SHENZHEN, China, May 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WeBank and Swiss Reinsurance Company Beijing Branch held a MOU signing ceremony recently in Beijing inaugurating their partnership to research and explore the application of Federated Learning in the field of reinsurance. The MOU was signed by Qiang Yang, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) of WeBank, and John Chen, President of Swiss Re China, at the ceremony.
The cooperation focuses on Federated Learning, one of the latest developments in the world of artificial intelligence. WeBank and Swiss Re will work together to explore how Federated Learning can address the challenges imposed by data silos, enhancing the further development of the insurance industry. Federated Learning is an encrypted and distributed machine learning approach which enables training for joint machine learning on decentralized data, wherein no data transmission is required for participants. This new approach builds training models that are in compliance with data security requirements enhancing the outcome of machine learning.
As an emerging AI technology, Federated Learning is expected to form the basis of the next generation of AI-powered collaboration networks. Under the leadership of Qiang Yang, WeBank is leading the development of Federated Learning in China. WeBank's AI team created "Federated AI Technology Enabler (FATE)", the world's first industrial-level open-source technical framework and pioneered the development of Federated Learning standards (IEEE standard) to promote interdisciplinary and intercompany cooperation, supporting the federated AI ecosystem across industries.
As an industry-leading expert in technological innovation and advanced technologies, Swiss Re has abundant experience in advanced machine learning. The cooperation established between the two parties signifies Swiss Re's commitment in partnership with WeBank and exploring the commercial application of Federated Learning in business scenarios commonly found in insurance, reinsurance and other financial sectors. This partnership will lay a solid foundation for the cultivation of new businesses supported by Federated Learning, thus encouraging the industry to adopt and apply new frameworks to improve the technological innovation capacity of insurance solutions.
John Chen, President of Swiss Re China, said, "As a leading international reinsurance company, Swiss Re has accumulated 155 years of experience in risk management and data analysis. Our cooperation with WeBank is undoubtedly an innovative partnership in the area of Federated Learning, a specialized field in AI. I believe our strong partnership will greatly accelerate the development of the data sharing and data utilization, and contribute to the upgrade of the pricing model as well as the innovation of products and services."
Yang Qiang, CAIO of WeBank said that, "We are pleased with the cooperation between WeBank and Swiss Re. With a global perspective and an abundant accumulation of business scenarios, Swiss Re can offer new insights for the research and application of Federated Learning. We hope that the two sides can leverage on their respective strengths in building a federated ecosystem for the reinsurance industry."
About WeBank
WeBank is China's privately-owned and digital-only bank, as well as the first commercial bank recognized as a National High-tech Enterprise. WeBank strongly embraces the oft-stated 'ABCD' technologies (A.I., Blockchain, Cloud Computing, Big Data) as its strategic focuses and has achieved many results in new technology R&D and the application of technologies in the financial industry.
About Swiss Re
The Swiss Re Group is one of the world's leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. It anticipates and manages risk - from natural catastrophes to climate change, from ageing populations to cyber crime. The aim of the Swiss Re Group is to enable society to thrive and progress, creating new opportunities and solutions for its clients. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1863, the Swiss Re Group operates through a network of around 80 offices globally. Swiss Re established its representative office in China in 1995, and officially set up the Beijing branch in 2003, now providing a full range of reinsurance products and services across the country.
Contact:
Zhang Xian
roezhang@webank.com
+86-18503053326
