Portuguese Insurtech FRANK Secures €2.9M to Automate Broker Admin with AI Operator

Portuguese insurtech FRANK has secured €2.9 million in funding to scale its AI-driven automation platform designed to eliminate administrative bottlenecks for insurance brokers. By automating repetitive back-office tasks across fragmented insurer portals, the startup enables brokerage professionals to shift their focus from manual data entry toward high-value risk advisory and client relationship management.

What was announced

FRANK has raised €2.9 million to accelerate the development of its "AI Operator," a virtual assistant engineered to replicate human actions across the various systems and portals used by insurance brokerages. The platform integrates directly with communication channels such as email and WhatsApp to read documents, identify specific insurance processes, and flag missing data. It then autonomously logs into relevant insurer portals to enter information and retrieve results, such as commercial quotes or claim status updates, which are returned to the broker.

Since commencing commercial operations less than 12 months ago, the Lisbon-based company has seen rapid adoption, currently supporting more than 350 agencies and brokerages with over 1,500 active users across Portugal. The platform now handles approximately 70,000 back-office tasks every month. According to company data, brokers using the system report saving an average of ten administrative hours per week. This efficiency gain is particularly relevant for tasks like home insurance quote requests and address updates, which typically require navigating multiple portals with unique login requirements and forms.

The newly acquired capital is earmarked for three primary areas: enhancing support for the existing client base, investing in research and development to ensure the AI Operator remains scalable and difficult to replicate, and preparing for international expansion. The company has set a target for 2027 to begin launching its services across new geographies, with the current focus remaining on consolidating its position as a "Portuguese champion" in its domestic market. The team currently consists of 20 people with professional backgrounds at firms including Lovys, JPMorgan, McKinsey, SAP, Accenture, FiveAI, Indie Campers, and Bolt.

"Most brokers spend 80% of their time on back-office tasks instead of being with clients. Brokers need to be freed from operational work so they can focus on risk advisory and on their clients, bring more insurance literacy to consumers, and help protect people better."

António Castro, co-founder and CEO of FRANK.

The companies involved

FRANK was founded in December 2024 by António Castro, Ricardo Vallejo, and Alexandre Silva, three partners who combined their respective expertise in insurance, artificial intelligence, and technology. CEO António Castro brings specific sector experience from his previous tenure as CFO at Lovys, a French insurtech focused on 100% online insurance sales. At FRANK, the strategy is inverted, using technology to empower traditional brokers rather than bypass them. The company’s technical team draws on experience from high-growth tech firms and global consultancies to build its automation layer.

The funding round saw participation from Armilar and Start Ventures. Armilar is a venture capital firm focused on technology-heavy startups; Principal Inês de Macedo Santos has noted that the firm’s investment thesis is based on solving the manual process burden that prevents brokers from protecting clients effectively. Start Ventures, represented by Associate Nuno Marques Afonso, backed the company at the pre-seed stage before it had acquired its first client. The firm views FRANK as a tool that allows established, traditional brokers to adopt the same AI-centric operational models used by new digital-native entrants without requiring a total overhaul of their existing infrastructure.

What this means

The brokerage sector is currently grappling with a massive "administrative debt" caused by the proliferation of incompatible insurer portals. FRANK’s approach is significant because it does not attempt to replace the broker or the insurer’s core system; instead, it acts as an automation "wrapper" around existing legacy infrastructure. This moves the needle by providing immediate productivity gains without requiring the industry to agree on a single data standard—a hurdle that has stalled previous digital transformation efforts. The rapid onboarding of 1,500 users suggests that the pressure on broker margins is high enough that even conservative agencies are now willing to integrate AI as a "virtual colleague." The primary challenge moving forward will be maintaining the AI’s reliability as it encounters the diverse regulatory and technical requirements of international markets in 2027.