OpenAI has recently expanded its team by hiring over 100 former investment bankers to enhance its AI capabilities in developing financial models, as reported by Bloomberg.
The company, known for its ChatGPT platform, is specifically focusing on a venture called the Mercury project. According to internal documents, these former bankers hail from prestigious firms such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. They are compensated at a rate of $150 per hour to craft prompts and develop financial models for various processes, including restructurings and initial public offerings (IPOs).
Prospective hires undergo an interview process that involves interaction with an AI chatbot, followed by assessment of their financial statement interpretation skills and a modeling test. Upon selection as contractors, they are required to create Excel models that adhere to industry-standard formatting.
OpenAI is part of a broader movement aimed at alleviating the substantial manual labor that investment banking analysts face in constructing models for transactions.