's launch and this round of financing will allow us to further solidify our business strategy. In the medium term, our goal is to revolutionize the way people shop for insurance coverage," said Mohamed Hanini, president, CEO, and CTO of Koïos Intelligence.
Olivo is an AI-powered virtual intermediary between the insurance broker and the consumer.
It allows consumers to shop for different coverage options, and even complete insurance purchases, all while asking the virtual assistant questions.
Olivo is interconnected with leading insurance industry systems such as Applied and the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO), streamlining the pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase processes for all insurance products through data automation.
"The nature of the activities of insurance agents and brokers will evolve towards more personalized advice, along with a drastic reduction in data entry, since virtual assistants can do this job very well," says Mohamed Hanini on Olivo's role.
By combining insights from experts in insurance, finance, and AI, Koïos identified a disconnect between the way brokers currently sell insurance and the way consumers want to buy it.
A survey conducted by Koïos Intelligence found that 75% of consumers expect a response from an agent in less than 5 minutes, and 65% prefer online platforms to call centres when shopping for insurance.
Olivo uses multimodal AI, which trains interlocking algorithms to better understand consumer interactions across multiple channels of information transmission, including text, voice, and image.
"We are pleased to support and welcome a visionary company like Koïos into our ecosystem of start-ups, offering an innovative solution that improves the experience of all parties involved in the entire value chain," says Geneviève Biron, Founder and Managing Director of Propulia Capital, who became a close advisor to Koïos's Board of Directors.
Koïos Intelligence's Olivo will look to change how consumers shop for insurance coverage, offering faster response times and personalized service.
