Why QBE Ventures has Backed AI Decisioning Firm Lazarus AI

QBE Ventures has announced a strategic investment in Lazarus AI, a deep tech firm that develops artificial intelligence and computer vision solutions for regulated industries.

The investment comes as OpenAI's recent o1-Preview release marks a shift in AI capabilities, with chain-of-thought reasoning – a process where AI systems show their logical steps – now embedded within foundation models. This development arrives less than two years after ChatGPT attracted 100 million active users within its first two months of launch.

Market context

Venture capital data shows AI companies secured 40% of total investments in the first half of 2024, reflecting the sector's growing prominence in regulated industries.

QBE Ventures reports its own experience with AI implementation through its Cyber Underwriting Assistant tool, which focuses on rapid information summarisation. Several insurtech firms have reported similar results. CLARA Analytics, which provides AI-driven solutions for commercial insurance claims, Cytora, which automates commercial insurance workflows and HyperScience, which focuses on data extraction and processing, have documented productivity improvements from their insurance sector clients.

The sector is moving towards agentic services, where AI systems orchestrate multiple tasks within business processes. Industry analysts anticipate the emergence of Small Language Models (SLMs), which are specialised AI systems designed for specific tasks requiring high precision and enhanced security while using reduced computational resources.

Technical innovation

Lazarus AI's primary technology, ATLS, functions as a multi-modal information processing system. The platform can analyse handwritten documents, typed data, video content and images to identify patterns and anomalies.

The company’s technology operates without requiring training data and can process documents in multiple languages. The system maintains records of its decision-making process and cites sources – features that align with regulatory requirements in insurance.

The firm, which emerged from the healthcare sector, has developed proprietary foundation models – large AI systems trained on vast datasets – specifically designed for planning and analytical reasoning in regulated environments.

Insurance applications

For insurance firms, Lazarus AI’s technology presents opportunities in underwriting and claims analysis. The system can generate research reports by analysing multiple data sources, including topographical maps, socio-economic data and historical claims repositories.

These capabilities enable insurance professionals to adjust risk appetite, develop portfolio strategies and estimate complexity for reserving positions. The technology integrates with existing workflows to support decision-making processes.

The platform has gained traction in the insurance sector, with several global insurers implementing the technology. Beyond insurance, Lazarus AI has established a presence in healthcare and banking sectors, where regulatory compliance and data security requirements match those of insurance.

The company offers three core products, with ATLS representing its central offering. This system can plan, research and coordinate task execution across various digital environments to achieve specific objectives.

“We are energised to partner with QBE, one of the most innovative and creative global insurers in the industry. And most of all, looking forward to the opportunities we all have ahead of us in solving hard challenges that ultimately affect people's lives,” says Ariel Elizarov, CEO and co-founder of Lazarus AI.

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