Field Notebook · 2026· Locating ·
An expedition log · Est. 1998

Benedict
Altier

Chief Operating Officer at Cactus · Hamilton, Bermuda

Building technology that helps the insurance and investment worlds understand complex risks in simple terms. Previously CEO & co-founder of Y Combinator backed CatX — currently charting at Cactus.

AnchoredHamilton, BDA · 32.295° N · 64.781° WOriginOxford · 51.752° N · 1.258° WBearing045° — NELogged8 cities · 67 countries
LinkedIn↗X / Twitter↗benedict@altier.co.uk↗
↳ Track log · 1998 — 2026Equirectangular · 1:200M
NORTH PACIFIC OCEANSOUTH PACIFIC OCEANNORTH ATLANTIC OCEANSOUTH ATLANTIC OCEANINDIAN OCEANARCTIC OCEANSOUTHERN OCEANNORTH AMERICASOUTH AMERICAEUROPEAFRICAASIAOCEANIAOxford· 2016London· 2020Paris· visitNew York· 2024San Francisco· 2023Hamilton, BDA· 2023Beijing· 2018Sydney· 2019
59 countries visited
8 cities lived
Continents06 / 07Latest pinSweden · 2026
0 — 2,500 km↳ 8 pins · 59 countries shaded
↳ Career track
OXF → LON → BDA → NYC → NOW
  1. 2016 · OXF
    Oxford
    Oxford · MA
  2. 2020 · LON
    London
    Baringa
  3. 2023 · CTX
    Founder
    CatX — CEO
  4. 2025 · BDA
    Merger
    Cactus — COO
  5. 2026 · NOW
    Now
    Operating + writing
Waypoint 01 / 06
51.5074° N · 0.1278° W
— Written from London & Bermuda

Writing, selected.

Essays on insurance, capital, prediction markets, AI in underwriting, and the cost of being wrong. 8 pieces, oldest from 2017.
▲ Latest dispatch
Mar 2026
5 min read
External · Medium
The Software Singularity Is Here — What Happens Now.
Mar 2026 · EXT · № 02
The Underwriter as Creative Director.
7 min
↗
Mar 2026 · EXT · № 03
Prediction Markets Are Coming to Insurance - Here's How to Prepare.
5 min
↗
Feb 2025 · ESSAY · № 04
The Future Potential of Prediction Markets in Insurance and Weather Derivatives.
8 min
↗
Jul 2024 · ESSAY · № 05
Why Clear, Structured Data Matters for Bringing Investors into Insurance.
5 min
↗
Dec 2022 · EXT · № 06
Why Web 3 Is Too Important for Insurers to Ignore.
5 min
↗
Dec 2020 · ESSAY · № 07
Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent’s Roles in Chinese AI Development.
3 min
↗
Feb 2017 · EXT · № 08
Oxford University Has Won Europe Number One for Unicorn Start-Ups.
3 min
↗
Waypoint 02 / 06
Multi-station · 2022 — present
— Stations along the route

Work, four stations.

One thesis: structured information about risk routes capital to where it does the most good. Cactus formed in Sep 2025 via the CatX–Cactus merger.
Station 01Current
Cactus
— COO
AI-native workspace for organizing and sharing insurance & risk information. Formed in 2025 via the CatX–Cactus merger to launch Cactus Risk Studio.
EST. 2025Hamilton, BermudaVisit ↗
Station 02YC S23
CatX
— CEO & Co-founder
Helping institutional investors access and invest in insurance as an alternative asset class. Raised $2.7M seed, merged with Cactus in Sep 2025.
EST. 2023London / BermudaVisit ↗
Station 03AI Platform
Catamaran
— Builder
AI-powered tool to evaluate, underwrite, invest in, and transfer complex risks. Catamaran Parametric launched Feb 2025; Verisk model integration Dec 2024.
EST. 2024LondonVisit ↗
Station 04Angel
Octocol
— Investor
Thesis-driven personal angel investments in risk, artificial intelligence, and performance.
EST. 2022LondonVisit ↗
Waypoint 03 / 06
19 items · 2007 — 2026
— Filed dispatches

Press, latest.

Coverage of the CatX–Cactus merger, prediction-market & ILS work, Y Combinator demo day, and the occasional aside.
Mar 2026 · № 01
Predicting the Insurability of Prediction Markets
— Carrier Management
↗
Sep 2025 · № 02
CatX CEO Explains Unique Offering, Fresh from Cactus Merger
— Intelligent Insurer
↗
Sep 2025 · № 03
Prop Traders Pursuing Private ILS Opportunities Beyond Nat Cat
— The Insurer
↗
Sep 2025 · № 04
CatX and Cactus Merger Unveiled at Rendez-Vous
— The Royal Gazette
↗
View full archive · 19 dispatches→
Waypoint 04 / 06
02 dispatches · 2025
— On record

Videos & interviews.

On The Insurer TV, including the Young Meteors series.
▶Play · The Insurer TVSep 2025
Exclusive: CatX and Cactus Merge in Bermuda Insurance Software Deal
— The Insurer TV
▶Play · The Insurer TV - Young Meteors2025
CatX's Altier: "Insurance is this quirky, interesting thing that no one really pays attention to"
— The Insurer TV - Young Meteors
Waypoint 05 / 06
Origin · 51.7520° N · 1.2577° W
— A note on why insurance

About, in brief.

Where the journey started and where it's headed.

I'm passionate about making risk management clearer and fairer for everyone. Through my work at CatX and now Cactus, I build technology that helps the insurance and investment worlds understand complex risks in simple terms.

Our goal is practical: when everyone sees risk the same way, we can spread it efficiently across the economy, making communities more resilient to disasters.

CatX raised its pre-seed and seed rounds in 2023 focused on supporting institutional investors with more than $500bn in total AUM access, understand and invest in insurance risk.

↳ Logbook · Background04 entries
2025
Chief Operating Officer
Cactus
Hamilton, Bermuda
Sep 2025 — Present
2023
CEO & Co-founder
CatX (YC S23)
London / Bermuda
Jun 2023 — Sep 2025
2020
Strategy Consultant
Baringa Partners
London
Sep 2020 — May 2023
2016
1st Class Master of Arts
University of Oxford
Oxford
Sep 2016 — Jun 2020
Waypoint 06 / 06 · Send a signal

Send a signal.
I'd love to hear from you.

Send an email →LinkedIn ↗