TLDR: SmartStream is strategically leveraging its proprietary AI platform, “Air,” which recently won the 2025 FTF Award for Best A.I. Solution. Developed over six years by an in-house quant team, Air is central to the company’s future in financial technology and is now expanding its advanced data management and reconciliation capabilities into the insurance sector to address industry challenges.
SmartStream Technologies is making significant strides in the financial technology landscape through its early and strategic adoption of Artificial Intelligence, particularly with its flagship platform, “Air.” The company’s commitment to in-house AI development has been recognized with the prestigious 2025 FTF Award for Best A.I. Solution, underscoring its innovative approach.
According to Samuel Hyman, head of sales and account management — Americas at SmartStream, the “Air” platform has been under development for approximately six years. A key differentiator for Air, and a reason for its positive industry reception, is that it is “fully built in-house,” without reliance on any external artificial intelligence or machine learning components. This extensive development has been spearheaded by a dedicated quant team, primarily based in Austria. Hyman emphasized the company’s foresight, stating, “We saw the writing on the wall that AI is going to be a formidable force in the financial technology world, and as a result we dedicated quite a bit of resources into building Air as, I would say, the future of this company, frankly.”
The market’s reaction to SmartStream Air has been overwhelmingly positive among clients and prospects, with many firms actively exploring its capabilities through proof-of-concept testing and demonstrations. This feedback loop is crucial for the ongoing development and refinement of the platform. SmartStream’s AI-driven solutions, including the Affinity for Reconciliations Premium offering, are also noted for their impact on strengthening customer relationships.
Further demonstrating its strategic embrace of AI, SmartStream has announced the expansion of its AI-driven reconciliation and data management platform, SmartStream Air, into the insurance sector. This move is designed to assist insurers in overcoming challenges such as fragmented data, high operational costs, and the need for robust compliance through comprehensive audit trails. The insurance industry, often characterized by limited digital maturity, faces increasing transaction volumes, persistent data quality issues, and complex regulatory demands like IFRS 17 and DORA.
SmartStream Air is poised to address these issues by leveraging cutting-edge AI to reconcile and manage high volumes of data across various insurance operations, including payments, reimbursements, claims, policyholder transactions, and investment operations. The platform’s ability to rapidly identify exceptions and resolve discrepancies, regardless of data format or source, in a matter of seconds, is a significant advantage. Deployed as a SaaS solution, SmartStream Air offers a comprehensive suite of capabilities tailored for insurance, encompassing premium collection, commission payments, claims management, financial reporting, reinsurance settlements, policyholder refunds, investment account reconciliation, data integration and validation, risk and reserve management, expense tracking, and fraud detection.
Karlyn Carnahan, Insurance Practice Leader, Head of North American Research at Celent, anticipates 2025 to be a “transformative year in insurance,” with AI playing a pivotal role in achieving efficiency and growth. Robin Hasson, Global Head of Reconciliations at SmartStream, highlighted the company’s strong foundation from working with the world’s top 100 banks, which positions them well to support the insurance sector in identifying use cases for increased automation and achieving data-driven agility.
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This strategic expansion and continued innovation with SmartStream Air solidify the company’s position as a leader in leveraging AI to modernize operations and meet the demands of a data-intensive future across financial services.
