A company called Rogo has built an AI chatbot that works like a junior investment banker — and it just raised $50 million from investors. This big funding boost, led by Thrive Capital (a firm that also backs OpenAI), now values the company at $350 million, up from $80 million just seven months ago.
Rogo was created by Gabriel Stengel, a former analyst at Lazard, to help banks and finance professionals save time on tasks like analyzing companies, pulling market data, and comparing valuations. Stengel said the goal is to reduce the boring and repetitive work junior bankers usually do.
Big names like Moelis, Nomura, Tiger Global, and GTCR are already using Rogo. Even JPMorgan, which has its own AI tools, joined the latest investment round.
Stengel said that in the past, it could take him days to go through reports and financial filings to estimate a company’s future sales. Now, Rogo can do it in minutes.
The AI chatbot is designed to think like a real banker, helping senior staff make decisions and possibly changing how the role of junior analysts works in the future.
Some experts believe tools like Rogo could reduce the need for entry-level jobs in finance. Others think it will help banks handle more deals, meaning they might actually hire more people.
Stengel believes AI will boost performance, not replace talent: “The only way to grow great bankers is to train junior ones, and AI can help speed up that learning.”
Source: ft
