The University of Warwick has received a £1.25 million donation to launch the FutureFinance.AI Research Group that could transform the way the world purchases, sells, rents and handles real estate over the next five years.

Based in the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology at Warwick Business School, the new Research Group will draw interdisciplinary scholars and thinkers from across the world to redefine and innovate the financial and property technology landscape.

“Philanthropy is helping to make WBS’ research in Financial Technology an important pillar in the School’s activities. I’m grateful to the donor for their generous donation”, said Professor Andy Lockett, Dean of Warwick Business School.

Spearheaded by Professor Ram Gopal, the Group will develop novel research areas, harnessing strengths in Artificial Intelligence and blockchain technologies, to pave the way in the new age of Proptech and Fintech.

Professor Ram Gopal, Director of The Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, said:

“AI has enormous potential to reshape real estate, with near and long-term impacts ranging from the emergence of new markets and asset types to innovations in investment and revenue models.”

“Thanks to a significant donation from a friend of the University based in India, we will attract global research talent who will provide leadership in national and international debates on the application of financial technologies – the way we spend, earn, and save daily. This is a field that has been transformed in recent years, and in ten years’ time will once again be unrecognisable.”

The donation will bolster Warwick’s position as a leading centre of financial research in the UK, drawing researchers to the region, boosting the West Midlands economy, and creating jobs.

The Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology was established in 2019 thanks to a £3 million donation by Clive Gillmore, founder and Group CEO of Mondrian Investment Partners and an alumnus of the University of Warwick.

It produces world-class research on all areas of fintech, including the recent establishment of an open-source Crypto Dashboard that tracks and analyses the price of more than 37,000 cryptocurrencies, comparing them to other indices like gold and the S&P 500.

The new FutureFinance.AI Research Group will focus on the use of AI, machine learning and data science in the emerging fintech and proptech sectors, working with partners to design new tools and then scale them up.

Professor Gopal added: “This is a great opportunity for the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology to advance our academic output and help position our new partner as a lead collaborator in the global research space.

“A long-term commitment at this important stage of the Centre’s work, and alongside Warwick’s strategic engagement with India, where the University already has an outstanding reputation for world-class education and research, will bring benefits to both parties.

“I am very much looking forward to using this new partnership to grow the capacity of the Centre and develop new avenues of research that will be of benefit to consumers, companies and organisations in the fintech and proptech sectors and society as a whole.”