UBS Has an AI Tool That Can Scan 300,000 Firms in 20 Seconds

(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG has developed an artificial intelligence tool to help it offer clients potential M&A deals, able to analyze a database of over 300,000 companies in less than half a minute. 

The Swiss bank built its own M&A “co-pilot” to generate buy-side ideas and identify potential buyers in sell side situations, Brice Bolinger, UBS head of M&A Switzerland said at the 27th Mergers & Acquisitions conference in Zurich on Tuesday.

The tool also identifies potential targets of activist campaigns by comparing the management tone of prepared presentations and Q&A situations. The bank said that it also sees potential use cases for artificial intelligence to support M&A transactions for legal tasks and data-room work. 

Tests of AI-powered tools to support company evaluations, benchmarking and financial analysis however did not yield satisfactory results, Bolinger said, adding that implementing AI tools is complicated by compliance risks from confidential data and attribution of responsibility.  

UBS has been using its tool for a year now to support clients in M&A processes, Bolinger said. Earlier this year, Citigroup Inc. said that artificial intelligence is likely to displace more jobs across the banking industry than in any other sector, with more than half of jobs having a high potential to be automated. 

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.