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Tech Topics In This Article: pre-seed startups, InsurTech
After helping bring Atlanta-based Trust Stamp from the startup phase to IPO, entrepreneur Alex Valdes is back with his latest startup in the InsurTech space.
Findevor, which officially came out of stealth this week, is an agentic AI platform designed to help those in the insurance industry make smarter, faster risk decisions.
Inside Findevor
Valdes said the initial thesis for the company was focused on improving equity underwriting for commercial property investments. But he told Hypepotamus that the team stumbled into talking with insurance carriers and learning more about their unique problem sets.
“It became immediately clear that the same inefficiencies we had identified in real estate existed in insurance underwriting as well. But there was a critical difference: the insurance industry had both the appetite and the urgency to solve these problems,” Valdes said. “Based on our analysis, the revenue and cost inefficiencies we’re addressing represent a $150 billion per year opportunity. And in terms of urgency, it’s what one executive described as a “hair-on-fire” problem.”
Findevor, a name that is a combination of “fintech” and “endeavor,” and its first product PRO-AI, is designed to address the inefficiencies across across data analytics and underwriting. The platform helps insurers minimize manual underwriting, reduce loss ratios caused by imprecise risk evaluation, and accelerate new product rollouts.
At its core, the platform is designed to empower non-technical executives and underwriters to seamlessly interact with AI agents designed specifically for the insurance industry.
The market research Valdes and the team did showcased the importance of Findevor’s technology.
“For example, during one of our early conversations, I asked my go-to closing question to better understand the “felt need”: If none of what we’ve discussed is addressed, what do you feel like the impact will be to your company? The response from an underwriting executive at a major carrier was blunt: If we don’t do this, we’re going to die. Maybe not immediately, but certainly in the long-term,” he added. “That sentiment has been reinforced in dozens of follow-up conversations. There’s existential pressure for carriers to grow profitable revenue, reduce operating costs, and evaluate risks with greater precision.”
Why The Insurance Industry Now
The InsurTech space is experiencing a period of intense transformation — driven by a changing climate and the changing market dynamics in our post-pandemic world — making it a unique tech sector to follow right now.
“COVID-19 exposed systemic inefficiencies in insurance, creating the urgency for innovation in the industry. Supply chain disruptions, rising claims costs, and outdated systems have contributed to insurers evolving their operations. Innovation isn’t optional anymore; it’s a necessity,” said Jen Kyung, former Chief Underwriter at USAA.
“Extreme weather events tied to climate change have intensified. From more frequent hurricanes to unpredictable wildfires, insurers are facing mounting claims, compounding the financial strain,” Valdes added.
This pressure is squeezing already razor-thin margins, forcing insurers of all sizes to rethink their approach.
“Companies are now desperately seeking ways to lower operating costs, reduce losses, and create more sustainable margins—for both policy- and shareholders,” Valdes added.
From Startup To IPO…and Back Again
It can be an entrepreneur’s dream to bring their idea from an early-stage idea to a public company.
Valdes did just that with Trust Stamp, the Atlanta-based privacy and identity company. He called the process an “invaluable” learning experience that shaped how he is building Findevor.
“With a finance background from business school, I initially took on the CFO title, but as any founder knows, early-stage startups require wearing lots of hats. In those first few years, I focused heavily on product and business development, and even full-time sales during a merger in 2018. It wasn’t until we decided to take the company public with a listing on Euronext in 2020 that I shifted fully into the CFO role. That chapter was a challenging yet rewarding opportunity to build and lead a high-performing team capable of managing public company operations,” he told Hypepotamus. “Trust Stamp was an invaluable, teeth-cutting experience for me, and I’m incredibly grateful for it. I joined the company as an advisor in its very first month and transitioned to a full-time role shortly after. Although I’ve been entrepreneurial my entire life—from selling bubble gum at a 500% markup in elementary school to launching and selling my first business with five employees in college—Trust Stamp was my first foray into the tech world. It was like drinking from a firehose for nearly a decade.”
Trust Stamp went on to be listed on the Nasdaq in February 2022, with “macroeconomic headwinds” around the Ukraine War, the crypto market collapse, and surge inflation.
“The subsequent years were a rollercoaster, but they taught me priceless lessons. We raised tens of millions of dollars in public financing, built relationships on Wall Street, and navigated the complexities of being a public company in the most challenging market environment of my professional life,” Valdes added.
“That experience is shaping our approach to building Findevor. First, it reinforces the importance of discipline, hard work, and resilience—three qualities that are critical when navigating the ups and downs of the startup world. Second, it underscored the value of assembling a great team. At Trust Stamp, the success of our public company operations depended on finding and empowering the right people. I’m bringing that same focus on talent and collaboration to Findevor,” Valdes told Hypepotamus. “Finally, my time at Trust Stamp gave me a deep understanding of how to balance long-term vision with short-term execution. The IPO process taught me how to articulate a compelling narrative to investors while keeping my team aligned and focused on immediate priorities. Those lessons are especially relevant as I build Findevor to tackle its $150 billion market opportunity with the urgency and precision it demands.”
Scaling Findevor
Valdes is building Findevor with his co-founder and CTO Virgil Tataru, who previously worked as a Tech Lead and Machine Learning Engineer at Amazon.
Tataru brings deep expertise in building full-stack AI systems and scalable infrastructure. His experience leading large-scale technical initiatives has shaped Findevor’s innovative product and its technical vision. “Virgil’s technical leadership has been instrumental in creating a platform that not only empowers insurers with unprecedented capabilities, but is also built to meet their unique needs,” said Valdes.
Even though the team just came out of stealth, they were able to close a pre-seed funding round to expand the engineer team and “accelerate” Findevor’s R&D roadmap. The pre-seed round is for an undisclosed amount.
“Over the next year, we plan to significantly grow our full-time team as we scale operations and prepare for our next stage of growth,” Valdes added. “We plan to disclose more about our financing during our seed round, which we’re currently planning for Q2 next year when we fully emerge from stealth mode.”
The team, which is splitting its headquarters between New York City and the Southeast. As Findevor scales, the team will heavily recruit out of Atlanta, given the city’s hub for insurance and risk management” that is built out of Georgia State University and the University of Georgia.
