Chief AI officer not needed at nCino right now, CEO says
Software development efficiency up 60% at fintech
As banks and fintechs race to install chief AI officers, nCino says it doesn’t see a need to follow suit.
The company has discussed creating the CAIO role, but pointing to a culture in which AI adoption has been woven into daily operations, Chief Executive Sean Desmond told FinAi News.
“What you see in the industry, from a chief AI officer perspective, is the primary value there is driving adoption of AI at the company,” Desmond said.
“For us, it’s a little bit different. We’re a software company, so I expect that innovation and adoption of the latest technology to be in our DNA.”
Be an example
Every nCino employee holds a license for Anthropic’s Claude and is expected to use it, Desmond said.
Rather than mandating adoption from the top through a dedicated officer, the company relies on executives across product, sales and service functions to lead by example.
“A lot of the time, my team tells me use cases of AI which I didn’t know myself,” he said. “Everyone is already adopting the tech to improve their own operations.”
Running lean with a manageable headcount helps nCino deploy AI throughout the organization, Desmond said.
The company had 1,684 employees on Jan. 31, according to nCino’s 10-K filing with the SEC.
Companies such as Citi and HSBC — both of which have more than 200,000 employees — have appointed CAIOs in the past year, according to previous FinAi News reporting.
Seeing ROI
Even without a CAIO officer, nCino is realizing great returns on AI investments, Desmond said.
For example, the company has seen 60% efficiency and velocity gains with AI across its end-to-end software development life cycle in the past year, he said.
“We’re compressing the entire software development life cycle and getting product out the door faster,” Desmond said. “We’re deploying tools in days to weeks versus months to years.”
The company also has embedded AI into its products, such as its digital Banking Advisor and Analyst Digital Partner.
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