Banks cut reliance on AI giants with Farsight and Ornn

AI platform Farsight has partnered with Ornn, a company building financial markets for compute, to help banks run AI models within their own infrastructure and reduce dependence on external providers.

Under the partnership, Farsight’s platform will run on GPU capacity sourced through Ornn, enabling financial institutions to apply AI to proprietary data and previous work without sensitive information leaving their organisation.

The collaboration aims to address challenges facing banks adopting AI, including reliance on a small number of hosted model providers, exposure to changing prices and capacity constraints, and restrictions on sharing confidential information with external models. Financial institutions seeking to operate AI independently have also faced difficulties accessing and pricing the computing resources required.

The combined offering covers both the infrastructure supporting AI and the applications built on top of it. Ornn provides access to GPU capacity and pricing information through its Ornn Compute Price Index (OCPI), a benchmark based on completed transactions. Farsight distributes tasks across multiple models rather than relying on a single provider, while incorporating each institution’s templates and standards to ensure outputs reflect its internal requirements.

Farsight also disclosed this week that it is running AI workflows on-premise at Deutsche Bank, which the company says demonstrates the security and compliance benefits of deploying AI within financial institutions’ own environments.

Based in New York City, Farsight develops AI tools for financial services firms using their proprietary data, previous work, templates and standards. Its platform can operate partially or entirely within an organisation’s technology environment and is accessible through a web interface and applications including PowerPoint, Excel, Word and email. The tools support the production of pitch decks, confidential information memorandums (CIMs), memos and financial models. Its clients include investment banks, private equity firms and corporate development teams.

Ornn provides infrastructure and financial services for organisations seeking to access, price, finance and hedge GPU compute. Its Ornn Compute division supplies dedicated GPU capacity, while Ornn Data operates the OCPI, which is published daily.

As AI becomes increasingly commonplace across banking, financial institutions are seeking systems that can support high-stakes client work while meeting internal security and compliance requirements. The companies plan to work together with financial institutions, initially focusing on those looking to bring more of their AI capabilities in-house.

Farsight co-founder and CEO Samir Dutta said, “Today, a bank that wants to reduce its dependence on a single model provider has few practical alternatives. Working with Ornn, we can offer institutions a solution, with models running on compute in their own environment and producing pitch books, memos and models grounded in the firm’s own work.”

Ornn co-founder Wayne Nelms added, “Financial institutions want clarity on what they pay for compute today and the risks they take on as their AI needs grow. Working with Farsight, we’re helping banks connect how they use AI with the cost and availability of the compute behind it, so they can make informed decisions today and plan for their exposure tomorrow.”