OpenAI Project Mercury hires 100 Wall Street analysts for AI training

OpenAI Project Mercury hires over 100 former Wall Street analysts to train its AI models for financial tasks, aiming to automate investment banking workflows

OpenAI has quietly launched Project Mercury, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at teaching its AI models to perform complex financial tasks. As part of this project, the company has hired more than 100 former Wall Street analysts and associates from firms like JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS). The initiative also includes professionals from Brookfield (BN), Evercore (EVR), KKR (KKR), and MBA students from top institutions such as Harvard and MIT.

The OpenAI Project Mercury contractors are paid around $150 per hour to train the company’s models on real-world banking workflows. Their tasks include building Excel models, writing financial summaries, and creating pitch decks—essentially the kind of work junior bankers handle daily. Each participant is required to produce one high-quality model per week that meets investment banking standards.

How Project Mercury Works

To ensure only skilled professionals are part of OpenAI Project Mercury, the company uses an AI chatbot to conduct 20-minute preliminary interviews. Selected applicants then complete financial modeling and valuation tests before being accepted. Once onboarded, they receive early access to OpenAI’s financial AI tools and are asked to submit weekly deliverables.

The submissions are evaluated by OpenAI’s system, which provides detailed feedback to both improve model performance and enhance future versions of its AI assistants. This feedback loop helps the AI learn how financial analysts interpret data, evaluate deals, and prepare reports for high-value clients.

The ultimate goal of OpenAI Project Mercury is to train AI systems that can automate time-consuming and repetitive financial tasks. This could free up analysts to focus on higher-level decision-making while cutting down on the hundreds of hours currently spent formatting Excel sheets or revising pitch decks.

Why OpenAI Project Mercury Matters

The move highlights OpenAI’s effort to commercialize its technology beyond chat-based applications. With a reported valuation near $500 billion, OpenAI is seeking real-world use cases that generate consistent revenue. Financial services—a trillion-dollar industry filled with repetitive, data-heavy tasks—offers a natural fit.

If OpenAI Project Mercury succeeds, it could change how Wall Street operates. Investment banks could use AI to draft reports, run financial scenarios, or even generate client presentations with minimal human input. This would save costs, increase efficiency, and potentially reduce the need for large analyst teams.

However, not everyone is optimistic. Industry observers warn that automating entry-level banking tasks could eliminate critical learning opportunities for junior staff. According to Stanford research, job postings in AI-impacted sectors for workers aged 22–25 have already dropped 13% since 2022.

AI’s Expanding Role in Finance

Major financial institutions are already experimenting with AI. JPMorgan Chase has reported productivity boosts from generative AI tools, and Goldman Sachs has emphasized the importance of AI in financial analysis.

By leading with OpenAI Project Mercury, OpenAI aims to set the standard for how AI integrates into finance, consulting, and other professional domains. As automation advances, projects like this could redefine how corporate work is performed—and who performs it.

In essence, OpenAI Project Mercury may be the first step toward a future where investment banking meets intelligent automation.