NEWS
Davies appoints Paul O ’ Brien as the firm ’ s first Group Chief AI Officer
Paul O ’ Brien , Group Chief AI Officer , Davies
Professional services and technology specialist Davies has appointed Paul O ’ Brien as the firm ’ s first Group Chief AI Officer .
The newly created role is one of a series of significant investments made by Davies to leverage innovation and capitalize on the value of AI , including the use of generative AI , across the business .
As Chief AI Officer , O ’ Brien will be responsible for advancing the use of AI technology across the organization , developing a core strategy for the ethical use of GenAI and expanding on GenAI technologies across products and services that will drive additional value for the firm ’ s global client base .
Jen Morrissey , Chief Operations Officer , Davies , said : “ As AI continues to play a crucial role in enhancing Davies client services and operations , this demonstrates our strong commitment to innovation and excellence .”
In his most recent role as Chief Technology Officer of Davies ’ Global Solutions division , O ’ Brien – who will continue as Chief Technology Officer alongside his new role – has been responsible for supporting the development and launch of a portfolio of
technology products for the insurance and financial services and other highly regulated markets , as well as continually assessing emerging technologies in order to drive the overall global technology strategy for the firm ’ s Insurance Solutions , Consulting , Technology Solutions and Forensic Accounting business units .
O ’ Brien said : “ I look forward to collaborating across the business to build on our existing AI capabilities and support our teams in leveraging rapidly evolving technologies .”
Pricing platform Akur8 secures $ 120m in series C round
Akur8 , the multi-national machine learning-powered insurance pricing and reserving platform , has secured $ 120 million in series C funding – bringing its total raised investment to $ 180 million .
This latest funding round was led by One Peak , a leading growth equity firm investing in software scale-ups , with participation from Partners Group , one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry acting on behalf of its clients and historical investor Guidewire Software .
The new funding will significantly bolster Akur8 ’ s ability to expand its product portfolio and fuel its growth in key global markets .
Developed explicitly for insurers , Akur8 – which has North American offices in New York , Atlanta and Montreal , has been revolutionizing non-life insurance pricing with transparent AI since 2019 .
With the recent acquisition of the Arius reserving platform , Akur8 further expands its product portfolio and customer base , amplifying the value delivered to insurance carriers worldwide .
The new funding will be used to fuel product innovation , drive growth by leveraging Akur8 ’ s acquisition of Arius and accelerate global expansion .
In addition , the funding will be instrumental in driving Akur8 ’ s strategic expansion into key growth markets – particularly in North America .
“ We look forward to collaborating closely with our new investors One Peak and Partners Group , two leading investment firms that share our vision for innovation and excellence . With their support , we are committed to accelerating our product development efforts to offer an unparalleled , integrated actuarial platform for insurers globally ,” said Samuel Falmagne , CEO and Co-Founder , Akur8 .
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