Alik Sokolov is an A&S alum, a current doctoral student in the Department of Mathematics and maybe, according to his supervisor, the next world-renowned tech superstar to watch for.
Sokolov is revolutionizing the mathematical finance space with his startup, Sibli. The young founder, CEO and Vanier Scholar is applying his studies in AI to investment research, finding synergy between his academic and business pursuits.
“There's so much opportunity to push the envelope on how things are done, to really start rethinking the investment process,” says Sokolov, who earned his honours bachelor of science in 2013 as a member of New College and his master’s degree in 2016. “It feels like we're on the precipice of a massive transformation of how this job is done.”
Sibli derives its name from “responsibly,” a reference to “responsible investing” and the role the investment industry has to play in sustainability and creating a healthier economy to benefit society. The company tailors generative AI as a tool for investment managers, helping inform decision-making by processing large amounts of textual data that could impact holdings.
“When you’re doing research on a company, just about any news article that has to do with business or politics may be important,” Sokolov says. “The company need not be directly mentioned, meaning the amount of information that needs to be processed to answer a single research question can be massive.”
Sokolov, who spent years as a data scientist at Deloitte, built his Sibli team to complement his knowledge of investment management and research, generative AI and deep learning. As a Vector FastLane company, Sibli brought on interns from the Vector Institute where Sokolov is an affiliate researcher. He is also a researcher at U of T’s RiskLab, and Sibli regularly contributes ideas to research projects at the lab.
“I'm always looking for ways to get closer to the university,” Sokolov says.
The junction of academic interests and work has propelled Sokolov since high school, taking on the graveyard shift at UPS to help support himself. He came to Toronto from Ukraine with his mom and sister in 2004 when he was 12.
Sokolov’s early interest in finance was borne from a desire for economic stability and a murky notion that finance was especially lucrative.
“When I graduated high school, I thought, ‘I want to make a lot of money. I want to have economic security,’” Sokolov says. “That interest grew into one grounded in more than just financial returns.”
A big turning point in Sokolov’s academic career came when he took Introduction to Mathematical Finance with Luis Seco, who is Sokolov’s mentor and doctoral supervisor. The course is geared toward graduating students looking to bridge their degree to the working world.
“I can see in that course who has ambitions and who doesn't,” says Seco, a professor in the Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga. “It's very clear. People with ambitions come and talk to me about anything. Alik was one of them.”
“Luis had nothing to gain from giving me the time of day — he was so swamped,” Sokolov says. “He still made an effort, and he does it to this day. He's just so consistent about doing the selfless thing for people.”
After graduating, Sokolov returned twice to the university for graduate studies, thanks in part to Seco’s influence. The two maintained a relationship where they exchanged ideas on mathematical finance and AI, eventually dovetailing into Sokolov’s PhD.
“It was more regret aversion,” Sokolov says of leaving Deloitte to begin his doctoral degree in mathematics. “I knew if I didn’t give this sort of thing a go, I probably would lack fulfillment. It would be a regret.”
Just as Sokolov worked at UPS during his high school and undergraduate years, and Deloitte during his master’s degree, he began Sibli during his PhD and has since been balancing the two pursuits, which he says harmonize nicely with one another.
Returning to U of T and working with his mentor again felt natural to Sokolov, who enjoys the freedom Seco grants his students.
“In general, Luis will let students experiment and try their own thing,” Sokolov says. “And for me, that works. I’m a self-starter by nature, so working with folks like Luis is really comfortable.”
“He’s ambitious, smart, hardworking, a very good person,” Seco says. “People underestimate the value of personal qualities.”
Seco’s expertise in mathematical finance is vast, though these days he’s been delving more into AI and sustainability. Seco likens the current AI revolution in domains like finance to the early introduction of computers.
“There's no better time for mathematics and finance to be working together,” he says. “I think we're at the cusp of this big transformation, and Alik is one of the writers of that transformation.”
With Sibli poised to shake up the world of finance, Sokolov has had to learn to navigate being a successful founder. While his professional skills have held up well, there’s been a lot of work on managing his emotions and dealing with the stressors unique to startups.
“Everything they say about startups being an emotional roller coaster and being hard, it's all true,” Sokolov says. “I needed new tactics, and a lot of emotional work and self-improvement to have a more consistent go of this.”