OpenAI has quietly launched a project aimed at automating the tedious tasks of young investment bankers. Named Project Mercury, this program mobilizes more than 100 former employees of major investment banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, to train its AI in building complex financial models.
A Project to Transform Finance
According to documents obtained by Bloomberg, participants in Project Mercury are paid $150 per hour to draft prompts and design financial models covering a range of transactions, such as restructurings or initial public offerings (IPOs). In return, these experts gain early access to OpenAI’s AI, designed to replace the routine tasks of financial analysts.
Investment bankers’ analysts often devote more than 80 hours per week to repetitive tasks: building Excel models for mergers or leveraged buyouts (LBOs), or endless tweaks to PowerPoint presentations. A culture of “pls fix” (“please fix”), which has gone viral on social media, symbolizes this reality.
Project Mercury is part of a broader dynamic where startups seek to automate these processes. While young bankers have long complained about the monotony of these tasks, the rise of AI now raises questions about the longevity of their jobs.
A processus de recrutement 100% automatisé
Access to the project requires almost no human interaction. Applicants first undergo a 20-minute interview with a chatbot, followed by a test on financial statements and a modeling challenge. Once selected, they must produce one model per week, while adhering to strict formatting standards (margins, italicizing percentages, etc.). Their work is then evaluated and integrated into OpenAI’s systems.
Among the participants are former employees from Brookfield, Mubadala, Evercore, or KKR, as well as MBA students from Harvard and MIT.
Asked by Bloomberg, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company collaborates with experts from various fields, recruited and managed by third-party vendors, to “improve and evaluate the capabilities of its models.”
If Project Mercury remains confidential, its potential impact is immense. By automating basic tasks, OpenAI could redefine the role of financial analysts, while accelerating the digital transformation of a sector that remains largely manual.
