Build it, buy it, or partner for it.
Should a platform build AI research in-house or partner?
Most private markets platforms should partner for AI research rather than build it. Building research coverage across many asset classes takes years, a research team and constant upkeep. Partnering with Reuben AI adds living research and next best actions to your product under your brand, so your team stays focused on your clients and core product.
The problem today
- Clients want the "so what?" behind the data, not just more data.
- A research team and a research engine both take years to build.
- Every month spent building is a month a competitor spends selling.
How Reuben AI helps
Time to market. Partnering puts research in front of clients in a scoped project, not a multi-year build.
Coverage from the start. Reuben AI covers 314 sub-asset classes across 68 asset classes, so you do not start from zero.
Your brand, your clients. The platform decides what end clients see and how research is presented.
A new revenue line. Research becomes a paid tier or add-on that the platform prices.
Research that stays current. Every fund, manager and company is re-checked as markets move, so it never goes stale.
What does building AI research in-house really involve?
Building research in-house means more than adding a model to your product. You need research coverage across asset classes, a way to test every claim against outside evidence, a method to keep findings current, and people who can judge quality. Each of those is a team and an ongoing cost.
Most platforms find the hard part is not the first version. It is keeping thousands of records accurate as funds raise, managers change and markets move.
When does building make sense?
Building can make sense when research is the platform's core product and it already runs a large research team. For most platforms, research supports the core product. In that case partnering is faster and lower risk, and it frees the team to work on what clients pay for.
How to compare the options
- Time: how long until clients see research inside your product?
- Coverage: how many asset classes and managers are covered on day one?
- Upkeep: who keeps the research current, and how?
- Control: who decides what end clients see?
- Commercials: who sets the client price and keeps the margin?
Illustrative example
- A fictional wealth platform, "Harbourline", lists 40 private funds for its advisers.
- Build path: hire analysts, license data, write research, then keep it all current by hand.
- Partner path: each fund gets a living research record, and each adviser gets a short client briefing with the next best action.
- Harbourline keeps its brand and sets the price of the new research tier.
What you get
- Fund and manager research records
- Adviser and client briefings
- Alerts when something material changes
- Next best action for each user
Security and trust
- Client data is isolated, with access control and an audit trail on every record.
- Data residency is available in APAC, EMEA or the Americas.
- Every finding is fully sourced and marked verified or cross-checked.
- People make the decisions. Reuben AI does not give investment advice.