The selected startups have innovative technologies that operate in the fields of insurtech, digital, data, artificial intelligence, cyber and customer experience.
The prestigious event was attended by:
Dr Moshe Bareket, Director General of Israel’s Capital Market, Insurance & Saving Authority, Yehuda Ben-Assayag, CEO of Menora Mivtachim, Daniel Melka, CEO of IBM Israel, Moshe Morgenstern, Deputy CEO and Director of the Information and Technology Systems Division at Menora Mivtachim and Ofer Brandt, Chief Actuary and Senior Deputy to the Commissioner for Insurance Innovation
Menora Mivtachim and seven large international insurance companies have successfully located 12 Israeli startups for IBM’s Alpha Zone Accelerator. The selected startups are those with innovative technologies that operate in the fields of insurtech, digital, data, artificial intelligence, cyber and customer experience.
The seven international insurance companies participating in the project are: Menora Mivtachim (Israel), AXA Next, an ecosystem dedicated to accelerating innovation for the AXA Group (France), Allianz (Germany), FM Global (USA), State Farms (USA), Dai- Ichi Life (Japan), Qualitas (Mexico), Mapfre-re (Spain).
Some 100 startups applied for the program, from which 12 companies were eventually accepted.
Startups accepted to the six-month acceleration program will receive technological and business-oriented support from leading mentors from the seven international insurance companies, Menora Mivtachim and IBM technology experts from around the world, as well as an IBM workspace, and credit for IBM cloud services of up to $120,000 per year.
In addition, the selected startups will have the option of conducting feasibility tests and PoCs at Menora Mivtachim and the seven international insurance companies participating in the program and the opportunity to receive investment from the insurance companies.
Daniel Melka, General Manager of IBM Israel, gave the opening remarks and said: that the key component that made IBM’s accelerator successful is the ability to collaborate and interact with others. Finally, he noted that he is pleased to announce a new cooperation, with Menora-Mivtachim, a leading insurance company in Israel, with the goal of scouting for innovation and the best startups for pilots and investment.
Yehuda Ben Assayag, CEO at Menora Mivtachim, said: “The startups that will participate in this class represent some of the best and the brightest in the growing ecosystem in Israel.”
“Choosing participants was a difficult task, as the impressive Israeli entrepreneurial ecosystem is one of the leading ecosystems in the world, and choosing some over the others was not easy, and I hope to cooperate with these other promising entrepreneurs in the future.”
“Menora Mivtachim will continue to be a leading player in the Startup Nation. I only see our role in this ecosystem growing, and I look forward to exploring future possibilities, opportunities and partnerships.”
He conducted his speech by stressing the importance of Open Innovation and the current program: “At Menora Mivtachim, we are thrilled with this cooperation with IBM and the international insurance companies. I believe that we have a lot to learn from one another, and I personally think that sharing knowledge, under the umbrella of Open Innovation, is how our companies will continue to strive for excellence and deliver value to our customers in the future.”
Moshe Morgenstern, Deputy CEO and Director of the Technologies Division at Menora Mivtachim, noted, “We are very pleased to be collaborating with IBM and international insurance companies that bring expertise and knowledge in the insurance and insurtech worlds, and of course with selected startups that can integrate into our technological innovation. The diverse international insurance company community we have built will bring great value to Israeli startups in general and the insurtech field in particular.”
Dr Moshe Bareket, Director General of Israel’s Capital Market, Insurance & Saving Authority, and Ofer Brandt, Chief Actuary and Senior Deputy to the Commissioner for Insurance Innovation, also participated and congratulated and praised the initiative.
Dr Moshe Bareket congratulated IBM, Menora Mivtachim, the global partners and the participating startups and noted that their success is everyone’s success, and that being around such innovators is one of the great perks of his job.
He described the importance of innovation for the insurance industry, as it allows us to improve everybody’s lives. He compared it to bringing home a candy box, and said that some might get less, some might get more, but everybody enjoys it at the end of the day.
He noted that innovation solves problems and headaches for the regulator, who constantly deals with conflicts.
Bareket described the importance of innovation and the fact that some wish to shut it down, but in his opinion, it should instead be embraced, as done with this collaboration, which stresses what is good about innovation, and allows us to dream and follow up on our dreams.
The following is a list of the 12 selected startups (in random order):
| Number | Company Name | Product |
| 1 | Surance.io | The company offers cyber insurance to individuals. |
| 2 | DigitalOwl | A solution for automating insurance claims capable of analyzing medical documents using NLP technology. |
| 3 | Lavaa | The company analyzes medical examinations of customers and produces insights about the underwriting status of the insured. |
| 4 | Spinframe Technologies | The company offers real-time vehicle damage inspection and documentation solutions based on photography. |
| 5 | Rider Dome | A driver assistance solution designed for motorcyclists and vehicle fleets, that uses computer vision, analytics, profiling and real-time alerts. |
| 6 | Comprendo AI | The company has developed a solution for producing fully explainable models machine learning models for the needs of financial institutions |
| 7 | Centraleyes | A solution that helps SMBs to better understand and manage their cyber risks. The solution simplifies cyber risk management, through automation and visualization of cyber risk. |
| 8 | Asterra | The company uses satellites to detect soil moisture |
| 9 | Sensai Networks | A solution for optimizing cloud infrastructure that helps reduce the urgency and length of shutdowns. |
| 10 | Nucleon Cyber | A solution for detecting scams and frauds that includes recommendations on how to defend against specific attacks. |
| 11 | Ananda Networks | A software-based network (Network as a Service) built as a private and invisible layer that allows companies and organizations to stay connected in a simple, efficient (a kind of MESH), fast (up to 10X) and secure way. |
| 12 | Emnotion | A solution for automatic climate forecasting analysis such as storms, floods, heatwaves, etc. |
