AI Consultants Command Premium Rates for Financial Sector Training
Felipe Sinisterra and Dave Wang are cashing in on Wall Street's AI anxiety, charging $25,000 a day to train bankers on how to maximize artificial intelligence tools. The two former SoftBank fund managers, now running Wall Street Prompt, are booked solid for two months as financial institutions scramble to integrate AI into their operations.
In a recent session at a New York venture capital fund, Wang demonstrated how Google's Gemini AI can analyze founder pitch videos by comparing transcripts with visual cues like body language and facial expressions, using behavioral analysis methods similar to those employed by the FBI. Sinisterra then showed how OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude can scan earnings call transcripts to identify market-moving statements and translate spoken remarks into numerical spreadsheet inputs for forecasting.
“What is happening now is that people are seeing AI as a source of edge, a source of offence,” said Sinisterra. “What we’ll see in the future is that people will see it as a necessity.”
Banking Sector Embraces AI Amid Job Cuts
Large banks are increasingly hiring AI specialists while reducing traditional roles. Standard Chartered PLC plans to eliminate thousands of support positions over the next four years. Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., and Bank of America Corp. collectively cut more than 5,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2026, despite record earnings. Top executives are willing to spend heavily to deploy AI beyond basic tasks, experimenting with tools themselves and pressuring teams to adopt them.
Wall Street Prompt, founded in July 2025, has worked with T. Rowe Price Group Inc., Citigroup, and Bank of America, according to sources. T. Rowe Price brought the pair in to train investment professionals, while Citigroup and Bank of America used them for sessions with external fund clients. The company declined to confirm clients due to non-disclosure agreements, and the banks declined to comment on vendor-specific training.
From Skepticism to Necessity
Financial institutions were initially wary of AI. In 2022, when ChatGPT launched, major global banks restricted its access over security concerns. Now, JPMorgan has rolled out LLM Suite, a generative AI tool used by most employees. Goldman Sachs is working with Anthropic to develop AI agents, and Bank of America reports that its 18,000 developers are 20% to 25% more productive after using AI.
Despite progress, many bankers lack the training to use AI tools effectively, while others rely on outdated models. This gap has created a lucrative niche for trainers like Sinisterra and Wang, who offer both technical skills and confidence in navigating the AI landscape.
