South Africa’s Apollo Studios is helping primarily insurance companies leverage technology to build more efficient organisations and automate decision making and workflow management.
Launched in 2020 and based in Johannesburg, Apollo Studios works mostly with partners in the short-term insurance and related industries, such as extended service and warranty players. Using computer vision, AI, machine learning and robotic process automation, it assists organisations to interpret events, automate decisions and mandate actions based on newly discovered insights.
A key focus area for Apollo Studios is creating solutions to build efficiencies, particularly in the automotive insurance claims space. Apollo also specialises in robotic process automation, internet of things, business intelligence, solutions architecture and custom software development.
CEO Filum Ho said Apollo Studios was born out of a need that emerged from clients at car glass and parts provider Autoboys, where he is also CEO, during the pandemic, specifically around processes relating to automation, business intelligence and AI.
“We developed automation solutions that, initially, assisted another one of our businesses. But we then found ourselves being asked by clients to develop similar solutions for them. As a result, a basis for a startup emerged, and we decided to launch Apollo Digital as a business,” he told Disrupt Africa.
The Apollo team believes there are huge gaps in the market, particularly when it comes to dramatically speeding up automotive insurance claims using automation and AI tech.
“To give you an example – currently, car accident claims are a slow process that involve assessments, appraisers, and quantifiers. This process can take days sometimes. However, Apollo Studios has technology that allows car owners, who have been in accidents, to receive a WhatsApp link in which they upload four or five photos of their damage,” Ho said.
“Upon doing this, Apollo then runs the pictures through its AI algorithms and quantifies the damage and estimated repair costs and parts required, all within minutes. The insurer then sees this information and validates it to ensure they are getting the best price and highest quality repair. This further strips out human error and, worse, fraud. Once approved, all the consumer has to do is drive to the repair centre that their insurance provider advises them on.”
This endeavour on its own can save insurers and consumers billions of rands each year.
“We are the first to market in South Africa with no other competitors having such a comprehensive offering in this space as of yet,” said Ho.
Apollo has a strategic shareholder in the shape of African Rainbow Capital Holdings, which owns 30 per cent of the company. Other than that, it is self-funded, and Ho said it expects to have a negative net burn rate by the end of year.
“It’s early days for us but we’ve already received recognition from the likes of Discovery Insure as their Innovation Partner of the Year for 2022. On our customer side, it’s all pretty new and we are using components of AI for companies such as King Price and Iwyze. We are also working with companies like Santam, Botswana Insurance Company, Old Mutual, and Hollard,” he said.
“All these companies are at different stages of usage – some are only using it as a pre-inspection mechanism to deal with damage detection, while others are using it as part of a more intricate workflow.”
So far, Apollo is operating in South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, but Ho said it is eyeing an expansion into the rest of Africa, and eventually beyond. “We intend to move fast,” he said.
