Israeli Startup Endor Wins MetLife’s Contract

Big data is one of the most critical elements of the digital age, and it is presenting both challenges and opportunities for companies pursuing a data-driven business model. While information is widely available, deriving meaningful insights from that data can be a challenge.

For example, Bond Capital’s 2019 Internet Trends Report compared today’s analytics environment to “drinking from a data firehose.” Consequently, companies are prioritizing usability when adopting big data initiatives.

That trend was on display once again at Collab 5.0, an insurtech incubator jointly run by MetLife and Lumenlab, which awarded its top prize to Endor, a data analytics platform that comparable to a Google for data-centered insights.

The first-place prize includes a $100,000 contract to pilot their data analytics platform with MetLife Korea, the Seoul-based headquarters for the global insurance giant. The contract presents an opportunity for a large company to harness the power of big data with efficiency and precision rather than bulk and broad strokes.

The insurance company has more than 90 million customers in over 60 countries, and it is continually striving to apply the latest technology to its most pressing problems.

As Zia Zaman, LumenLab’s chief executive officer and the chief innovation officer of MetLife Asia, explains, “Innovation is a business imperative and external collaboration forms a key component of MetLife’s efforts to transform the insurance sector.”

Big Data Makes Meaningful Customer Interactions

MetLife’s insurance business incorporates many sectors, including the dental, healthcare, automotive, and housing industries. Appropriately using big data helps the company capture emerging trends while creating the most cost-efficient and competitive business model available. Therefore, Endor will provide advanced AI and predictive analytics to the company’s customer engagement, sales, and operations initiatives.

First launched in 2014 by MIT researchers, Endor was initially known for its proprietary Social Physics technology that allowed retailers and businesses to identify patterns in customer behavior, allowing them to make preemptive decisions about their customers. Comparable to a Google for data analytics, Endor makes analytical insights simple and searchable, making an intuitive process from otherwise complicated endeavor.

Although the technology has already been implemented by Fortune 500 companies like Coca-Cola and Mastercard, their work with MetLife will increase the platform’s scope in a more comprehensive way.

For example, at a time when privacy and data security is a top priority for many companies, Endor’s ability to analyze encrypted data sets is especially appealing for the insurance industry, which is tasked with protecting people’s most sensitive information.

Endor recently released the blockchain-based Endor Protocol v.1 that could further transform the data economy.

The chance isn’t lost on Endor. “MetLife is one of the largest insurance companies in the world and we are excited to participate in advancing innovation with such an important player in the insurtech industry, particularly in such an important market as South Korea,” Endor CEO said in a statement.

The Imperative of Innovation

Recognizing the need to be at the forefront of innovation, MetLife founded Collab in conjunction with Lumenlab to provide supportive services to insurtech startups. The first iteration began in 2016, and the company has hosted five programs that have attracted 718 applications from more than 60 countries. In total, MetLife has awarded more than $1 million in contracts to startups in the program.

This year’s program had 184 applicants. Ultimately, judges chose to showcase four projects in addition to Endor, including Eda Communications, Fount, Gnowbe, and MINDsLab.

However, MetLife isn’t just innovating for the future. By awarding contracts to program participants, the company is looking to draw immediate insights from these technologies, allowing them to flourish in an increasingly competitive business environment.

In doing so, they are harnessing the power of big data without being lost in the deluge.