Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Insurance Agency Management & Connectivity Platform
Insurance agency management and connectivity platform. University Park IL. PE-backed. Serves 50,000+ agencies globally with EPIC AMS, CSR24, and carrier connectivity network.
Applied Systems is the largest insurance technology company serving independent agencies and brokers, headquartered in University Park, Illinois, and backed by private equity. The company's flagship EPIC agency management system (AMS) is used by over 50,000 agencies in the United States, Canada, the UK, and Ireland, managing policy data, client relationships, accounting, document management, and carrier communications for the global independent agent distribution channel. Applied also owns EZLynx (comparative rating), CSR24 (client self-service portal), and a suite of connectivity tools that form the backbone of independent agent technology infrastructure.\n\nApplied's carrier connectivity platform is a critical component of the insurance distribution ecosystem — providing the technology infrastructure that transmits data between agencies and hundreds of insurance carriers, enabling real-time quoting, policy downloads, and claims status. Applied Connect, the company's API-based connectivity network, processes billions of transactions annually between agents and carriers, making Applied a de facto infrastructure provider for the independent agent channel. This network effect creates significant switching costs and competitive barriers that newer AMS vendors struggle to overcome.\n\nApplied Systems has grown primarily through acquisition, building a portfolio of complementary products including EZLynx, Planck (AI-powered commercial lines underwriting), and international AMS platforms. The company's PE backing has funded aggressive product investment and international expansion, positioning Applied as a global insurance distribution technology platform rather than purely a domestic AMS vendor. As independent agents face growing competition from direct digital insurance channels, Applied's investment in modern APIs, analytics, and digital client experience tools supports agents' competitiveness.
Indoor vertical farming company using AI-optimized growing systems. San Francisco, CA. Raised $940M+ including $400M from SoftBank. Partners with Walmart for US farms.
Plenty is a San Francisco-based indoor vertical farming company that uses AI, machine learning, and robotics to grow leafy greens and other produce in controlled indoor environments. The company has raised over $940 million from investors including SoftBank Vision Fund, which invested $200 million in 2017, and has positioned itself as the technology leader in data-driven indoor agriculture.\n\nPlenty's farms use precisely controlled light, temperature, humidity, and nutrient conditions to grow crops that are free from pesticides, use 99% less land, and consume significantly less water than conventional field agriculture. The company's AI systems continuously optimize growing conditions based on sensor data, learning to improve yields and quality across crops and growing cycles.\n\nIn 2022, Plenty announced a landmark partnership with Walmart to supply leafy greens from a new large-scale facility in Compton, California. This partnership provided both a major commercial anchor and significant additional funding from Walmart, validating Plenty's technology and business model at scale. The company also operates a dedicated strawberry R&D partnership with Driscoll's, the world's largest berry company, demonstrating the platform's potential beyond leafy greens.
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