REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
PRnewswire | April 26, 2023
Today, ZestyAI, the leading provider of climate and property risk analytics solutions powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), announced that severe convective storms have joined the growing list of perils addressed by the company's risk analytics platform. Together, ZestyAI's new Z-WIND and next-generation Z-HAIL models provide a comprehensive solution for severe convective storms — the fastest growing and most costly secondary peril insurers face with nearly $22 billion in damage reported in 2022 alone.
"Insurers continue to grapple with skyrocketing losses brought on by traditional stochastic models that provide inadequate risk assessment for severe convective storms," said Kumar Dhuvur, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of ZestyAI. "That leaves carriers struggling to explain claims when they occur, often falling back to methodology that focuses exclusively on individual large storms. Using a single event to explain losses is like blaming a single candy bar when a tooth develops a cavity."
ZestyAI's Z-HAIL and Z-WIND models are rooted in scientific research, including a study just released by ZestyAI and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), which shows claim frequency is affected by property-level characteristics, accumulated roof damage from previous storms, and potential exposure to future hail events. Traditional stochastic models don't account for the relationship between weather and the structure itself, and they also have many shortcomings with respect to data sources - records don't provide full geographic coverage and only consider storms reported to have hailstones over one inch. These omissions in both property-specific and climate data result in predictions that are wildly off actuals.
ZestyAI's models are unique in that they intersect decades of historical climatology data with property-specific features for unparalleled accuracy in risk assessment. To do this, ZestyAI taps into the immense computing power of the cloud and leverages the latest techniques of AI and machine learning. Using its proprietary Digital Roof™ technology, ZestyAI is able to precisely model the vulnerability of every property in North America to hail and wind based on their specific characteristics, such as roof complexity, quality, and building materials, among others.
These vast amounts of data are then synthesized into two scores, Claim Frequency and Claim Severity, so insurers have an accurate assessment of the expected claim frequency for each property as well as an accurate understanding of how serious a future claim may be.
Z-HAIL and Z-WIND are the first AI models to give carriers hail and wind risk assessment that can be used in both underwriting and rating at the time of quote. Using insights into a roof's susceptibility to severe convective storms and the potential severity of those claims, insurers can accurately segment properties by risk level.
ZestyAI's new models build on the market-leading success of the company's wildfire assessment product, Z-FIRE™, which has been a key piece in addressing wildfire risk in Western states of the U.S. With these additional climate risk products, ZestyAI now addresses at least one peril for every home and business in North America.
About ZestyAI
ZestyAI offers insurers and real estate companies access to precise intelligence about every property in North America. The company uses AI, including computer vision, to build a digital twin for every building across the country, encompassing 200 billion property insights accounting for all details that could impact a property's value and associated risks, including the potential impact of natural disasters. Visit zesty.ai for more information.
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REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
Businesswire | May 09, 2023
EasyKnock, the first technology-enabled residential sale-leaseback platform, today announced its acquisition of Ribbon, a pioneer of powerbuying and cash offer solutions. The transaction is a major milestone for the real estate industry, bringing together homebuying, homeselling, and agent solutions into one unified and simplified experience.
“We are thrilled to bring Ribbon and EasyKnock’s cutting edge financial products together under one roof to provide more options and a competitive advantage to consumers and industry partners nation-wide,” said Jarred Kessler, CEO and co-founder of EasyKnock. “This marks the beginning of a new wave of innovation in the real estate sector, the advent of PropTech 3.0. By combining these product suites and offering solutions for every stop along the homeownership journey, we are better positioned to responsibly empower more families with the financial flexibility and control they need to achieve their goals.”
In bringing the teams together, EasyKnock is accelerating the development of its marketplace planned to launch later this year; a new, more fulsome suite of products and services that will offer consumers alternative ways to buy and sell, finance new homes, and utilize their equity in one place. Recognizing that a new way is needed, the marketplace will benefit everyday Americans with convenience, cost savings, and the competitive edge afforded by the combination of multiple services, positively impacting not only existing and prospective homeowners, but the industry altogether.
“Making homeownership achievable has been Ribbon’s mission and guiding light since its inception. EasyKnock and Ribbon share a vision of enhancing consumer choice in the industry, facilitating its success and enabling a more simplified buying and selling experience.” said Shaival Shah, CEO and co-founder of Ribbon. “We are thrilled to come together with EasyKnock and their pioneering sale-leaseback offering to provide solutions to more and more people. Combined with Ribbon’s award-winning homebuying solutions and network of 90,000 agents and lenders, we are motivated to empower consumers across the country.”
Both EasyKnock and Ribbon have forged strong partnerships in residential real estate by using best-in–class technology that connects consumers with loan officers, real estate agents, and other participants in the homebuying and home selling experience. Following the acquisition, the EasyKnock and Ribbon teams will work with strategic partners to bring their expanded product suite to key markets with an eye towards national expansion.
Goodwin Proctor, a global law firm, acted as legal advisor and Temple View Capital, a Bethesda, Maryland-based business purpose lender, provided financing on the transaction. Terms were not disclosed.
About EasyKnock
EasyKnock is the first-to-market, technology-enabled residential sale-leaseback company in the U.S. Through innovative and accessible solutions, American homeowners who sell their property to EasyKnock can remain in their homes as renters while still getting the cash they need to pursue their financial goals. Headquartered in New York City and founded in 2016, EasyKnock has team members nationwide working to help homeowners unlock their financial freedom through non-loan programs so they can pay off debts, buy their dream home, fund a venture, and more - all while maintaining the ability to stay in their homes and communities. For more information, please visit www.easyknock.com.
About Ribbon
Founded in 2017 in New York and Charlotte, Ribbon is on a mission to make homeownership achievable. Ribbon allows everyday families to compete on a level playing field with high-net-worth individuals and institutional buyers by upgrading their offers to winning RibbonCash Offers. As the leading real estate technology platform, Ribbon empowers agents, brokerages, and lenders to create a world-class experience for homebuyers and sellers through powerful financial products and digital workflow software.
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REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
Businesswire | April 11, 2023
Pagaya Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: PGY) ("Pagaya"), a global technology company delivering artificial intelligence infrastructure for the financial ecosystem, with GIC, one of the world’s leading global institutional investors, announced today that they have strengthened their strategic partnership. GIC and Pagaya extended their existing funding agreement earlier this week, by which GIC invests in the Company’s financing vehicles, for an additional 3 years on top of the original 5-year term, on the same terms as the existing agreement. Additionally, last week, GIC increased its holding of PGY Class A ordinary shares to approximately 9% of Pagaya’s outstanding Class A shares as of March 31, 2023.
GIC is one of Pagaya’s top shareholders and has supported Pagaya’s ability to deliver a comprehensive, one-stop solution for institutional investors to invest at scale in consumer credit and real estate assets originated by more than 25 financial institutions and growing.
Pagaya is at the forefront of leveraging AI and advanced analytics to differentiate in a highly competitive environment and both GIC and Pagaya believe that building smarter financial infrastructure leads to better, more inclusive asset selection. At a time when liquidity is scarce, AI ensures the delivery of high-quality investments at scale.
“GIC is pleased to continue investing in Pagaya as the company expands its financial products through the use of AI technology. With its innovative business model and differentiated performance in challenging market conditions, we believe that Pagaya is well-positioned to create long-term value for investors,” said Tzu Mi Liew, Chief Investment Officer of Fixed Income and Multi Asset of GIC.
“We are pleased to continue our ongoing partnership with GIC, who has played an important role in the rapid growth of our network over the past few years. As one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated investment firms, GIC recognizes the power of AI technology driving future opportunity for investors and Pagaya is fortunate to have their confidence and support,” said Gal Krubiner, co-founder and CEO of Pagaya. “This is a long-term strategic relationship for us that we hope to continue for decades to come.”
About GIC
GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to secure Singapore’s financial future. As the manager of Singapore’s foreign reserves, GIC takes a long-term, disciplined approach to investing, and is uniquely positioned across a wide range of asset classes and active strategies globally. These include equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, venture capital, and infrastructure. The firm’s long-term approach, multi-asset capabilities, and global connectivity enable them to be an investor of choice. GIC seeks to add meaningful value to its investments. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC has a global talent force of over 1,900 people in 11 key financial cities and has investments in over 40 countries. Further information is available at https://www.gic.com.sg.
About Pagaya Technologies
Pagaya (NASDAQ: PGY) is a global technology company making life-changing financial products and services available to more people nationwide. By using machine learning, a vast data network and a sophisticated AI-driven approach, Pagaya provides comprehensive consumer credit and residential real estate solutions for its partners, their customers, and investors. Its proprietary API and capital solutions integrate into its network of partners to deliver seamless user experiences and greater access to the mainstream economy. Pagaya has offices in New York and Tel Aviv. For more information, visit pagaya.com.
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