With CB Insights’ predictive intelligence, Zurich streamlines the process of scouting and selecting innovative startups for its annual global startup competition
“Through its unique data, CB Insights helps us gain a clearer understanding
of emerging trends and promising startups in the market.”
Joel Agard,
Head of Group Innovation at Zurich Insurance Group
Each year, Zurich Insurance Group brings together thousands of startups, entrepreneurs and pioneers through its Zurich Innovation Championship, to tackle real-world insurance challenges.
This 2025 edition of the Championship also featured Zurich’s first Agentic AI Hyper Challenge, the largest AI hackathon of its kind in the industry. During the four-week long global challenge, more than 1,000 participants from over 40 countries developed breakthrough AI solutions to advance insurance operations, underwriting, claims, and customer experience.
Zurich leverages CB Insights’ predictive intelligence to source and evaluate startups much more efficiently. This approach enables Zurich to find promising companies faster and helps distinguish genuine innovation from marketing claims, streamlining the scouting and vetting process.
“CB Insights is a valuable resource for understanding venture capital trends and identifying startups with strong growth potential.”
Joel Agard,
Head of Group Innovation at Zurich Insurance Group
The Zurich Innovation Championship selected Sixfold as the Commercial Insurance Category winner in 2024, recognizing their generative AI tools for underwriting.
With CB Insights’ support, Zurich efficiently evaluates a wide range of startups, develops working prototypes, and explores solutions with clear business value for further implementation. This collaboration helps Zurich stay proactive in an industry rapidly evolving due to AI.
Sixfold was the Commercial Insurance Category winner in Zurich’s 2024 Innovation Championship.
Zurich’s approach to innovation focuses on strategic partnerships rather than minority investments, using the support of CB Insights to help identify promising startups early. This allows Zurich to explore opportunities before competitors and make informed decisions about potential collaborations.
“My team spends 50+% of its time analyzing startups,” Agard says. Zurich’s innovation group hunts for early signals: who’s emerging in Insurtech, which backers show up on the cap table, and where fresh funding or new relationships are taking shape — all signs a startup may be worth partnering with.
“When it comes to investments in the tech startup ecosystem, CB Insights is data you don’t get publicly – you can use their predictive signals to see where the money is flowing, who sits behind the companies, and how they stack up against the competition.”
Joel Agard,
Head of Group Innovation at Zurich Insurance Group
Joel Agard is Head of Group Innovation at Zurich Insurance Group and part of the Group Strategy Leadership team, leading a team of brilliant innovation experts. He also leads Zurich’s Agentic AI Hyper Challenge, a first-of-its-kind program launched in 2025, designed to turn AI breakthroughs into real business impact.
