WASHINGTON: Sequoia Capital is making a bet on the future of Wall Street, leading an investment in Rogo Technologies Inc, a startup developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to make bankers more efficient, at a valuation of US$750mil, according to people familiar with the matter.
The New York-based firm builds software that helps investment bankers with certain tasks and eventually aims to create the AI equivalent of a banking analyst.
The new deal more than doubles Rogo’s valuation from earlier this year, when Thrive Capital led a US$50mil Series B investment in the company.
The startup is likely to raise between US$50mil and US$100mil as part of the new deal, which has not yet closed, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Spokespeople for Rogo and Sequoia declined to comment.
Rogo was founded in 2022 by former investment bankers Gabriel Stengel, who worked at Lazard Inc, and John Willett, who worked at JPMorgan Chase & Co, along with Tumas Rackaitis, who was formerly a software engineer at Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co.
Earlier this month, the company hired former Lazard managing director Rahul Rekhi as president.
Young bankers often work upwards of 80 hours a week building PowerPoints and detailed models ahead of mergers and leveraged buyouts.
Rogo said its software shortens that process. It uses AI to create slide decks, a core part of an investment banker’s workflow, as well as helping draft initial public offering documents and the financial models that underpin deals.
“It’s no secret that AI’s gone mainstream in Wall Street, and the firms that are able to use AI to augment their junior professionals – make them more productive – are going to have a huge advantage over the firms that can’t,” Stengel said in an interview earlier this year.
Rogo’s customers include investment firm Tiger Global and investment banks Lazard and Moelis & Co, according to its website.
Sequoia’s investment comes as OpenAI trains its models to handle similar financial tasks, aiming to automate much of the grunt work typically done by junior bankers. — Bloomberg
