Often, when we talk about Artificial Intelligence, we end up getting lost in abstract concepts and chatbots that imitate human language; but what happens when AI begins to calculate, analyzing the microstructure of financial markets, in fractions of a second? This is the question that guided the event on October 29th, organized by the Starting Finance Club PoliTo at Room 4P of the Cittadella Politecnica. The absolute protagonist of the night was OOPS Tech, a Turin-based fintech startup that recounted not only a revolutionary technology, but also the entire path of entrepreneurial maturation that accompanied its development.
From judgment errors to the genesis of MagIA
The meeting opened with a candid reflection by Emanuel Bar, COO of OOPS Tech, who chose to present the startup starting from the unforeseen events and assessment errors that complicated its market entry: the complex political and social scenario of 2021, among pandemics, winds of war, and saturated markets, influenced the creative process and pushed the team to launch OOPS Tech on the seemingly simplest path, as a free service.
The "focus mistake" cited by Bar stems precisely from the choice to aim for maximum accessibility and heavily social-oriented marketing, oversimplifying the product to make it 'popular'; the large initial user base of about 600 users did not reflect the true identity of the startup: among the many curious people attracted by the social showcase, only 28% were actually active, diluting the perceived quality of the project.
From this positioning crisis came the spark for a radical change: no longer focusing on the general public, but developing in-house technological excellence, intended for users capable of exploiting it. Thus MagIA was born, a true dynamic financial operating system capable of querying markets on proprietary servers and processing 185,000 assets per second, providing immediate outputs to investors.
Using mathematical vectors to surpass language models
If the market is a chaotic ecosystem, how can one predict its movements? The answer came from Davide Mantovan, Head of R&D, who led the audience in a technical immersion into MagIA's architecture. Unlike the Large Language Models we are used to today, OOPS Tech adopts a rigorous mathematical and vector-based approach: the tick-by-tick data acquisition pipeline allows the company to perform precise modeling to identify what Mantovan defines as "the wing stroke", the primordial signal that triggers a market movement; the use of embeddings, implemented through over five million lines of Python code, linked to buying pressure, market depth, and momentum, allows MagIA to trace liquidity maps and optimize operational scenarios.
Development clarity and controlled operations: the ethics behind MagIA
One of the strongest and most recognizable traits of the OOPS Tech product concerns the platform's transparency: in compliance with CONSOB regulations, MagIA does not want to encourage uncontrolled automation of investment processes, but rather to accompany the user in decision-making processes. Controlled operations are guaranteed by the Trading Plan, which imposes mathematical parameters designed to protect capital and safeguard even the most impulsive investors:
- Rigor in positioning, as each operation entails a maximum risk of 1% of the budget.
- Cap on overall exposure, limited to 3% of the total portfolio. Statistical efficiency, achieved with a risk-reward ratio of 1:2.8 and supported by an estimated 84% probability of success.
The ultimate goal is to exploit Artificial Intelligence as an investor's co-pilot, to concretely increase awareness and profitability, maintaining full supervision over the chosen risk profile.
Key Takeaways: the new paradigm of algorithmic trading
From the direct discussion with the founders and the technical analysis of MagIA, three fundamental pillars emerge for the future of fintech:
- Identity beats hype: the turning point for OOPS Tech came when the focus shifted to the use of proprietary technologies and raising barriers to entry, in order to reach a consolidated user base.
- Financial AI is mathematics, not language: the departure from traditional LLMs stems from the need to introduce precise and credible mathematical and statistical vectors, capable of instantaneously probing financial markets.
- Responsibility remains human: the algorithm must be seen as an enhancer of capabilities, but never as a substitute for the decision-maker; inserting rigorous security parameters, as in MagIA's case, guarantees ethical, transparent, and conscious use of AI.
Beyond the classroom: building the future of Finance
The meeting perfectly synthesized the mission of the Starting Finance Club PoliTo: the spread of financial literacy is essential to build a concrete bridge between the academic and management worlds. The training process was enriched by an unmissable opportunity intended for selected Club Members: in fact, the engagement with the OOPS Tech world will continue with an exclusive Masterclass at the OOPS Labs, where theory will turn into professional competence through deep dives and hands-on experiences.
The goal is clear: to become pilots of technological evolution, learning to know and consciously use the language of algorithms in the complex and fascinating world of Finance.
We look forward to seeing you at upcoming events!
