BOSTON, May 11, 2021 -- Monitaur, developer of machine learning (ML) assurance technology, is pleased to announce the company has successfully closed an oversubscribed funding round of $2.6 million that included TechStars, MTech Capital, Hub Angels, and other prominent angel investors, which will accelerate hiring for technical and market-facing teams for insurance, a first mover industry for ML assurance.
Recent research by KPMG and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) highlights accelerated investment in AI during the pandemic, but also mounting concerns about risks and a lag in the implementation of responsible AI governance programs. Governance initiatives around artificial intelligence (AI) and ML deployments are intensifying because these solutions are increasingly making high-impact decisions about the health, finances, employment, and safety of individuals and must be assured to be fair, safe, compliant, and accountable. Recognizing the potential risks of complex decision systems, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), for example, is ramping regulatory scrutiny focused on protecting consumers from model-based racial and gender bias in underwriting, product development, and pricing.
“Unforeseen biases in actuarial and marketing models that deploy machine learning present an emerging risk for insurance companies,” said Kevin McLoughlin, partner and co-founder of MTech Capital. “These models often run as black boxes, making outputs difficult to explain internally, as well as to auditors and insurance regulators. We have been impressed by Monitaur’s early insurer traction and success in identifying biases in ML models and their sources. We are excited to be backing this high-quality team as they address an emerging insurance industry risk.”
Monitaur’s software platform helps companies, like insurers, identify when a model is operating under controls and internal policies and when it isn't. By combining continuous recording, monitoring, and independent validations to address issues like bias, drift, and anomalies with software that streamlines human-driven audit and compliance processes, the Monitaur platform creates a system of record that enables clients to create controls, trust, and confidence in ML systems.
“Monitaur is focused on improving people’s lives by building trust and confidence in AI, and we’re already engaged with and delivering increased transparency and governance to major global corporations and partners,” said Anthony Habayeb, co-founder and CEO of Monitaur. “As ML continues to be deployed to make consequential decisions, we're ensuring risk, compliance, and governance teams have the ability to manage risk comprehensively and continuously across all of their advanced models.”
To put additional emphasis on Monitaur’s commitment to furthering AI compliance and assurance in the insurance industry, the company also recently added Jillian Froment, former director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, to the company’s advisory board. Froment’s history of supporting industry innovation and protection of consumers will support Monitaur’s product development and approach to the industry.
As originally published to GlobeNewswire, 5/11/2021.
