Now that Tractable has nailed down $25 million in new venture financing, founder and CEO Alex Dalyac’s growth plans are kicking in.

The InsurTech startup, launched in 2014, develops artificial intelligence for accident and disaster recovery, and the company said its carrier customers use its technology to make the claims process much quicker.

Dalyac plans more hiring, and is aiming for substantial global growth in the months ahead. There will also be a focus on new research and development efforts, with plans to bring on employees who are knowledgeable in particular about machine learning and software engineering.

“We want to cement our position as the global leader in AI for accident and disaster recovery,” Dalyac said.

Below, Dalyac elaborates about Tractable and its future plans, as part of a Q&A with Carrier Management Editor Mark Hollmer.

Q: Could you tell me about your company in a few sentences and what it does in relation to the P/C insurance industry?

Dalyac: Tractable develops artificial intelligence for accident and disaster recovery, and we have been in operation since 2014. Leading carriers around the world use our technology to significantly accelerate the claims process.

Whenever accidents hit, property is damaged – for example, cars, homes and infrastructure. Every recovery starts with a visual appraisal: an expert inspects the damage, estimates the cost of fixing it, and unlocks the funds to begin the rebuild and return lives to normal. Our AI does just this. It looks at asset damage and predicts repair costs from photos in real time, just like an expert, so claims can be settled faster – in minutes, instead of weeks – and livelihoods restored. Currently, we are focused on auto, but we will expand beyond this to other types of asset damage.

Q: What makes your company different from other claims technology providers?

Dalyac: Our AI is as accurate as a human assessor or better, and it’s continuously improving as it learns with more images and applications. It’s like an auto repairer who has repaired millions of collisions, and consistently repairs to standard each time.

It can also do tasks that humans can’t. For example, the AI can make a prediction on the basis of damage that isn’t obvious or visible to a human but can be picked up by computer vision in the image. It can also understand damage to cars that it isn’t familiar with, such as newer models that it hasn’t seen before.

Q: Why should the P/C industry care about you?

Dalyac: Speed and scale. Tractable automates photo-based auto appraisal tasks. Appraisals often are time consuming and highly subjective, but through the use of AI we are able to complete these tasks in real time and with unmatched consistency.

Q: How many people work for Tractable now, and how many do you plan to hire in 2020?

Dalyac: We number around 100 across our New York, London and Tokyo offices. We will likely see an increase to 150+ people in 2020 as we build out expansion offices to meet growing global demand and continue to invest in R&D.

Q: Are you generating revenue?

Dalyac: We are generating substantial revenue, as we work with some of the world’s biggest insurers, across three continents and 10 markets. Our enterprise value, revenue, and customer base are a multiple of what they were in our Series B.

Q: Are you profitable?

Dalyac: Unfortunately, I cannot comment on company finances. But this is a very capital efficient business – so we can finance our growth not just through venture capital, but also through growing our activity with our customers.

Q: Do you plan to stay independent or will you eventually be seeking a large acquirer or merger partner?

Dalyac: At this stage our main priority is to continue delivering our solutions to insurers and collision repair ecosystem players globally as an independent player.

Q: What is your biggest goal for 2020?

Dalyac: We want to cement our position as the global leader in AI for accident and disaster recovery. This means expanding in markets we are already present as well as entering new ones. Ultimately, we want to enable all carriers to have their own AI so that they can substantially accelerate the claims process and get their policyholders back on the road.