The most favored style of venture capital investment over the past decade has been relationalAI.
The surge in the open equity market in 2023 was further boosted by the optimism and excitement surrounding the technology, following a significant downturn the previous year.
Numerous experts listed on Business Insider’s 2023 AI 100 roster combine expertise in AI with experience in financial sectors such as payments, trading, banking, financial data, and business investments.
Greylock Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman, the billionaire investor and founder of LinkedIn, was an early advocate for AI even before it gained widespread popularity among venture capitalists. He played a key role in investing in OpenAI, while his firm Greylock has supported numerous AI startups in the last decade. Additionally, he co-founded Inflection AI, a startup that secured $1.5 billion in funding from major players like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Bill Gates. Notably, Hoffman has been vocal about his optimism regarding AI, as he expressed to The New York Times earlier this year.
Faith, Sarah Guo
Sarah Guo has built a reputation for championing innovative startups, particularly in the burgeoning field of AI. Her commitment to this sector was evident when she founded Conviction, a venture capital firm with a $100 million investment capacity, in 2022. Guo has a track record of backing promising AI startups like Harvey, a company specializing in AI solutions for law firms, and Seek AI, which focuses on business analytics. Furthermore, she co-hosts the popular AI podcast “NoPriors” with entrepreneur and investor Elad Gil, featuring interviews with prominent figures in machine learning and AI.
Andreessen Horowitz, Martin Casado
Martin Casado, known as A16z, has been actively promoting the benefits of AI in both Silicon Valley and Washington, DC. Casado, dubbed the “AI Crusader” by the media at Andreessen Horowitz, played a pivotal role in early investments in startups like Pinecone and Coactive, recognizing the potential of generativeAI. With prior success following VMware’s acquisition of Nicira, a software company backed by A16Z, for $1.26 billion in 2012, Casado brings valuable experience to the table.
Sequoia Capital’s Sonya Huang
Sonya Huang, based in Silicon Valley, has witnessed the evolution of cutting-edge tech companies in her hometown of Mountain View. As a partner at Sequoia Capital, Huang focuses on identifying the future leaders in the AI industry. She has actively supported risky AI startups like Harvey and LangChain, contributing to the company’s investment decisions. Noteworthy is her blog post on Sequoia’s website, urging AI entrepreneurs to seize opportunities in the banking sector, reflecting her keen interest in the potential of generativeAI.
Bloomberg AnjuKambadur
Anju Kambadur, the head of AI engineering at Bloomberg, leads a team of over 250 scientists and engineers dedicated to leveraging AI for various applications within the economic data giant. Dr. Kambadur and his team utilize AI to drive advancements in research, communication, economic analytics, and trading systems at IBM. Bloomberg’s significant investment in AI underscores its commitment to enhancing operations and processes through innovative technologies. By the year’s end, Kambadur plans to expand the AI executive team by up to 50 specialists in London and New York City.
Visa Rajat Taneja
Rajat Taneja, the President of Systems at Visa, spearheads the company’s AI initiatives, overseeing substantial investments in AI and data systems annually. These investments are aimed at improving employee experience, risk management, and payment security. Taneja emphasizes the pivotal role of AI in shaping the company’s future development and its integration into everyday operations. With over 300 AI models in place, Visa utilizes AI for a wide range of functions, from securing its extensive communication network to preventing fraud, including averting $27 billion in fraudulent activities in a single year.
JPMorgan Manuela Veloso
Manuela Veloso, the head of AI research at JPMorgan, leads AI initiatives at one of the largest banks in the United States. Veloso’s team comprises researchers, professionals, and mathematicians who drive AI exploration from an academic and research perspective. While not directly involved in AI deployments at JPMorgan, her team plays a crucial role in pushing the boundaries of AI capabilities and applications. Leveraging her background as the former head of the machine learning department at Carnegie Mellon University, Veloso explores the use of AI in combating financial crimes, managing vast data assets, and ensuring regulatory compliance. She is also involved in JPMorgan’s strategic initiatives related to data, analytics, and AI.
Bridgewater, Greg Jensen
Greg Jensen, the co-CIO of Bridgewater Associates, leads a team dedicated to revolutionizing Bridgewater using AI and machine learning technologies at one of the world’s largest hedge funds. Jensen oversees the implementation of machine learning strategies within the company. He believes that AI systems are now capable of not only replicating but surpassing human reasoning capabilities. Jensen has made significant investments in AI, including backing the generative AI startup Anthropic and participating in OpenAI’s initial fundraising efforts.
Goldman Sachs, Marco Argenti
Marco Argenti, the Chief Information Officer of Goldman Sachs, directs a 12,000-strong architectural team responsible for shaping the company’s AI strategy. Under his leadership, Goldman Sachs’ AI-focused group develops applications ranging from enhancing customer service to streamlining app deployment and reducing manual labor and operational costs. Argenti’s initial AI applications aimed to facilitate communication, documentation, and code description for software developers within the organization, streamlining tasks such as testing. He is also exploring the use of large-scale language models to extract data from millions of documents received by the bank, thereby enabling employees to work more efficiently and swiftly.
