In May, this year JPMorgan Chase hired Manuela Veloso as the company's first head of artificial intelligence research. And now the company has appointed Apoorv Saxena, a Google executive in charge of cloud-based AI products as head of artificial intelligence and machine learning services. 

Apoorv will also be responsible for asset and wealth management artificial intelligence technology. 

With a tech budget of $10.8 Bn, JPMorgan is all set to deploy AI, which could eventually be used for services from fraud detection to loan approval, while making internal operations more efficient.

"Looking five to ten years out, the pace of technological innovation will only quicken as artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, distributed ledgers and big data will all shape our future," wrote Daniel Pinto, JPMorgan's Co-President and Head of its corporate and investment bank in an April letter to shareholders. 

Recruiting talent that specializes in these areas is thus part of the bigger plan. 

He further added, "We are always exploring ways to offer our clients faster, better and simpler ways to do business with us."

The American financial services multinational has further declared that its willing to branch out as it examines new digital opportunities.

It's not only JPMorgan, which is exploring the technological opportunities, many players in the finance industry, globally, are racing out to roll out AI and strengthen their solutions and services. 

In India, over 36 percent of the financial institutions in the country have invested in artificial intelligence-focused technologies, and around 70 percent plan to embrace it in the near future, as per a PwC report released in April this year.

In February, American multinational, Wells Fargo announced the establishment of a new Artificial Intelligence Enterprise Solutions team and appointed Steve Ellis, EVP and head of the company’s Innovation Group to lead the new team. Bank of America Corporation recently made a push into AI technology with the debut of an intelligent virtual assistant named 'erica' and through Citi Ventures, CitiBank has made a strategic investment in Feedzai, a leading global data science enterprise that works in real-time to identify and eradicate fraud in all avenues of commerce including online and in-person banking.

Earlier, in May, it was reported that Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS) has collaborated with Economic Development Board (EDB), the Inforcomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) to facilitate the research and development of new AI technologies, as well as enhance the adoption of AI-based services in the financial sector.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the fintech industry in APAC is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 72.5% between 2015 and 2020, reaching $72bn over the next two years. 

With the uptrend in financial technology and big financial companies looking to explore advanced digital possibilities, the job market will also experience a drastic change. There is already an increased demand for AI specialists and this demand could increase further.