In the fast-moving financial industry, generative AI (GenAI) is moving from experimental curiosity to a cornerstone of strategic operations. For banks and investment firms to navigate this shift successfully, they need a solid understanding of the evolving landscape of GenAI platforms.
Organizations selecting GenAI solutions can be overwhelmed by the wide, fragmented, and dynamic market. Clarity is essential, and Gartner's "Market Guide for Generative AI Platforms in Banking and Investment Services" (published July 7, 2025) offers a wealth of invaluable insights into this rapidly evolving sector. We are proud to announce that Squirro has been recognized and included as a representative vendor in this essential guide.
But first, some definitions: Gartner defines generative AI (GenAI) platforms in banking and investment services as "those offering solutions that help banks and investment services firms build, run and maintain various GenAI use cases like loan processing or fraud detection in-house." This includes "engineering tools (such as model- and data-centric tools) that enable full-model life cycle management, along with the ability to integrate with and/or access GenAI models (commercial, open-source or domain-specific)." This definition sets the stage for what a transformative GenAI platform should deliver.
Here are 6 key takeaways from the Gartner Market Guide that financial institutions should consider:
1. The GenAI Market is Fragmented and Fast-Evolving
Gartner highlights that "the market for tools needed to implement GenAI use cases is fragmented and fast-evolving, with few vendors offering full-stack platforms specifically for banks and investment services firms." This means financial institutions often face the complex task of integrating disparate tools, leading to inefficiencies and increased time to value.
To overcome this fragmentation, financial institutions need robust solutions that focus on core capabilities and seamless integration. The Squirro Enterprise GenAI Platform is designed to integrate into existing IT infrastructure, including SaaS platforms and other applications. By providing dedicated connectors to key enterprise data repositories, we help create a unified source of retrieval, simplifying your GenAI landscape.
2. AI Engineering and Models are Essential for In-House Innovation
While GenAI applications are visible, the true power and unique advantage come from robust capabilities in managing and utilizing GenAI models and sophisticated engineering tools. Gartner states, "GenAI models and engineering are the most essential capabilities for banks and investment services firms to build and deploy their own GenAI use cases in-house and where the most innovation and differentiation is happening."
Our platform focuses precisely on these critical areas, combining semantic enterprise search with the natural language capabilities of large language models (LLMs). Our enhanced retrieval augmented generation (Enhanced RAG) engine augments user prompts with data from internal or external repositories, ensuring LLMs generate accurate responses and minimizing AI hallucinations. We empower firms to accelerate deployment of their AI solutions by providing a tried and tested technological foundation.
3. BFSI Needs Specialization, Scalability, and Security
Financial institutions require GenAI solutions that are both industry-specific and capable of operating at enterprise scale, all while adhering to stringent security and compliance standards. Gartner notes that "smaller players are trying to differentiate themselves by offering banking- and investment-services-specific tools or capabilities... but may not have the same scalability as the hyperscalers." They also highlight BFSI's "high data sensitivity and strict regulations," which "raise the stakes in GenAI adoption."
At Squirro, we deliver both deep specialization and enterprise-grade scalability. Our platform is built from the ground up for BFSI's unique requirements, rigorously protecting personally identifiable information (PII) and enforcing access control lists (ACLs). We are ISO 27001 compliant and certified and offer secure hosting options, such as on-premises deployments or single-tenant virtual private clouds (VPCs), ensuring data residency and control. Our cost-effective scalability allows handling millions of documents and terabytes of data while rigorously enforcing data access control lists across 10,000+ user groups.
4. CIOs Must Prioritize Robust Governance and Flexible Model Selection
Financial services CIOs are tasked with implementing GenAI solutions that offer flexibility in model choice while ensuring a strong governance framework for compliance and risk management. Gartner advises CIOs to "buy a GenAI platform that helps implement multiple GenAI use cases with a robust governance framework and offers GenAI engineering capabilities that enable connection with multiple GenAI models and allow flexible model selection."
Squirro directly supports this recommendation. Our platform is designed to be LLM-agnostic, allowing you to select from any proprietary and open-source LLM. We integrate AI guardrails that optimize GenAI performance by ensuring reliable, accurate, and compliant outputs, reducing risks like errors and biases. Our privacy layer further ensures that no personally identifiable information (PII) is shared with third party LLMs to safeguard sensitive data.
5. The Future Demands Specialized, Integrated, and Secure Solutions
The GenAI market for BFSI is rapidly advancing towards more tailored and deeply integrated solutions that embed security and compliance at their core. Gartner predicts, "the GenAI platform market for banking and investment services will continue to move toward more specialized, modular and integrated solutions that prioritize security, compliance, cost-effectiveness, and seamless integration with existing systems and infrastructure."
Squirro is aligned with this future-forward vision. We focus on enhancing knowledge management, service management, and risk, audit, and compliance management by enabling organizations to securely transform complex enterprise data into actionable insights. Our commitment to ISO-27001-certified data security, stringent access control lists, and versatile deployment options ensures that our solutions meet the evolving demands for privacy, security, and integration within financial services.
6. Mandated Features: Robust Access to Models and Engineering Tools
To truly build and deploy GenAI solutions in-house, financial institutions need platforms that provide fundamental capabilities for model access and comprehensive engineering. The Gartner Market Guide explicitly identifies "access to GenAI models (such as foundation models, open-source models or domain-specific models for use cases such as transaction anomaly detection, KYC/KYB or investment research knowledge assistant)" and "engineering tools that enable banks and investment services firms to develop, refine, monitor and deploy GenAI solutions at scale" as mandatory features.
Squirro provides these core capabilities as foundational elements of our platform. We offer flexible access to various GenAI models and robust AI engineering tools for full-model life cycle management and AI orchestration. Our platform includes an agent framework for creating and deploying custom tools leveraging LLMs for tasks like content analysis and fact-checking. With features like knowledge graphs to enhance semantic understanding and ensure deterministic accuracy, and data virtualization for real-time access to operational data, we equip financial institutions to build, run, and maintain sophisticated GenAI applications efficiently and securely.
Why This Matters for Your GenAI Journey
The insights from Gartner's Market Guide are invaluable for any banking or investment services firm looking to harness the power of generative AI effectively and securely. It's about choosing a platform that not only meets today's needs but is also prepared for tomorrow's challenges and opportunities.
We are proud to share that Squirro has been included as a recognized vendor in the Gartner Market Guide for Generative AI Platforms in Banking and Investment Services. We believe our focus on delivering robust AI engineering capabilities and seamless access to a wide range of GenAI models, underpinned by enterprise-grade security, deep financial services expertise, and our unique Knowledge Graph approach, aligns perfectly with these key findings and recommendations for financial institutions.
Ready to dive deeper into Gartner's insights and discover how Squirro addresses the critical needs of the BFSI sector?
Download your complementary copy of the Gartner Market Guide for Generative AI Platforms in Banking and Investment Services here!
