Jagged mountain peak in warm sunset light, Dolomites

Benedict Altier

I build software for insurance and risk capital.

COO at Cactus. Previously co-founder and CEO of CatX, backed by Y Combinator.

Based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

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Explore my work
Work

From CatX to Cactus

Current workChief Operating Officer
2025 to now

Cactus

One workspace to organise, analyse and share insurance risk.

I co-founded CatX to connect insurers with institutional capital. Along the way, we built Catamaran to help people make sense of complex risk data. In September 2025, CatX merged with Cactus. Today, I work on Cactus Risk Studio as Chief Operating Officer.

Explore Cactus Read the merger story

The problem

Insurance risk arrives in documents, spreadsheets and models. Bringing that information together is a prerequisite for understanding it and finding capital to back it.

What we built

CatX connected insurers and investors. Catamaran added tools to prepare and analyse risk submissions. That work now continues within Cactus Risk Studio.

  1. 2023 · CatX

    YC S23 & $2.7M seed

    Co-founded CatX and joined Y Combinator to build an exchange for insurance risk.

    The seed round
  2. 2024 · Catamaran

    From data to decisions

    Launched an AI tool to create and evaluate reinsurance submissions, followed by a Verisk model integration.

    The product milestone
  3. 2025 to now · Cactus

    A shared platform

    CatX and Cactus merged to bring risk analysis and transactions together in Cactus Risk Studio.

    The platform today
Founded 2022InvestorOctocolPersonal angel investments in risk, AI and performance.octocol.com
Writing

Selected writing

On AI, underwriting and new ways to transfer risk.

Browse all 8 pieces
AI & underwriting

AI takes on more of the analytical work. Underwriters set the standards, direct the workflow and bring the judgement and relationships that models cannot supply.

Building software

As AI makes software faster and cheaper to build, the advantage shifts towards knowing what to build, judging its quality and finding people who need it.

New sources of capital

Prediction markets could complement insurance with new ways to hedge events. Liquidity, basis risk and regulatory uncertainty still determine where they can be useful.

All writing

8 essays and articles, newest first.

2026
The Software Singularity Is Here. What Happens Next?Medium, · 17 min readThe Underwriter as Creative DirectorMedium, · 7 min readPrediction Markets Are Coming to Insurance: Here's How to PrepareMedium, · 7 min read
2025
The Future Potential of Prediction Markets in Insurance and Weather DerivativesEssay, · 8 min read
2024
Why Clear, Structured Data Matters for Bringing Investors into InsuranceEssay, · 5 min read
2022
Why Web 3 Is Too Important for Insurers to IgnoreBaringa, · 5 min read
2020
Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent’s Roles in Chinese AI DevelopmentEssay, · 3 min read
2017
Oxford University Has Won Europe Number One for Unicorn Start-UpsCherwell, · 3 min read
Layered mountain ridges under a warm sky
Press
“Insurance is this quirky, interesting thing that no one really pays attention to.”
Benedict Altier on Young Meteors, The Insurer TV, 2025
VideoExclusive: CatX and Cactus Merge in Bermuda Insurance Software DealThe Insurer TV, Young Meteors: CatX’s AltierThe Insurer TV, Young Meteors,
Articles
Predicting the Insurability of Prediction MarketsCarrier Management, CatX CEO Explains Unique Offering, Fresh from Cactus MergerIntelligent Insurer, Prop Traders Pursuing Private ILS Opportunities Beyond Nat CatThe Insurer, CatX and Cactus Merger Unveiled at Rendez-VousThe Royal Gazette,
Full press archive, 21 items
About

Career

2025 to nowChief Operating Officer, Cactus
2023 to 2025CEO and co-founder, CatX
2020 to 2023Strategy consultant, Baringa Partners
2016 to 2020MA, first class, University of Oxford