EPISODE · Jan 15, 2026 · 54 MIN
Nico Laqua & Emily Yuan, Corgi Founders on AI Native Insurance
from Venture with Grace · host Grace Gong
Nico Laqua is the CEO/CTO and Co-Founder of Corgi (YC S24), the first fully automated AI-native insurance carrier based in San Francisco, aiming to rebuild the $1T+ industry through compute-speed underwriting, claims processing, and modular coverage like D&O, Cyber, General Liability, and innovative AI Liability for tech glitches. Previously, he founded Basket Entertainment, scaling a gaming portfolio to 200M+ monthly active users—reaching 25-50% of teens in Western markets—after serving as founding engineer at Green Mountain Aquaculture with Nobel Laureate Dr. Hamilton Smith. A Columbia neuroscience and computational biology graduate from Lithuanian immigrant roots, Nico pivoted from gaming to insurance post-ChatGPT, acquiring a licensed carrier for $35M and leveraging LLMs for regulatory bare-metal efficiencyEmily Yuan is the Co-Founder and COO of Corgi (YC S24), an AI-powered insurance carrier transforming the industry through fully automated underwriting and claims processing. Based in San Francisco, Emily is a Stanford computer science dropout who began building companies at 20, previously co-founding Picnic and serving as COO of Basket Entertainment, where she helped scale mobile gaming studios to over 200 million monthly players across 100+ titles. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Consumer Tech, Emily brings deep expertise in operations, talent-dense team building, and identifying breakout opportunities at the intersection of AI, fintech, and consumer technology.Topics: AI-driven disruption in insurance and automation scalingFull AI Underwriting: Claims Paid in Seconds, Not WeeksAcquiring carriers and automating $1T industry with LLMs#AIforGood #TechInInsurance #TechFounders #YCAlumni #MachineLearning #RegTech
What this episode covers
Nico Laqua is the CEO/CTO and Co-Founder of Corgi (YC S24), the first fully automated AI-native insurance carrier based in San Francisco, aiming to rebuild the $1T+ industry through compute-speed underwriting, claims processing, and modular coverage like D&O, Cyber, General Liability, and innovative AI Liability for tech glitches. Previously, he founded Basket Entertainment, scaling a gaming portfolio to 200M+ monthly active users—reaching 25-50% of teens in Western markets—after serving as founding engineer at Green Mountain Aquaculture with Nobel Laureate Dr. Hamilton Smith. A Columbia neuroscience and computational biology graduate from Lithuanian immigrant roots, Nico pivoted from gaming to insurance post-ChatGPT, acquiring a licensed carrier for $35M and leveraging LLMs for regulatory bare-metal efficiencyEmily Yuan is the Co-Founder and COO of Corgi (YC S24), an AI-powered insurance carrier transforming the industry through fully automated underwriting and claims processing. Based in San Francisco, Emily is a Stanford computer science dropout who began building companies at 20, previously co-founding Picnic and serving as COO of Basket Entertainment, where she helped scale mobile gaming studios to over 200 million monthly players across 100+ titles. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Consumer Tech, Emily brings deep expertise in operations, talent-dense team building, and identifying breakout opportunities at the intersection of AI, fintech, and consumer technology.Topics: AI-driven disruption in insurance and automation scalingFull AI Underwriting: Claims Paid in Seconds, Not WeeksAcquiring carriers and automating $1T industry with LLMs#AIforGood #TechInInsurance #TechFounders #YCAlumni #MachineLearning #RegTech
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Nico Laqua & Emily Yuan, Corgi Founders on AI Native Insurance
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