When Matthew and Michael Vega-Sanz sold insurtech startup Lula in 2024, they had options. They could have launched their next venture from San Francisco. They could’ve leaned on their track record to secure a big round fast. But they didn’t.
Instead, the twin brothers went quiet – and stayed in Miami.
Over the past year, the Vega-Sanz brothers have been building Gail, an AI platform designed specifically for the financial services industry. They just emerged from stealth to announce an $8.2 million seed round, co-led by HTwenty and Act One Ventures, with participation from Mangusta Capital, NextView Ventures, and A15.
“We had teased Gail a bit last year, but it was still ambiguous. Was it going to be a voice AI, something for insurance?” said Matthew, in an interview with Refresh Miami. “With this round, we’re planting our flag. Gail is the go-to AI for financial services.”
Gail already has traction. Its AI agent product is live with over 200 companies and manages nearly 5 million phone calls a day for some of the biggest banks and insurers in the world. A second product, GailGPT, is set to launch soon. Unlike ChatGPT or Claude, which were trained on public internet data, GailGPT is purpose-built for highly regulated sectors.
“If you’re writing a paper on Winston Churchill, generic AI works fine. But if you’re talking about a client’s financial position, you need something far more secure, accurate, and context-aware,” Matthew said.
The new capital will be used to deepen product development, expand integrations, and roll out GailGPT. The company’s vision is to support both ends of the AI spectrum: tools that help internal employees and tools that handle external customer interactions. Matthew likened it to what the Bloomberg Terminal did for financial professionals in the ’80s: “We want to do that, but with GenAI.”
And they’re doing it from Miami, of course.
“After we sold Lula, we had a clean slate. We could have gone to the Valley like everyone else chasing AI talent,” Matthew said. “But we made a conscious decision to build Gail in Miami and to make this our headquarters forever.”
The brothers grew up in South Florida and are committed to proving that the city can produce and retain world-class tech companies. Today, Gail’s Coral Gables office is home to about 15 engineers, with more joining soon. The company is forming partnerships with FIU and Miami Dade College to strengthen the pipeline of local tech talent.
Matthew also wants to inspire the next generation of founders in Miami, especially those who didn’t grow up coding at age 10 or attending elite private schools.
“When we dropped out of school to start our first company, we didn’t see ourselves in the Zuckerbergs of the world,” he said. “We want to be that example for the next kid from Miami who’s sitting on a big idea.”
As for what’s next, Gail is laser focused. The team wants to dominate one vertical, not chase hype across industries.
“Our mission is to build the best AI for financial services the world has ever seen,” Matthew said.
Pictured at the top of this post: Matthew and Michael Vega-Sanz discussed their entrepreneurial journey on stage at eMerge Americas this year.
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