Dr. Anna Becker, CEO and co-founder of Endotech, talks AI
Dr. Anna Becker is a leading expert on artificial intelligence and algorithms. She took the scientific route into finance after her career in research took a turn to hedge fund management. A writer, immigrant and single mother, her rise to success as a business founder and CEO of Endotech has seen her fight for both science and her gender. We caught up with her to find out more.
Tell us about your role and how you got there. Is there a story to tell?
My journey into fintech began in academia, not the traditional route, especially for a woman. I was first inspired by a visit to the laboratory in 1989, where I encountered theories of immortality and the use of computers to change humanity for the better.
When I was twenty-one, I solved an NP-complete approximation algorithm that had been unsolved for over twenty years, and I later finished my studies with a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence from the Technion University. I developed a factor-of-two approximation technique that is now widely used in operating systems, database systems, and VLSI chip design.
A few years later, while working for the Gilboa Fund, as an algo class director, I adapted advanced modeling and algorithmic trading to optimize returns, applying scientific principles to 50 successful hedge funds. My expertise is in AI and finance, I co-authored a book at twenty-six and have published widely in this field.
Being an immigrant prepared me for the challenges of starting my own company. Entrepreneurship is about forging your own path, creating a unique vision and leading a team towards a goal. Women don’t see themselves as leaders, but assume they have those skills with little evidence to back it up.
As a single mother, I know the challenges of leading through complex situations. So when I founded Endotech, I knew my mission: to make quant trading more accessible and use my knowledge to reduce risk while trading in high volatility markets. Our funds reflect the work of more than two decades of pioneering AI teams and learning in volatile financial markets.
You work with trading and risk reduction. How are these two places connected?
Risk mitigation techniques turn volatility into opportunity, but you have to be smart. My philosophy is not “smell a draw”, you can reduce risk using mathematical principles and artificial intelligence.
We use a full risk management framework that handles 6 different risk factors – from market risk to trade risk. We use multi-level risk management safeguards as key components of our high risk, high return investment approach. Market, liquidity, system and execution risk are just some of the security measures we have put in place. This gives our fund a risk-adjusted advantage. The fund has dedicated risk managers and trade oversight teams to ensure protocols and technologies work.
What sets Endotech apart from the competition, and how have you exploited that advantage?
Endotech uses a number of advanced technologies to identify and capture these market movements. I lead a quant team of more than 30 mathematical developers who have created a system of AI projects that are applied through a multidimensional “market states” approach.
This artificial intelligence has optimized local capabilities (such as establishing dynamic resistance/support and assessing market momentum) and is contextualized through a “market state” model that establishes relative priorities and risks.
As a woman in the trade space, how has your experience been so far and how can the industry attract more women?
There is a stereotype of aggressive men in finance. This should not be the case. It’s time to change the narrative. Many highly talented individuals, including women, are leading change. However, it is important that we tell and continue to tell the stories of successful women in fintech to inspire the next generation and dispel these stereotypes.
What is your opinion on the current marketplace and the use of AI?
There have been significant advances in other arenas of AI over the past year, but we haven’t seen much in the fintech space. It is very elementary. Today we see short-term success in quantum strategies, but the potential of AI is far greater, but it requires breaking down the different parts to actually be able to predict accurately.
If you could give advice to your younger self, what would you say and why?
By nature I am very driven and pushed myself hard at a young age. I had this idea that more involvement would solve everything, but it ended up causing more bugs. I would say “find yourself mentors who can help you, you will learn faster and avoid making too many unnecessary mistakes”.
How can the industry attract more women into the space? What is needed to improve the gender balance?
Women are savvy in social situations and can also be very technical. Today, women still generally do not see fintech as an option. If they are in technology, they stay in programming. Quant trading is seen as opportunistic, aggressive and similar to gambling. It’s not attractive, but fortunately not always true. The narrative of finance has always been male-dominated – Warren Buffet, Carl Icahn or Bill Ackman. We need to hear more about innovation from women to close the gap.
What’s new on the horizon for you and your team in the coming year?
We are working towards breakthroughs in fintech, AI and quantum trading, similar to those we have seen in other industries. We have already taken small steps forward, but the goal now is to make it big enough and robust enough to start running. ChatGPT has shown in many ways how quickly we can accelerate – we need to use the same model to fund and quantize funds.
