HSG, ETH, and Zurich Insurance launch Zurich AI Lab

(CONNECT) The HSG, ETH und Zurich Insurance have joined forces to fundamentally change the insurance industry's business model with an artificial intelligence (AI) research laboratory. Because, according to a statement from the partners, “AI has the potential to create new customer experiences that are faster, smarter, and more personal than ever before.”

At the new Zurich AI Lab, the Institute of Management & Strategy at the University of St.Gallen, the Agentic Systems Lab at the ETH, and Zurich Insurance will research and further develop, or where necessary create, new business models, end-to-end processes, and offerings in the insurance industry. The aim is not only to increase efficiency, but also to achieve holistic transformation and practical research, in areas including improved risk analysis, damage detection, and customer interaction, for example. The collaboration will use AI in an ethical and socially responsible way, according to the statement, while fully safeguarding the scientific freedom of the university partners.

The lab will operate in St.Gallen, Zurich, and Singapore, where students, doctoral candidates, and researchers will work directly with Zurich Insurance executives and technology experts. “The ZurichAI Lab is our moonshot factory,” Zurich Insurance Group CEO Mario Greco is quoted as saying. He says it has the clear goal “to revolutionize our business model and pioneer the next generation of insurance solutions”.

According to ETH professor Dr. Elgar Fleisch, the lab builds bridges between students and “a leading business”. For her part, Prof. Dr. Karolin Frankenberger from the HSG wants to build on the HSG's expertise in business model innovation and disruption through AI to “advance new research and contribute to society through impactful knowledge, innovation, and partnerships.” ce/mm