IIT Madras launched a new research lab in quantitative finance.The Rs 5.65 crore CSR funding is for the quantitative trading and investment firm, AlphaGrep Securities. It will study AI for quantitative finance.
This will be primarily focused on the financial markets and their microstructure, quantitative investment management, and risk management.
The AlphaGrep Quantitative Research lab will be instituted within the ambit of the IIT Madras Department of Data Science and AI.
"Now is the ripest time to look at how AI can be used for effective and efficient conduct of business of financial institutions. The proposed lab is going to precisely address this issue", Prof V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras.
The research center will likely take exploratory projects on applying frontier AI techniques to quantitative finance, and focused courses for students on AI for quantitative finance. The lab will also look into the development of data sets and other resources to enable research.
"The strategic initiative marks a significant step towards encouraging innovation in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Quantitative Finance", said Mohit Mutreja, Chairman and Managing Director, AlphaGrep Securities.
Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, and Mutreja signed a Memorandum of Understanding towards the collaboration. As part of it, the lab will nurture collaboration between esteemed faculty members of IIT Madras, and staff at AlphaGrep. It will also provide advanced resources and mentorship to the students of IIT Madras, enabling groundbreaking research and development in these cutting-edge fields, said Mutreja.
The laboratory will also engage in human resource training on AI themes for quantitative finance under different programs.
