IBM Launches New Lightweight AI Engine

IBM has introduced a new “Lightweight Engine” for its WatsonX.ai service, primarily targeting enterprise users.

However, this tool could also provide a secure, scalable solution for small to mid-sized businesses, particularly in emerging sectors like fintech.

The generative AI market has been a significant driver of revenue growth in the tech sector during the first half of 2024. A decade ago, the rapid expansion of this sector, fueled by the popularity of large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, was hard to foresee.

Generative AI in financial services
Before ChatGPT, many AI and finance experts believed that large language models like GPT-3 were not reliable or accurate enough for high-stakes applications in finance or other fields requiring precision.

Even with advancements following ChatGPT’s 2023 release, AI models trained on public data for general use remain unpredictable. To move beyond being mere chatbots with some coding abilities, these models need specialization.

For instance, JPMorgan Chase recently acquired enterprise access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT for its 60,000 employees. This includes customization with internal data and specific guardrails. This move highlights the financial services industry’s growing adoption of generative AI.