Before we get to Vyzer, it’s necessary to dive a bit into how the platform came about. A tech founder from Israel with a business operations background, Yahav and his co-founder revolutionised the diamond industry 15 years ago with 3D imagery hardware, software, and photographic equipment. “We managed to disrupt the entire diamond industry. Today, every diamond online is photographed by our tech,” says Yahav.
Exiting the company in 2015 gave the co-founders enough liquidity to deploy capital into global private investments. However, their great intentions soon turned into a chaotic administrative burden. “I would get an email from a fund I invest with, and I would be like, who is this fund, and when did I invest with them?” Yahav laughs. Admitting that this state of affairs was a little crazy, stupid, and maybe kind of embarrassing, they decided to do something about it.
“We had these good problems. So we ended up building software to manage our wealth. And then, that evolved into something that a lot of people around us wanted as well.” – Litan Yahav, Co-founder and CEO of Byzer.
From chaos to clarity
In 2020, Yahav and his co-founder, both alumni of Reichman University’s Zell Program, where they incubated their first startup, returned to the drawing board. Using their military backgrounds, Yahav from the Navy and his co-founder from Special Forces, they embarked on a systematic and rigorous process to build Vyzer. The two assembled a team, secured capital, and then developed a comprehensive digital platform for both back and front office operations.
And venturing into the unfamiliar territory of wealth management, being outsiders proved to be a significant advantage. As Yahav notes, “When approaching an industry from the outside, one gains the advantage of a fresh perspective.” Developed as a lean startup, Vyzer leverages AI to automate traditional back-and front-office functions that would have otherwise increased headcount. And today, the platform serves thousands of clients and oversees billions of assets globally.
“We’re like a blend between Addepar, Arch or Canoe, but with an iPhone-level experience, all in one,” Yahav likes to tell industry insiders. Designed with simplicity of use and a deliberate effort to avoid jargon, the platform delivers robust power through AI while catering to non-financial wealth owners. “We built the company for people like us who are not financial professionals,” he adds.
Serving family offices
Having experienced these challenges firsthand and spoken with many families, Yahav reveals that one client admitted having sticky notes on their refrigerator when asked whether their spouse would find all their financial information if something happened to them. He also recalls meeting one family with 15 spreadsheets, each with 15 tabs, just to keep track of everything.
However, one example he is most proud of is when a family wanted to hire a back-office administrator. After speaking with Vyzer, they realised that the platform handled all the tasks, so they wouldn’t need to hire an admin. Plus, the service was only a fraction of the cost.
AI-powered platform
So we asked Yahav what ‘AI-powered’ means for the Vyzer team. “That’s a great question, because if you use ChatGPT in your business, you’re AI-powered,” he replies. “But that’s not what we mean. When we say AI-powered, we have AI on our backend and on our front end.”
So, on the back end, Vyzer uses AI to aggregate and analyse data. Its algorithms extract the data from portals and then reconcile the transactions across the board. For instance, when a family invests in a fund with a distribution, Vyzer will identify the distribution on the fund’s portal and cross-reference it with the bank account transaction to ensure accuracy. The algorithms also identify discrepancies and raise flags when they happen.
On the front end, it’s all about enhancing how clients can interact with their financial data. Firstly, the platform’s user interface is really intuitive. For instance, users can click buttons and see graphs and so on. Moreover, with the way people use ChatGPT today, Vyzer added its own layer of AI on top of the client’s data. And it also pulls in market data, so that a client can also interact with the platform as if chatting with ChatGPT.
However, what Yahav wants to emphasise is that Vyzer’s strength lies in its blend of AI and human intelligence. He explains, “I like to say that we have AI agents and human agents, and they interact with each other and keep each other in check to make sure that things are accurate.” This collaborative approach is essential, as he believes the human team plays a vital role in maintaining an AI-powered platform.
Robust security
Finally, on the security features of the platform, Yahav reflects their military mindset, which upholds security as “life and death” for the company’s reputation. He stresses that “any privacy or security issue would be catastrophic.” And for that reason, Vyzer spent two years ensuring its security and privacy before launching.
Now, the platform implements bank-grade encryption for all data, both in transit and at rest. Two-factor authentication is mandatory for all access. They also regularly conduct penetration tests on its mobile and web applications to ensure security. And, finally, all data is encrypted and no team members have direct access to client accounts.
Looking ahead
Using their outsider’s advantage to put a new spin on wealth management, Vyzer introduced a community section on the platform. The community section displays anonymised, aggregated data from all users on the platform. It tracks billions in assets, and users can view asset allocations by net worth brackets of other people (without names). Clients can opt out of sharing their data anonymously, but they will also lose access to this aggregated view. This feature’s sole purpose is to provide value to clients, and the data is not sold to anyone.
And, as far as their road map is concerned, it’s entirely shaped by client feedback. Currently, they are prioritising a ‘ledger’ for categorising transactions, integrated AI planning for net worth and estate goals, automations for money movement, and robust tax functionality. “The more we train it on taxes, estate planning, and similar topics, the more value it can provide,” Yaval says. Adding that AI will process and present this data meaningfully, enhancing cash flow planning.
From liquidity to legacy
From the chaotic aftermath of a liquidity event to turning personal pain points into a global digital solution, Yahav and his co-founder once again find themselves at the brink of revolutionising a new industry: private wealth management. With AI at its core, Vyzer empowers thousands to navigate their financial landscapes easily and efficiently. It offers a fresh perspective where human intelligence and cutting-edge AI converge to bring order to the infamously overwhelming world of private investments.
