Small and medium-sized banks are more hesitant to implement AI due to governance, costs and technical demands of the technology.
While 61% of financial institutions have deployed AI or machine learning tools, only 12% have a clear strategy in place, underscoring the governance and execution challenges holding many banks back, according to a white paper released Feb. 4 by consultancy Wolters Kluwer.
Chicago-based Go Abacus is tackling this barrier with its on-premises AI hardware solution, The Go1, which launched March 24, David Moscatelli, chief executive of the AI infrastructure provider, told FinAi News.
“The Go1 is a physical appliance deployed inside the institution’s own facilities to ensure private data is never exposed externally,” Moscatelli said. “Everything needed is inside the box, which delivers local AI infrastructure in a single hardware system without requiring any specialized equipment or teams.”
Inside the box
The Go1 arrives loaded with the required software stack.
“The bank simply connects The Go1 to its own network, completes the setup through the box’s OS, and configures the environment, permissions and internal connections to its own rules,” Moscatelli said.
The system can be ready to use in 15 minutes, he said. Each machine can provide local AI support for up to 2,000 users.
“The point of The Go1 is to simplify what has traditionally been a lengthy and highly technical process,” Moscatelli said.
The system requires no maintenance, but a new box is delivered annually with updated software and configuration, he said.
The Go1 is live
One institution, VolCorp, $1.6 billion Volunteer Corporate Credit Union, based in Nashville, Tenn., is live with The Go1, Moscatelli told FinAi News.
The price of the box was not disclosed, but Moscatelli said the model is a fixed price rather than usage based.
The Go1 was being developed for roughly a year and a half, he said.
“This is a game-changer because security and compliance concerns are usually what stop or stall AI adoption,” Moscatelli said.
Abacus was founded in 2022 and raised $5 million in series A funding in 2025, according to round leader GFT Ventures.
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