In the past decade alone, tropical cyclones and other natural disasters have caused a staggering $1 trillion in economic damages globally. Shockingly, less than 50% of these damages were insured, leaving trillions of dollars’ worth of assets vulnerable and unprotected. With the severity of these disasters projected to worsen due to climate change, the threat they pose to organisations worldwide is growing at an alarming rate.
Reask: leveraging AI to mitigate extreme weather risks
Sydney-based data intelligence company Reask aims to tackle this pressing issue by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to mitigate extreme weather risks for financial services. The company has recently announced a significant milestone, securing $4.6 million in seed funding just in time for the upcoming hurricane season. The investment was co-led by Mastry Ventures and Collaborative Fund, with participation from Machdoch Ventures and existing pre-seed investor Tencent (which invested in Curacel, Oxbotica and Lilium), alongside pre-seed investors SV Angel and Hawktail.
Expanding coverage and international team
With this latest funding round, Reask’s total funding now stands at $6.55 million. The company plans to utilise the investment to expand its hazard coverage and grow its international team, enhancing its ability to serve customers in the rapidly expanding markets affected by extreme weather risks.
Jamie Rodney, CEO of Reask, emphasised the critical need for organisations to have a clearer view of how extreme weather is evolving. By adequately preparing for potential impacts on physical assets, infrastructure, business models, and customers, companies can mitigate the devastating consequences of extreme weather events. Rodney stated, “Our goal is to bring this information more quickly and efficiently to people and industries, helping those who need it most before there is an urgent need for help.”
Validation and Support from Industry Leaders
Reask’s technology platform has gained recognition and validation from industry leaders in risk analysis. Co-Founder and General Partner Sam Landman at Mastry Ventures, said, “Reask’s team has spent years investing in their technology platform, which has now been validated by many of the world’s most sophisticated leaders in risk analysis. We’re excited to see the continued adoption of their product across the insurance and financial services industries and believe the company is well positioned to become the new standard.”
Collaborative Fund, known for supporting businesses and technologies that drive progress, also recognises the significance of Reask’s technology. Guy Vidra, Partner at Collaborative Fund, acknowledged that Reask’s AI-powered predictions and risk assessment capabilities provide a semblance of stability in relation to the unpredictable nature of natural disasters.
“Our mission at Collab has always been to support businesses and technology that are pushing the world forward,” said Guy Vidra, Partner at Collaborative Fund. “Reask’s technology makes it possible to predict the outcomes and risks of extreme weather, allowing insurers to prepare themselves and others for the worst. It provides a semblance of stability in relation to something that lacks all three – natural disasters. They’re helping people push forward, no matter what hits them.”
“I’m excited to continue working with Reask to develop innovative methods for better understanding and quantifying the risks of natural hazards like tropical cyclones [and wildfires],” said Daniel Swain, climate scientist at UCLA. “Using approaches deeply rooted in physical science are critical in producing reliable estimates that can keep up with a warming climate, so the Reask approach is one that’s designed for today’s challenges.”
Applying AI for reliable extreme weather risk modeling
Founded in 2018 by Nick Hassam and Thomas Loridan, Reask leverages AI to provide high-resolution weather risk analytics and forecasting. By combining multiple sources of climate data, Reask’s proprietary weather modeling algorithms learn climate physics, offering dynamic forward-looking representations of atmospheric risk. This innovative approach provides insurers and asset managers with critical insights and intelligence needed for accurate weather catastrophe forecasting, surpassing traditional methods based solely on static historical statistics.
Reask has already gained traction with industry giants such as AXA, Swiss Re, and a Big 4 firm, who have recognised the value of Reask’s cutting-edge technology in mitigating extreme weather risks.
As climate change continues to fuel the frequency and severity of natural disasters, Reask’s AI-driven approach is poised to revolutionise the way organisations prepare for and manage extreme weather events, safeguarding assets and ensuring the stability of vulnerable communities worldwide.
