START: Ian M.J. McInnis, CEO & Co-Founder, WithAI “Custom command centers for hedge funds”

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The biggest hedge funds have entire teams building AI. Most asset managers are on their own.

But closing that gap isn't about buying more AI. It's about a problem most people get wrong.

You can test code by running it.
You can't test an investment by buying it.

Software engineering and investing aren't the same problem

In software, we've moved from autocomplete to agents to long-running agent swarms - each step climbing another level of abstraction

In investing, human judgment still has to exist at the object level

So the challenge was never deploying agents

The challenge is giving them the context to be useful

Every source of knowledge

Internal and external

Structured and unstructured

Connected to the people making decisions.

That's what Ian M.J. McInnis and his co-founder Ben Finch built at WithAI (YC P26)

Not another AI tool

A customized environment where agents can work the way investors actually do.

Ian knows the problem firsthand. Before co-founding WithAI, he worked at the center of AI and investing at Bridgewater, studying how AI would reshape markets and knowledge work.

His conclusion after trying the alternative:

"The DIY approach ends in pain"

The future isn't simply managing swarms of agents

It's knowing what to delegate

What to automate

And where human judgment remains essential

That's why WithAI focuses on amplifying investors rather than replacing them

Research faster

Monitor more companies

Surface information that would otherwise be missed

"AI for asset managers, built with you": Security, infrastructure, and white-glove service for harnessing the latest agents

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🎙️ Ian McInnis, CEO & Co-Founder, WithAI on Fondo START pod

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00:20 Why AI adoption in investing requires more than simply deploying agents

00:35 Building a customized AI operating environment for asset managers

01:12 Making hedge fund-grade AI capabilities accessible to smaller firms

01:55 From Princeton mathematics to a career in investing

02:35 Becoming one of Bridgewater's internal AI specialists

03:25 The origin story of WithAI and partnering with a longtime collaborator

04:35 Identifying the missing tools investors would need in an AI-driven future

05:05 Lessons from an initial YC rejection and what changed

06:15 Why AI agents are creating immediate value for knowledge workers

07:20 The fundamental difference between software engineering and investing

08:35 How to balance AI automation with human judgment

09:50 Where investors can safely delegate work to AI agents

11:00 Measuring AI-driven investment outcomes and client value creation

12:15 The ideal asset manager profile for WithAI today

13:10 Opportunities and excesses emerging in AI infrastructure investing

14:00 Thoughts on SpaceX, xAI, and technology valuations

15:00 The future of AI adoption across institutional investing

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Check out www.withai.co

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