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Wall Street firms are looking to Silicon Valley for inspiration.
As we’ve previously reported, Goldman Sachs is exploring a service that’s like Netflix but for data. And JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has mentioned Amazon Prime as a model for its banking efforts.
But it doesn’t stop there. From trillion dollar investment giants BlackRock and Pimco focusing on data science to Citigroup looking to supercharge its technology via an innovation lab, just about every firm in finance is getting in on the act.
As we reported this week:
- BlackRock is quietly building a team of 30 data scientists to create a next-generation stock-lending platform.
- Pimco, the $1.7 trillion asset manager, is trying to turn every employee into a "citizen data scientist."
- Hedge-fund investors are getting excited about the possibilities of machine learning, even though there’s a good chance they don’t understand it.
- Citigroup is looking for a global head of its innovation labs in an effort to supercharge its banking and markets tech.
- Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley are among the large US corporate bond dealers actively working with clients to allow them to electronically trade on prices sent directly to them from the banks.
- And PayPal’s CFO believes AI can save the company $25 million a year by automating one area of customer service.
What did we miss? Let me know. You can reach me at mturner@businessinsider.com if you have any questions, ideas, or requests.
—Matt
Quote of the week
"I’ve heard stories of other guys literally taking a couple hundred thousand dollars, walking into the dealership, buying a Porsche, and then taking the money, throwing it in a bag and going to Vegas." —Evan Rothstein, who manages wealth for more than 20 professional athletes, on the biggest money mistakes pro athletes make.
In conversation
- Joe Ciolli talked to Chris Ailman, the chief investment officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the second-largest pension fund in the US, about how markets are overlooking the risks posed by climate change.
- Rob Price talked to Facebook Messenger boss Stan Chudnovsky about the company’s big "privacy" and "interoperability" plans.
- Charlie Wood talked to Ron Gula, a former hacker for the National Security Agency who now invests millions in security startups, about what he looks for in a partner.
- Rosalie Chan talked to David Wilson, senior director of infrastructure and architecture at Paychex, about why it’s betting on Microsoft’s cloud, which it says "far exceeded" its rivals.
- Lucia Moses talked to Bob Pittman, the chairman and CEO of iHeart, about the company’s plan to work around Apple’s domination of podcast listening.
- Mark Matousek talked to RJ Scaringe, the CEO of EV startup Rivian, about why he thinks it will beat Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW with its first two electric vehicles.
- Tanya Dua talked to Shake Shack‘s first CMO Jay Livingston about his plans to steer the brand through its next phase.
- Kate Taylor talked to Brett Schulman, CEO of Mediterranean chain Cava, about how it’s upending the fast-casual dining industry with a focus on "value for calories."
Finance and Investing
TPG has made big money off of technology bets on companies like Uber, Airbnb, Spotify, and Box. Now, it’s raised a new fund to profit from private companies in a different way from its traditional private-equity roots.
Scott Mather doesn’t want to put a time frame on the next recession.
The billionaire real-estate investor Sam Zell is building up his pool of cash, planning to put it to use in a couple of years.
Tech, Media, Telecoms
Carta, a service for buying and selling shares in private companies, has built its business around the surging valuations of startups.
More than a dozen employees at NPM, a startup that provides crucial services for some 11 million software developers, have signed an open letter calling on management to improve working conditions at the company, Business Insider has learned.
Amazon is on a crusade to build a video advertising business that rivals Roku, Hulu, and others.
Healthcare, Retail, Transportation
The Silicon Valley healthcare startup uBiome is in hot water over its reportedly questionable billing practices, but insiders say problems at the company extend beyond issues tied to insurance claims.
In the beginning, the pitch was simple. Warby Parker would offer glasses at a lower price than you might find in your doctor’s office. The frames were trendy and rarely set you back more than $130.
Church’s Chicken is ready for a comeback.
NOW WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war
See Also:
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- This is everything tennis champion Rafa Nadal eats and drinks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Source: Business Insider – mturner@businessinsider.com (Matt Turner)