Last week, we were honored to announce our $4M seed funding round to aid enterprises in deploying AI efficiently, safely, and risk-managed with our automated validation, testing, and quantitative risk assessments. The investment round, led by Join Capital and seed + speed Ventures, has brought our total funding to more than $5 million since our 2022 inception—solidifying our team’s relentless work, expertise, and mission to drive responsible AI.

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We cannot be more grateful for the support from our customers, partners, and advisors, who have contributed invaluable inputs to the sophistication of our solution. From being awarded the InsurTech of the Year (2024) and placing in the Top 100 Swiss Startups as 44th overall and 5th in the FinTech vertical, to our growing industry expertise and clientbase, the past few months have been a testament to validating the impact of our solution.

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So, why does a tool like Calvin ultimately matter?

Adopting AI successfully in an enterprise involves tackling a range of challenges. The largest of these involves the "black box" nature of AI models, effectively making it difficult to perceive how decisions are being made or whether model biases are influencing outputs. This lack of transparency can lead to unexpected issues that might impact both operations and brand reputation; such a concern is even more relevant as generative AI systems and chatbots increasingly become foundational to customer interactions. Concurrently, this opacity can lead to muddled understandings of AI’s business benefits and ROI—leading management to prioritize other projects with clearer sets of risks, costs, and realizable benefits. Raising the stakes, the upcoming EU AI Act imposes considerably strict requirements on AI systems, requiring companies to evaluate and document the risks associated with their models with harsh penalties for those who fail to comply.

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Lengthy processes, uncertain costs, and the concern of AI’s numerous novel risks can lead to enterprises hesitantly—or sometimes completely forgoing—the implementation of otherwise revolutionary AI tools.

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That’s where Calvin comes in.

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Trusted by business lines and technical teams of leading enterprises in the financial services, telecommunications, and transportation industries, Calvin’s ability to assess and provide the tools to effectively manage and strategize such AI risks is becoming an increasingly critical tool for enterprises deploying AI—especially in such regulation heavy industries as Financial Services and Transportation, alongside firms residing in the EU and subject to the EU AI Act’s requirements. This sentiment is echoed by our recent collaborations with SBB and Lufthansa, with Michael Koch, Director of Artificial Intelligence at LHIND reflecting on the powerful capabilities of our collaboration with TÜV SÜD, stating, “The AI quality framework from TÜV SÜD combines classic quality management approaches with specific regulatory requirements for AI and can be easily implemented through the compliance tool from Calvin Risk and TÜV SÜD. It ensures high quality and compliance for AI applications today.”

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This has given way to Calvin’s expansion—a testament to the traction experienced from intrinsic tool value, as well as its imminent market need. With growing media attention on AI risks, this sentiment has not only reinforced our mission but also validated the decision to advance Calvin, culminating in this successful $4M seed round backed by the confidence of our valued clients and trusted investors.

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Concisely noted by our advisory board member Martin Frick and former COO of Generali Switzerland, “Given the current AI technology boom, AI deployments are proliferating. Companies must prudently detect, govern and manage the operational and reputational risks stemming from potentially mediocre AI implementations, similar to managing GDPR or cybersecurity risks. However, properly detecting AI risks is a technology challenge in itself. Calvin Risk commands the expertise to provide adequate risk assessment tools, continuously enhancing them to match the AI technology advances.”

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From industry acknowledgements in our recent achievements within the insurtech space and our growing and contented clientbase, to the confirmation of our trajectory through our successful seed round, we cannot be more grateful for our support base and enterprises’ C-suite trust in our mission and effectiveness in providing a quantitative approach to AI risk management to the market.

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This support drives our commitment to delivering a quantitative approach to AI risk management and inspires us as we work toward enabling widespread, responsible AI adoption in the years ahead.

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About Calvin

The Calvin software solution is a comprehensive, assessment-first governance platform designed to maximize business value from both predictive machine learning and generative AI applications. Calvin's modular architecture allows organizations to leverage specific functionalities based on their unique needs, effectively serving as an all-in-one suite that can be tailored to varying compliance and risk management demands. The solution is frequently deployed within clients' own cloud environments (e.g. private or virtual private cloud) to ensure data privacy and alignment with internal IT policies.

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With its unique focus on combining quantitative risk evaluation with governance best practices, Calvin empowers enterprises to understand and manage their AI risk profiles comprehensively, providing enhanced decision-making support for executives.