FinTech Focus TV – Powered by Harrington Starr

How is agentic AI changing quantitative trading, and what could it mean for the future of institutional trading?

In this episode of FinTech Focus TV, Toby Babb visits Talos in New York City to speak with Eliad Hoch, Head of Quant Execution Services, about the evolution of quant trading, digital assets and AI-powered trading technology.

Eliad shares how his team at Talos is moving towards agentic AI workflows, shifting from traditional coding towards AI-assisted research, development and execution strategies. He also discusses a future where traders could use AI agents to analyse trading opportunities, evaluate execution algorithms and carry out trades with human oversight.

Beyond AI, the conversation explores why Bitcoin's price doesn't tell the full story of the crypto industry, the growing role of tokenisation and real-world assets, and how institutional interest in event contracts is creating new opportunities for quantitative trading strategies.

They also discuss the move towards 24/7 trading and settlement, the infrastructure challenges facing financial institutions, and why Eliad believes AI could create significant opportunities for the next generation of quant researchers and trading technology professionals.

From crypto trading and algorithmic execution to agentic AI and institutional digital asset infrastructure, this episode examines how trading technology is evolving and what that means for the people building and using it.
FinTech Focus TV is powered by Harrington Starr, global leaders in Financial Tech Recruitment. For more episodes or FinTech recruitment advice, please visit our website: www.harringtonstarr.com

Can AI really build production-ready trading software, or is there more to capital markets technology than writing code?

AI coding agents are changing how financial institutions approach software development, making it faster to build prototypes and raising new questions about whether firms should buy technology, build it internally or combine both approaches.

But in capital markets, building software is only part of the challenge. Security, governance, data quality, resilience and regulatory requirements all play a crucial role in turning an idea into a reliable, enterprise-grade solution.

In this special episode of FinTech Focus TV, Harrington Starr's Ian Bailey joins Steve Grob, Nicolas Hourcard, Anvar Karimson, Niketita Postlethwaite-Williams, Nigel Someck and Usman Khan at A-Team's Buy AND Build: The Future of Capital Markets Technology conference in London.

Through a series of conversations with capital markets technology experts, Ian explores how AI is reshaping the traditional buy vs build debate and what this means for financial institutions, FinTech vendors and trading technology teams.

The discussions cover:

- AI coding agents and software development: Why building prototypes is becoming easier, but deploying production-ready trading systems remains challenging.

- Buy AND build in capital markets: How firms are combining specialist vendor solutions with internal development.

- AI governance and cybersecurity: The importance of maintaining control over data, AI models and automated workflows.

- Trading technology infrastructure: How open-source tools, real-time market data and AI-ready platforms are influencing technology decisions.

- The future of AI in trading: What increasingly autonomous workflows could mean for trading desks, technology teams and human oversight.

As AI development tools become more accessible, the question is no longer simply what financial institutions can build, but what they should build themselves.
FinTech Focus TV is powered by Harrington Starr, global leaders in Financial Tech Recruitment. For more episodes or FinTech recruitment advice, please visit our website: www.harringtonstarr.com

Is replacing employees with AI the smartest way to transform a business, or are companies overlooking the value of their existing workforce?
In this episode of FinTech Focus TV, Toby Babb, CEO of Harrington Starr, is joined by Krishna Nadella, Head of US Financial Services at ITRS, to discuss AI replacing jobs, agentic AI in financial services and the future of work in FinTech.
Drawing on his experience at SigTech, Krishna explains how the company went from approximately 60 employees to just 12 during its transition towards AI, with AI agents supporting the remaining workforce. Reflecting on this experience, he considers how businesses can balance automation with human expertise and whether retaining more employees alongside AI could create greater opportunities for growth.
As artificial intelligence transforms financial services, organisations are rethinking their workforce strategies, recruitment priorities and approaches to productivity. Krishna explores the difference between using AI primarily to reduce costs and investing in technology that empowers employees, accelerates innovation and supports long-term business growth.
The conversation also examines the distinction between AI spectators and operators, highlighting why critical thinking, creativity and adaptability are becoming increasingly important for FinTech professionals. From graduate employment to evolving skills requirements, Krishna and Toby discuss how AI is influencing financial services careers and the future of work.
Krishna shares how ITRS is applying agentic AI to financial technology monitoring and observability, including the development of AI-powered site reliability engineering capabilities to support operational efficiency in complex financial services environments.
Will AI replace more jobs, or will the companies that empower their employees with AI gain the greatest advantage?
FinTech Focus TV is powered by Harrington Starr, global leaders in Financial Tech Recruitment. For more episodes or FinTech recruitment advice, please visit our website: www.harringtonstarr.com

In this episode of FinTech Focus TV, host Toby Babb is joined by Jinesh Vohra, CEO and Founder of Sprive, to explore the realities of building a fast-growing FinTech, challenging the traditional mortgage industry and turning an ambitious idea into a business attracting significant investment.

After spending 14 years at Goldman Sachs, Jinesh took the leap into entrepreneurship with a mission to help homeowners pay off their mortgages faster and save thousands in interest. But building Sprive came with its challenges, including four years without taking a salary, navigating investor rejections and finding the right strategy to accelerate growth.

Jinesh shares the story behind Sprive's appearance on Dragons' Den, its £10 million Series A funding round and how the company is using everyday spending to help people reduce their mortgage debt.

The conversation also explores the future of FinTech entrepreneurship, the opportunities AI is creating for the next generation of founders, and why Jinesh believes there has never been a better time to start a business.
FinTech Focus TV is powered by Harrington Starr, global leaders in Financial Tech Recruitment. For more episodes or FinTech recruitment advice, please visit our website: www.harringtonstarr.com

In this episode of FinTech Focus TV, Toby Babb is joined by Aditya Jha, CEO of Itoflow, to explore how AI is making quantitative capabilities more accessible and changing where the real edge in trading comes from.

They discuss why better code may no longer be the differentiator it once was, how AI can remove much of the repetitive work behind quantitative research, and what happens when more people gain access to technology previously concentrated within the world’s leading hedge funds and financial institutions.

Aditya also shares why finance’s traditional culture of secrecy and slow adoption could struggle in an AI-native world, the importance of security, governance and traceability when using AI in investment processes, and why some of the best technology talent is increasingly attracted to faster-moving, AI-native businesses.

If the technology becomes accessible to everyone, where does the real advantage come from?
FinTech Focus TV is powered by Harrington Starr, global leaders in Financial Tech Recruitment. For more episodes or FinTech recruitment advice, please visit our website: www.harringtonstarr.com