Indigo risk management platform officially launches

Community members came together Thursday, at The Floridian Social in downtown St. Petersburg, to celebrate the official launch of the Indigo platform.

Indigo helps homeowners oversee renovation and repair construction projects. The goal is to reduce risks such as fraud, cost overruns and delays. 

Here’s how it works. The software allows users to claim their properties, register projects, connect with Indigo partner contractors and track progress as work is completed. Customers can also engage with an artificial intelligence-powered assistant “dog” named Dig to help them explore the platform. 

For Indigo founder Matthew Cleary, it’s all about accountability. 

Cleary has worked in the construction industry for most of his career. His goal initially was to create a risk management software for commercial projects. However, a personal experience changed everything. 

“I got into a situation with a contractor,” Cleary explained. “I had no recourse to rectify that situation and I lost a lot of money. During that time frame, I thought ‘why is this happening?’” 

After researching the residential market, he realized that this was a common issue and became determined to find a solution. Creating Indigo has been a lengthy and complex process. Development began in 2022. Cleary was involved in an accident in 2023 and this ultimately delayed the launch. 

“The platform makes the process more transparent,” Cleary said. “Right now when a homeowner is dealing with a contractor, everything is done verbally and through email and text. There’s no real transparency about what’s going on.” 

For example, he explained that some contractors accept a project to simply collect a deposit. However, they may delay the effort or even refuse to finish the task.  

“When the homeowner adopts a contractor’s way of doing things, that’s where the problem starts,” Cleary said. “Indigo gives the homeowner more control of the process.” 

He emphasized that the software will be enhanced over time. The Indigo team is currently exploring how to address other risk mitigation factors. 

Verdi Ergün was the technical lead for the Indigo project. He explained that artificial intelligence plays a key role in the user experience. The technology’s impact extends beyond the Dig assistant. 

Ergün said that AI is used in risk assessment scoring, contractor matching efforts, document extraction and understanding and photo analysis, among other tasks. 

“AI in general is creating a paradigm shift in how people use technology,” he believes. “I think the way people expect to interact with technology is fundamentally going to be different a year from now or two years from now.” 

Cleary is also developing The Dig Foundation, Indigo’s nonprofit partner.

The organization will provide grants and scholarships to help educate young people and support trade schools. He argued that the college experience is not for everyone. However, pursuing careers in industries such as construction can provide a comfortable and sustainable lifestyle.  

“We’re about half a million to maybe a million workers short in this country,” Cleary explained. “That creates a problem when you’re trying to get work done.” 

Indigo website