David Unger of Wells Fargo asked which specific Generative AI capabilities are resonating most with Guidewire's customers.
CEO Mike Rosenbaum highlighted three key areas receiving positive customer feedback: improving process efficiency in claims workflows, automating submission intake and triage for underwriting, and boosting developer productivity for tasks like creating code and test cases.
David Unger of Wells Fargo & Company asked which Generative AI use cases are currently resonating most strongly with Guidewire's customers.
CEO Mike Rosenbaum identified three key areas of customer interest for GenAI: enhancing claims workflow efficiency, automating submission intake and triage for underwriting, and boosting developer productivity for tasks like creating code and test cases on the Guidewire platform.
David Unger from Wells Fargo asked about the engagement levels of Tier 2 and Tier 3 customers at the Connections conference and inquired about any initial metrics on customer engagement with Generative AI.
CEO Mike Rosenbaum and CRO John Mullen noted strong engagement from all tiers, with conversations shifting to core insurance functions now that the cloud platform is mature. On GenAI, Mullen stated that 100% of customer conversations now touch on the topic, while Rosenbaum emphasized that it's a ubiquitous technology being applied in thousands of ways, making a single engagement metric impractical.
David Unger inquired about how the company's capital deployment philosophy might change with proceeds from the Title business sale and positive free cash flow, and asked if Blend is using AI internally to drive efficiencies.
Head of Finance and Operations Amir Jafari affirmed that capital deployment will remain ROI-centric, with reinvestment focused on AI, product expansion, and go-to-market initiatives. CEO Nima Ghamsari confirmed the internal use of AI for efficiency, which also informs how they can productize similar solutions for customers. He emphasized that their partnership-first model allows Blend to focus on its core software strengths.
David Unger asked about Blend's headcount plans, the drivers behind the 50% pipeline growth, and how to think about the pace of investment and hiring in the sales and marketing function.
Amir Jafari, Head of Finance and Administration, explained that headcount plans are focused on efficiency and strategic resource investment. He confirmed Blend will increase investment in sales and marketing to capitalize on the growing pipeline opportunity, ensuring proper market coverage and awareness for all products, from IMBs to consumer banking and future AI innovations.
David Unger of Wells Fargo questioned how potential end-market consolidation could impact Blend's go-to-market strategy and asked for an update on how the company's performance has compared to the long-term targets set at its Investor Day.
Nima Ghamsari, Co-Founder and Head of Blend, stated that consolidation is favorable for Blend due to its focus on larger institutions. Amir Jafari, Head of Finance and Administration, highlighted several areas where Blend is ahead of its Investor Day forecast, including a higher economic value per funded loan, faster-than-projected growth in Consumer Banking, and successful execution of its partner ecosystem strategy.
David Unger, on for Michael Turrin, inquired about how to think about win rates and sales efficiency metrics as the company proceeds with the integration of its recent acquisitions.
CEO Sandeep Sahai stated that Enfusion already has very high win rates due to its disruptive platform. CFO Jim Cox added a key strategic point: cross-selling win rates are historically even higher than new logo win rates, and the combination of the companies significantly strengthens this high-efficiency sales motion.
David Unger asked about the competitive dynamics for newer products like asset tags compared to the initial disruption in telematics and inquired about the opportunity in the public sector.
Chief Executive Officer Sanjit Biswas explained that newer products are often replacing manual, paper-based processes, representing a different, more greenfield competitive dynamic than telematics. He emphasized the platform's value is in its integration and ease of adoption. Chief Financial Officer Dominic Phillips highlighted the public sector as a key focus with a dedicated sales team, noting strong growth and a significant opportunity at the state and local levels, evidenced by a recent $1 million+ deal with Miami-Dade County.