ResiQuant announced it closed a $4 million seed funding round led by LDV Capital, with participation from Foothill Ventures, Pear VC, Alumni Ventures, and several strategic angel investors. The funding will accelerate ResiQuant’s mission to transform how property insurers assess and manage catastrophe risks, bringing much-needed stability to markets struggling with climate volatility and seismic hazards.
ResiQuant’s platform combines structural engineering expertise with advanced AI to deliver building-level insights that traditional data sources consistently miss. And the company’s specialized AI agents analyze site inspection photos, aerial imagery, and publicly available visuals to conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments, identifying critical structural weaknesses that determine survival during disasters. Plus, ResiQuant’s AI identifies vital structural features that distinguish a building’s performance during disasters, highlighted here in a multi-hazard commercial property assessment.
ResiQuant’s approach is driven by the real-world experiences of its founders: Dr. Issa, a second-generation structural engineer raised in the Bay Area who conducted earthquake research at UCLA under Professor Henry Burton, and Dr. Francisco Galvis, a structural and forensic engineer who grew up in earthquake-prone Colombia. These two met at Stanford University’s John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center in 2020 while pursuing their PhDs, building a partnership rooted in rigorous research and hands-on field expertise.
Their connection was strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic, working through caffeinated late nights and building powerful catastrophe models for vulnerable existing buildings. And while Dr. Galvis focused his thesis on pre-Northridge steel frames in San Francisco buildings, Dr. Issa specialized in recovery modeling using machine learning. These complementary areas of expertise formed the foundation for ResiQuant’s technology. And the founders spent countless hours in the Blume Center, discussing engineering challenges and developing innovative approaches that would eventually inform the core of their company’s offering.
The co-founders first shared workspace at Stanford’s Blume Earthquake Engineering Center, where they gained special authorization to collaborate in person during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The founders have also conducted post-disaster inspections following other major events, including the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake, the 2022 Michoacan (Mexico) Earthquake, the 2022 Hurricane Ian, the 2022 Hurricane Nicole, and the 2023 Kahramanmaras (Turkiye) earthquake, giving them a firsthand understanding of why buildings fail.
Currently supporting earthquake risk assessment for commercial, multi-family, and single-family properties, ResiQuant looks to expand its platform to include wildfires and windstorms, creating a comprehensive multi-hazard solution. And the new funding will be used to extend the capabilities of ResiQuant’s platform and grow their engineering and AI units to support carriers across all major US property markets.
KEY QUOTES:
“Property carriers make billion-dollar exposure and capital allocation decisions with dangerously incomplete data. We’re transforming this paradigm by delivering engineering-grade analysis that reveals hidden structural vulnerabilities in every building – helping carriers underwrite with confidence and maintain coverage precisely where others are forced to retreat.”
– Dr. Omar Issa, ResiQuant’s CEO
“As the frequency and severity of earth and climate disasters intensify across the P&C industry, carriers must adopt more granular, engineering-driven approaches to assessing property risk. Objective, building-level insights are fundamental to refining underwriting decision-making and risk modeling, and enhancing community resilience to future hazards.”
– Dr. Laurie Johnson, a leading disaster risk management expert and ResiQuant advisor
“Since 2012, LDV Capital invests in deep technical teams building businesses powered by visual technology and artificial intelligence. ResiQuant is developing a platform that utilizes agentic AI and computer vision to transform imagery into actionable, building-level insights. The insurance industry is on the brink of significant modernization and digital transformation, and we are honored to partner with them to help carriers make smarter, faster, and more profitable decisions while driving resilience in the built environment.”
– Evan Nisselson, Founder and General Partner at LDV Capital
