Michael Vega-Sanz

Michael Vega-Sanz
Born
Miami, Florida, U.S.
EducationPalmer Trinity School
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
Miami Dade College
Babson College
OccupationEntrepreneur
RelativesMatthew Vega-Sanz (twin brother)
Websitemeetgail.com

Michael Vega-Sanz is an American entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of Lula Technologies, an insurance technology company, and Gail, an artificial intelligence platform for financial institutions. He and his twin brother, Matthew Vega-Sanz, were included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2024.[1]

Early life and education

Vega-Sanz was born in Miami, Florida, to a family of Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage.[2] He graduated from Palmer Trinity School in 2014.[3][4] He attended Miami Dade College, studying business administration and management, before transferring to Babson College, where he focused on finance and information technology management before leaving to pursue business ventures.[5][6] While at Babson, he participated in 180 Degrees Consulting, the Butler Venture Accelerator Program, and the Kairos Society.[7]

Career

In 2016, while enrolled at Babson College, Vega-Sanz co-founded Lula Rides, a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform for college students.[6][8] The platform operated on over 100 college campuses in the United States, including the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California.[9] It allowed students to rent vehicles from other students through a mobile application.[6][10] Lula Rides ceased operations in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

Later in 2020, Vega-Sanz and his brother founded Lula Technologies, based in Miami.[12] The company provides software for risk management, policy administration, claims processing, and risk analysis in logistics, trucking, car rental, and shared mobility sectors.[13] Lula Technologies raised venture funding, including an $18 million Series A round in 2021 and a $35.5 million Series B round in 2023, totaling approximately $60 million.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] By 2023, the company served 5,000 businesses in the United States.[12]

In 2024, Vega-Sanz co-founded Gail, an artificial intelligence platform for financial institutions.[21][22] The company develops software for customer service automation and operational workflows in insurance and banking sectors.[23] The company has developed an AI model for financial services and raised $8.2 million seed funding.[22][24]

Public engagement

Vega-Sanz has spoken at industry conferences and summits, including the Endeavor Miami Summit, InsureTech Connect Asia,[25] Plug and Play Summits,[26] eMerge Americas,[27][28] the UFDSI Symposium,[29][30] and the HTwenty Partners Summit.[31] He has also appeared on podcasts such as The Terry Knight Show,[32] Insurance Technology,[33][34] DealMakers,[35] Trucking for Millennials,[36] and Three Rockers.[37]

In 2020, Vega-Sanz shared his experience participating in Y Combinator’s virtual Demo Day, advising first-time founders to attend in-person accelerators.[38][39] Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he engaged with displaced Ukrainian developers, and Lula Technologies offered employment opportunities to some of them.[40]

Recognition

  • 2023 — Lula Technologies listed by Forbes among U.S. startups with potential for future unicorn status.[41][42]
  • 2024 — Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Enterprise Technology category.[1][43][44]
  • 2024 — Listed among Cambridge’s 42 most impressive founders in the internet space by Best Startup UK.[45]
  • 2025 — Named among the Top 25 InsurTech Executives by The Financial Technology Report.[46]
  • 2025 — Recognized as part of the Tech Panel at the PIA of Virginia and D.C. Annual Trade Fair and Convention.[47]

References

  1. 1 2 "Forbes 30 Under 30 2024: Enterprise Technology". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  2. ↑ Baskin, Kara (2025-05-14). "Robert Pullés MBA'25 Puts Smiles on People's Faces · Babson Thought & Action". Babson Thought & Action. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  3. ↑ "Annual Report (2021-2022)". Issuu. 2025-06-26. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  4. ↑ "Alumni Association | Palmer Trinity School". www.palmertrinity.org. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  5. ↑ "These Twin Brothers' Car-Sharing Startup Began In A Barn". www.mdcthereporter.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  6. 1 2 3 Burrola, Sarah Cristine. "Babson students introduce new ride-sharing service". The Daily Free Press. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  7. ↑ "Blank Center Impact Report" (PDF). Babson College. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  8. ↑ Admin (2018-07-27). "Booming Startup by MDC Brothers Began Over Pizza Delivery". MDC News. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  9. ↑ "Student-to-student car rental service cruises into UCLA". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  10. ↑ Brownstein, Emmalyse (2019-10-02). "Lula carshare app makes its relaunch debut at UM". The Miami Hurricane. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  11. ↑ "As business screeched to a halt during pandemic, two entrepreneur brothers shifted from car sharing to insurance". www.floridatrend.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  12. 1 2 "A Pandemic Pivot Led This Cofounder To Build The 'Stripe For Insurance'". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  13. ↑ "FreightTech firm aims to fill trucking niche with pay-per-day insurance coverage". www.freightwaves.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  14. ↑ "'Stripe-Like' Insurance Management API Lula Raises $18 Million". Insurance Journal. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  15. ↑ Azevedo, Mary Ann (2021-07-08). "Miami twins raise $18M for Lula, an insurance infrastructure upstart". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  16. ↑ "'Stripe for insurance' startup Lula raises $18M Series A". South Florida Business Journal. 2021-07-08. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  17. ↑ Cheng, Candy. "Why startup founders are willing to turn away millions of dollars in search of the 'halo effect' from top VCs like Sequoia". Business Insider. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  18. ↑ Parker, Lisa (2023-08-04). "Lula Raises $35.5M In Series B Funding". Citybiz. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  19. ↑ "US insurtech start-up Lula raises $35.5m Series B funding". FinTech Futures. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  20. ↑ "The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report: 8/7/23". AlleyWatch. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  21. ↑ "Miami startup Gail develops AI solution for financial services". www.it-boltwise.de (in German). 2025-05-22. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  22. 1 2 "GAIL, an insurance-specific generative AI with expert-level intelligence, has passed the US Insurance License Exam". TechBlitz (in Japanese). 2025-02-25. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  23. ↑ Berman, Sam (2025-02-28). "AI Built For Insurance". The Rough Notes Company Inc. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  24. ↑ "Miami's Gail Raises $8.2M to Build AI Engine for Financial Services". Complete AI Training. 2025-05-23. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  25. ↑ "Michael Vega-Sanz". ITC Asia 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  26. ↑ "2024 Japan Summit". Plug and Play Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  27. ↑ "Michael Vega-Sanz". eMerge Americas. 2025-03-27. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  28. ↑ "AI Transformation: Babson Entrepreneurs Building the Future of Work". eMerge Americas. 2025-03-27. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  29. ↑ "Michael Vega Sanz from Gail Presents to DSI Members". www.ufdsi.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  30. ↑ "DSI Spring Symposium". www.ufdsi.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  31. ↑ "HTwenty 2025 Partners Summit". 2025 Partners Summit. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  32. ↑ "The Terry Knight Show: From Dorm to Dominance: Unpacking the Startup Journey | Michael Vega-Sanz". podfollow. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  33. ↑ "Leading in the Trenches: Honoring Family – Michael Vega-Sanz". www.insurtechpod.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  34. ↑ "The Insurance Technology Podcast". ApplePodcasts (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  35. ↑ "Michael Vega-Sanz On Raising $60 Million To Simplify Getting Insurance Claims by DealMakers". Podchaser. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  36. ↑ "Trucking for Millennials: Canadian Truckers and Pay Per Day Insurance are Awesome w/ Lula Trucking". truckingformillennials.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  37. ↑ Porch), Joe Mancini (Front; Vega-Sanz, Michael (2025-04-22). "Leveling Up Ambition". Three Rockers. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  38. ↑ Mascarenhas, Natasha (2020-07-28). "Y Combinator Demo Day to remain virtual and will be streamed live". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  39. ↑ Mascarenhas, Natasha (2020-07-27). "Without desks and a demo day, are accelerators worth it?". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  40. ↑ "Ukraine's 'back-line' army: Dozens of coders support the war effort from a hotel room". NBC News. 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  41. ↑ "Next Billion Dollar Startups 2023". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  42. ↑ "What are America's next billion-dollar companies doing?". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  43. ↑ "Lula". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  44. ↑ "AI Domination: Meet The 2024 30 Under 30 Revamping Enterprise Tech". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  45. ↑ "Cambridge's 42 Most Impressive & Successful Founders in the Internet Space". www.beststartup.co.uk. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  46. ↑ "The Top 25 InsurTech Executives of 2025". The Financial Technology Report. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  47. ↑ "Annual Trade Fair & Convention". PIA of VA & DC. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
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