Chair and CEO, Nasdaq, Inc. (parent of Adenza), Adenza (now part of Nasdaq, Inc. — Financial Technology division)
How AI Is Really Creating Value in Financial Markets | Adena Friedman
From Davos, Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq, explains why AI’s productivity gains don’t show up overnight and what it takes to turn innovation into real business value.
The conversation covers enterprise readiness, data and infrastructure investments, AI-driven fraud detection, digital workers, regulatory trust, and why AI should be viewed as long-term economic infrastructure rather than a short-term productivity spike.
About Adena Friedman
Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO of Nasdaq, appeared at the All-In Summit 2025, where she discussed the company's expansion beyond its traditional stock exchange business. She announced that Nasdaq will offer tokenized securities and move toward a 24/5 trading schedule, describing the integration of crypto assets into securities markets as a way to "bring them to the mainstream." Friedman also addressed the IPO market, suggesting changes to help companies go public faster, and commented on the state of the stock market and data issues at the Federal Reserve. In her remarks, Friedman stated, "We are here to advance economic progress for all." She also expressed confidence in the U.S. dollar, saying, "I am a huge believer in dollar as a reserve currency and the in fact we will be persistent as a reserve currency over a long period of time," citing the strength of the U.S. economy, rule of law, and stability.
Transcript (24 segments)
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Eric Bernolson0:05
Hi folks, I'm Eric Bernolson. We're here with Adena Friedman, CEO of NASDAQ. Everyone's talking about AI, but many businesses are disappointed they're not seeing productivity gains yet. I call it the J curve. What are you seeing?
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Adena Friedman0:33
Yeah, I see a J curve more like an L. It doesn't go down. It takes time and investment. The technology is always ahead of its applications and implementation.
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Eric Bernolson0:38
A backward L.
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Adena Friedman0:39
So it doesn't actually go down. I think it takes time and investment. First, the technology itself is ahead of its applications. Second, you need governance for safety, security, and predictable outcomes, especially in finance where models must be explainable to regulators. Then you need to integrate tools with your infrastructure. At NASDAQ, we've invested in cloud and modern stacks, but not every company has done that. You need your data and code in good shape to automate.
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Eric Bernolson0:55
I think there's a huge technology overhang. So much could be done that isn't being done.
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Adena Friedman0:58
And it's an amazing thing—new tools are being born every day to bring that into enterprise use cases. But if you're looking at it from a business perspective, first you have to ensure it's safe, secure, and creates predictable outcomes. Then you need to integrate with your infrastructure. I have to say, NASDAQ has invested a lot in moving to cloud and modern stacks, but not every company is on that journey.
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Eric Bernolson1:40
You've been a technology leader forever. But a lot of companies are still on that journey.
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Adena Friedman1:48
Exactly. So until your data and code are modern, you can't automate effectively. Companies need to invest in infrastructure and work with partners rather than taking every new tool. There will be winners in enterprise applications.
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Eric Bernolson2:33
Speaking of partners, we've worked together through Work Helix on task-based analysis. Tell us how you identify AI opportunities and navigate what's working and what's not.
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Adena Friedman2:51
We focus on scalability. Product development is a huge scalable use case. We provide software to 3,800 banks and brokers. Fraud detection, anti-financial crime, and regulatory reporting are great scalable use cases. We're building digital workers into our fraud and reporting solutions, and also into automating coding, since half our people are in product development.
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Eric Bernolson3:37
Rebuilding trust is a big theme here. Tell us more about addressing financial crime.
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Adena Friedman3:46
We own Verafin, which takes data from 2,700 banks to identify fraud. We process 1.8 billion transactions a week. It allows us to see across the financial system, find patterns of criminal behavior, and reduce false positives. That data is an incredible asset.
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Eric Bernolson4:54
And you're using machine learning for both of those things.
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Adena Friedman4:56
Yes. On the algorithmic side, we use Bayesian models and computer vision for check fraud. On the GenAI side, we automate workflow: generating alerts, researching entities, writing regulatory reports. The analyst just reviews and submits. Data is the lifeblood, and we have a lot of it.
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Eric Bernolson5:35
And now with agentic AI, there's been a lot of hype. Some are struggling. Where are you?
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Adena Friedman5:46
We're at the beginning, but we've implemented three areas. In Verafin, digital workers turn alerts into completed research and reports. Inside NASDAQ, we have agents in tech ops that monitor infrastructure and take action on anomalies. That's just the start.
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Eric Bernolson6:42
That's amazing. Your listed companies are technology leaders. But valuations are high. Are you worried about a bubble?
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Adena Friedman7:00
I see AI as a long-term transformational technology. We're building infrastructure, similar to railroads or the internet. It's a marathon. There will be winners and losers, but this foundation is for decades of productivity gains.
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Eric Bernolson7:56
I agree. We lived through the internet boom. There were failures but also Amazon and Google. This wave is bigger. The fundamentals matter. There's $12 trillion of cognitive work that can benefit. The US has deep financial markets, a real asset.
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Adena Friedman8:20
Yes, the companies investing are extremely well capitalized. Hyperscalers are investing about 60% of their annual cash flows. It's a well-capitalized ecosystem.
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Eric Bernolson8:59
Big investment, some circular deals. But I'm bullish on the fundamentals. The US has tech leadership and capital markets.
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Adena Friedman9:41
Our financial and technology industries have differentiated the United States.
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Eric Bernolson9:48
It's been such a pleasure. Great to hear what you're doing at NASDAQ and the companies you help finance. Thanks for joining us.
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Adena Friedman10:01
Thanks Eric. Great to see you.