Oliver Simon, Head of AI & ML Investment Strategy at Bridgewater Associates, was named to Institutional Investor's 2026 Hedge Fund Rising Stars—a list recognizing the next generation of leaders reshaping the investment industry. His selection reflects a decade at Bridgewater gravitating toward the hardest, most important problems and building AI systems that push the limits of what investing can be.
Oliver grew up in New York City, the son of documentary filmmakers, and came to markets early—through poker and a growing conviction that financial systems were among the most complex and consequential worth understanding. That curiosity brought him to Bridgewater, where problems worth solving are the hardest ones.
He made his mark early in his tenure. In partnership with Co-CIO Greg Jensen, Oliver developed Bridgewater’s single-name equity trading strategies—something the firm had not attempted to scale in years. Oliver drove the effort end-to-end, combining research, systemization, and execution to bring the strategy to life in a way that was entirely new. His work remains a significant part of our single-name equity trading today.
In 2023, Oliver was one of only six people Greg selected to launch AIA Labs with a mission to build a fully artificial investor capable of outcompeting humans. Oliver brought a rare perspective to the work: a deep fluency across investment, science, and technology—and the ability to unite investors, scientists, and engineers. In his current role, he leads the investment system at AIA's core, building what he describes as a "brain"—an integrated, autonomous investor that combines structured and unstructured intelligence into a coherent whole.
Read his Institutional Investor profile.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. There can be no guarantee that any expected performance can or will be achieved and expected performance should not be solely relied upon in making any investment decision. Investment strategies that utilize AI are subject to certain additional types of risk, described here. Please see important disclosures and other information.