# Dan Woods

> Dan Woods is the Founder and CEO of Socotra, the AI-native cloud-native insurance core platform he built from scratch starting in 2014. A Stanford AI researcher and former Palantir engineer (employee #20), he left the data-intelligence world to fix insurance technology - an industry he describes as 'a decade behind banking.' Under his leadership, Socotra has raised $87M+ in total funding including a $50M Series C led by Insight Partners, and powers carriers and insurtech MGAs who can now launch insurance products in weeks instead of years.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Socotra
- **Organizations:** Socotra, Palantir Technologies, Formation 8 Partners (8VC), StartX
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering, Kettering University, Master of Science, Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence), Stanford University
- **Known for:** Founded Socotra in 2014 as the first cloud-native, API-driven insurance core platform, Grew Socotra to 27 carriers and insurtech MGAs within 18 months of platform launch, Led Socotra to raise $87M+ in total funding including $50M Series C from Insight Partners

## Career timeline

- **~2000s** — Earned BS in Computer Engineering from Kettering University
- **~2005** — Completed MS in Computer Science (AI focus) at Stanford University; published highly cited AI research
- **~2005-2011** — Joined Palantir Technologies as one of the first 20 employees; served as 3rd backend engineer, later headed Partnerships
- **~2011-2013** — Joined Formation 8 Partners (now 8VC) as IT Venture Partner and Fellow, focusing on data platforms and enterprise software
- **~2012-2013** — Served as Advisor to StartX, Stanford's startup accelerator
- **2014** — Founded Socotra, the first cloud-native, API-driven core insurance platform
- **2020** — Appeared on FNO: InsureTech Podcast (Episode 95) discussing Socotra's approach to insurance modernization
- **2022** — Socotra raised $50M Series C led by Insight Partners; hosted Modern CoreTech Forum at ITC Las Vegas
- **2022** — Featured in Global Fintech Series interview; Socotra reached 27 carriers and insurtech MGAs
- **2025** — Featured on InsurTechTalk Episode 136 on AI impact on insurance core systems; every Socotra customer upgraded 48 times in the year
- **2025** — Insurance Innovation Reporter interview on insurance's technology gap
- **2026-03** — Socotra became first insurance core to release generally available AI (Socotra Assistant) - AI underwriting capability in Operations Workbench

## Achievements

- Founded Socotra in 2014 as the first cloud-native, API-driven insurance core platform
- Grew Socotra to 27 carriers and insurtech MGAs within 18 months of platform launch
- Led Socotra to raise $87M+ in total funding including $50M Series C from Insight Partners
- Published highly cited AI research at Stanford University
- Was employee #20 at Palantir and served as the company's 3rd backend engineer
- Developed Palantir's initial AI capabilities
- Enabled Elpha Secure to launch a cyber insurance product in under two months on Socotra
- Enabled Players Health to launch a complex 3-coverage product in 3 months vs. the traditional 1-2 years
- Led Socotra to deliver 48 platform upgrades to every customer in 2025
- In March 2026, launched Socotra Assistant - the first generally available AI in an insurance core system

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Socotra launched the first generally available AI in an insurance core platform - Socotra Assistant, an AI underwriting capability embedded in Operations Workbench
- **2025-07** — Dan Woods appeared on InsurTechTalk Episode 136 discussing AI's impact on insurance core systems
- **2025-10** — Featured in Insurance Innovation Reporter on insurance's technology gap and Socotra's approach
- **2025** — Socotra delivered 48 platform upgrades to every customer throughout the year - a demonstration of true continuous delivery at scale

## Links

- Website: https://socotra.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danwoods1/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/thedanwoods

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/dan-woods
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-27