The Billionaire Math Geek Who Turned AI Into a Money-Printing Machine

Alex Gerko's trading firm, XTX Markets, has become one of the most profitable players in algorithmic trading due to its AI system. Gerko, 46, has a fortune estimated at $12 billion. XTX is building a $1 billion-plus complex of five data centers in Finland to enhance its ability to crunch financial data and train AI models. The firm is doing this to keep training costs low as the AI boom increases demand for data-center capacity worldwide. This move is also aimed at establishing a competitive edge as rivals like Jane Street invest heavily in AI infrastructure. Gerko has long focused on being smarter rather than faster, disparaging the speed race in high-frequency trading and lobbying for 'speed bumps' to thwart ultrafast traders. XTX is set to start operations at the first data center in Finland this year.