Inference Research Secures $20M to Build AI-Native Trading Empire

HONG KONG – February 11, 2026 – In a significant move signaling deepening institutional confidence in AI-driven finance, Inference Research today announced its official launch and the anticipated closing of a $20 million Seed funding round. The new quantitative trading firm, founded by former Amber Group Co-founder Luke Li, aims to operate at the nexus of digital assets and traditional finance, leveraging what it calls a “sovereign AI infrastructure.”

The funding round was led by Avenir Group, a prominent Asian investment powerhouse originating from the family office of Mr. Li Lin. The investment not only provides Inference Research with substantial launch capital but also represents a powerful endorsement from one of the region's most influential players in the digital asset space.

The Institutional Bet on AI's Financial Future

The involvement of Avenir Group is perhaps the most telling aspect of the announcement. Far from a passive investor, Avenir has established itself as a strategic force dedicated to integrating traditional and digital financial ecosystems. The group is famously Asia's largest institutional holder of Bitcoin ETFs, with public filings from late 2025 showing its holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) exceeding $1.1 billion. This profound commitment to digital assets provides a crucial backdrop to its lead investment in Inference Research.

Avenir’s strategy extends beyond asset holding, encompassing incubation and operational partnerships. The group has launched initiatives like a $500 million Crypto Partnership Program to collaborate with top-tier quantitative teams, signaling a clear intent to build, not just back, the next generation of financial infrastructure. Its investment in Inference Research fits squarely within this vision.

“Inference Research represents a compelling step forward in quantitative finance, blending institutional-grade discipline with AI-native innovation,” said Jacob Zhong, Managing Partner for Strategic Investment & Partnerships at Avenir Group, in the official announcement. “This approach aligns closely with our mission to bridge traditional finance and digital assets, fostering resilient infrastructure and institutional adoption. We are proud to support Luke Li and the Inference Research team through strategic investment and incubation, contributing to a more unified and efficient global financial ecosystem.”

This partnership provides Inference Research not only with capital but also with institutional-grade resilience and a strategic pathway for long-term growth, validating its ambitious model in a highly competitive market.

Deconstructing the 'AI-Native' Vision

At the heart of Inference Research's strategy are two key concepts: being an “AI-native quantitative franchise” and operating on “sovereign AI infrastructure.” These terms signal a fundamental departure from legacy financial firms that often bolt AI capabilities onto pre-existing, traditional systems.

An “AI-native” approach implies that the firm is built from the ground up with artificial intelligence as its core operational and strategic engine. This philosophy extends across the entire trading lifecycle, from signal discovery and rapid model iteration to market microstructure-aware execution. The focus is on a seamless integration of data engineering, research, and trading, designed to adapt fluidly to the volatile and data-rich environments of both crypto and traditional markets.

The concept of “sovereign AI infrastructure” is even more critical in the high-stakes world of quantitative trading. It refers to a self-contained, proprietary, and highly secure computing and data stack that minimizes reliance on third-party providers. By owning and controlling its entire technology stack—from data centers and GPUs to the models trained on its own data—the firm aims to achieve unparalleled security, speed, and autonomy. This insulates its strategies from external disruptions and protects its invaluable intellectual property, a crucial advantage in a field where informational edges are fleeting.

This technological foundation is designed to tackle some of the most complex challenges in modern finance, including more accurate asset pricing and dynamic liquidity provision across increasingly fragmented global markets.

A Founder's Pedigree and the War for Talent

The venture is helmed by Luke Li, whose experience as Co-founder and Head of Trading at Amber Group lends immediate credibility. His background provides him with a unique perspective on the operational discipline required to succeed in institutional trading and the innovative mindset needed to pioneer new frontiers. This combination is central to the firm's stated mission of wedding institutional discipline with AI-native innovation.

However, vision and capital are only part of the equation. The $20 million in funding is earmarked to scale its infrastructure and, critically, to recruit a team of “world-class quants, engineers, and researchers.” This places Inference Research directly in the crossfire of a fierce, industry-spanning “war for talent.”

The firm is competing not only with established hedge funds like XTX Markets and Hudson River Trading, which are building their own internal AI labs, but also with technology behemoths like Google and OpenAI, who are actively poaching top quantitative minds from Wall Street. The ideal candidate possesses a rare combination of advanced mathematics, elite programming skills in languages like C++ and Python, and a deep, intuitive understanding of financial market dynamics. Finding individuals who can bridge the gap between theoretical AI and the messy, high-speed reality of financial markets is a paramount challenge.

To win this battle, Inference Research will likely leverage its mission as a key differentiator. The opportunity to build a sovereign AI platform from scratch, rather than merely optimizing existing systems, can be a powerful draw for talent seeking to work on foundational, cutting-edge technology at the intersection of AI, blockchain, and finance.

Navigating a Complex Regulatory Landscape

Inference Research launches into a global financial environment where the regulatory frameworks for both digital assets and AI are in a state of rapid evolution. The firm's success will depend as much on its technological prowess as its ability to navigate this complex and shifting terrain.

Based in Hong Kong, the company is situated in a jurisdiction actively positioning itself as a global Web3 and fintech hub. Local regulators like the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) have been proactive in creating modern rules, often using “regulatory sandboxes” to allow innovative firms to test new technologies under supervision. This provides a potentially supportive environment for the firm’s activities.

Globally, the landscape is a mosaic of progress and uncertainty. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation is now fully implemented, while the United States has shown signs of a policy shift toward greater regulatory clarity for digital assets. Simultaneously, rules around anti-money laundering (AML), such as the FATF's 'Travel Rule', are tightening worldwide.

Furthermore, the use of AI in finance is facing intensifying scrutiny. Regulators globally are demanding greater transparency into algorithmic models to prevent bias and ensure market stability. Legislation like the EU AI Act, which classifies high-risk AI applications in finance, imposes stringent requirements for human oversight and risk management. For a firm built on AI, demonstrating robust governance and compliance will be non-negotiable. Inference Research's emphasis on “institutional trading discipline” suggests an acute awareness of these regulatory demands, positioning it as a venture built for compliance and resilience from day one.