State-owned Belfius bank is ramping up investment in artificial intelligence, as the bank confirmed it is backing two French AI companies.
Belfius Bank and Insurance announced on Friday that it is "joining forces with European leaders in artificial intelligence," as it is investing in health insurance provider Alan and generative AI specialist Mistral AI.
Founded in 2016, Alan is a French health insurance app with around 40,000 Belgian members. It provides health insurance cover as well as preventative health plans, virtual clinics and personalised support for customers.
Belfius confirmed that it participated in Alan's latest funding round (alongside existing investors OTPP, Temasek, Coatue, and Lakestar) which raised a total of €173 million, and valued Alan at €4 billion.
Creating 25 new jobs
The Belgian bank is now a shareholder in the French AI driven health insurance app. Through a partnership with Alan, Belfius said it will offer AI driven health insurance and tailored services to companies and institutional customers for their employees.
The rollout will create 25 jobs in Belgium over the coming months, as Alan plans to "strengthen its local team."
"Belfius' participation will enable us to accelerate our development and broaden our capacity to offer cutting-edge healthcare products and services adapted and accessible to a very wide audience," said Alan CEO Jean-Charles Samuelian.
Meanwhile, Belfius confirmed that it invested in another AI company earlier this summer, Mistral AI. Headquartered in Paris, the company develops generative AI models for businesses.
New AI assistant and lab
The bank said that Mistral AI's models will contribute to the development of a new digital assistant for the Belfius Mobile app, which will be available in 2025. The partnership will also see the creation of Belfius AI Lab, aimed at developing new AI solutions to "make life easier for customers."
"Our new partnership with Belfius, which shares our vision of making AI accessible to everyone, will play a key role as a beta tester of La Plateforme and our new models. Their digital assistant project is just the beginning of our collaboration," said co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, Arthur Mensch.
Belfius CEO Marc Raisière believes that AI has "revolutionary potential" for the banking and insurance sector. "Following our investment last June in Mistral AI, with whom we are collaborating to develop a brand new digital assistant, I am delighted to announce this strategic partnership with Alan, a pioneer in the European healthcare sector," he said.
"Together with Jean-Charles Samuelian and the Alan team, we are ushering in a new era of staff well-being and business success. By combining their cutting-edge technology with our commitment to innovation, we are investing in the happiness, productivity and growth of our most precious asset – people. This is what is meaningful and inspiring for Belgian society," he added.
