Former Bridgewater Analyst Launches AI Startup to Empower Smaller Hedge Funds

A former Bridgewater analyst, Ian McInnis, has launched an AI startup called Multiplier, formerly known as WithAI, which aims to provide smaller hedge funds with greater competitive advantages. The startup has secured $6 million in new funding from notable investors including Y Combinator, Bridgewater co-chief investment officers Greg Jensen and Karen Karniol-Tambour, Lux Capital, Opendoor CEO Kaz Nejatian, Fortress chairman Pete Briger, and Google DeepMind chief strategy officer Jas Sekhon. Several of the firm's clients are also contributing to the funding round. Multiplier focuses on enhancing the investment processes of fundamental stockpickers by developing AI tools that operate within clients' own clouds to protect proprietary strategies. McInnis, a Princeton graduate and former Bridgewater employee, emphasized the importance of both domain and firm specialization in the evolving AI-driven investment landscape. The startup's goal is to create AI agents capable of analyzing every stock globally on a daily basis, identifying opportunities and updating projections. This approach allows investment teams to focus more on areas where human intuition can lead to outperformance. Bridgewater's backing of McInnis's startup is significant, given the firm's own growing interest in AI, including collaborations with Mira Murati's Thinking Labs and a fund primarily managed by AI and machine learning algorithms. Jensen has also personally invested in OpenAI and Anthropic, highlighting the broader trend of Bridgewater's leadership embracing AI technologies.