AXA Digital Commercial Platform (AXA DCP), an AI-driven risk management system, has struck a deal with ICEYE, the manufacturer and operator of the world’s largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) microsatellite constellation, allowing it to track floods, wildfires, hurricanes and other extreme weather events with what the company says is “unprecedented” accuracy.
AXA DCP is AXA’s newest division designed to address the challenges of today’s “multiple crises,” bringing together advanced technology, large-scale data, third-party software, artificial intelligence, and human expertise on a platform built on AWS to deliver end-to-end risk management from prediction to prevention.
Regular readers will know that ICEYE’s SAR technology provides near real-time intelligence in challenging environmental conditions, serving governments, defense forces, intelligence agencies and the commercial sector.
These capabilities make ICEYE a key defense intelligence partner for many NATO members, including Finland, Poland and the Netherlands.
At the end of last year, ICEYE received €150 million in new funding and €50 million in a secondary placement, led by General Catalyst with broad pan-European participation.
The company has also entered into a new global strategic partnership with Munich Re Risk Management Partners, which leverages the group’s reinsurance expertise to deliver advanced climate risk insights through its location risk intelligence platform.
The latest partnership with AXA DCP is said to come at a critical time, as the world grapples with closely related risks that cannot be addressed individually and are more difficult to manage holistically.
AXA DCP CEO Pierre du Rostu hailed the agreement with ICEYE as a “landmark deal”, adding: “We are responding to the challenges of multiple crises through continuous evolution. Our aim is to leverage the best solutions available and move beyond response to prediction and prevention.
“ICEYE is a world leader in monitoring natural disasters, delivering the real-time insights our customers need, even when it’s dark, cloudy, dusty, smoke or ash.
“We are delighted to be able to combine our expertise with their proprietary data to support our clients and wider society. This clearly reflects our continued commitment to using state-of-the-art technology to transform the insurance industry.”
Stephen Lathrope, Senior Vice President of Solutions at ICEYE, added: “Extending access to ICEYE’s advanced SAR technology through AXA DCP is a transformative step for the insurance and risk management industry.
“It enables organizations to leverage cutting-edge innovation at scale, unlocking new insights and fundamentally changing the way they prepare for, respond to and recover from catastrophic events. Together, we are helping to unlock new insights and strengthen disaster response strategies.”
