J.P. Morgan Chase’s Hire of IBM’s ‘Master Inventor’ Pistoia Shows Bank Making Bets on Advanced Technologies Like Quantum Computing

(CNBC) J.P. Morgan Chase has hired Marco Pistoia, a veteran IBM researcher to lead a new group working on emerging technologies including quantum computing. Pistoia, who spent 24 years at IBM and managed a team responsible for quantum computing algorithms, is joining New York-based J.P. Morgan as head of applied research and engineering.
J.P. Morgan’s latest high-profile hire shows that the bank is willing to make bets on advanced forms of technology without immediate applications in finance. In 2018, the bank hired a noted figure in artificial intelligence research from Carnegie Mellon University, Manuela Veloso, to head its AI research department. J.P. Morgan has an annual tech budget of more than $11 billion.
At IBM, Pistoia had the title of Master Inventor, a designation given to a handful of researchers who regularly produce valuable patents. He has been granted 197 patents and holds hundreds more patent-pending applications, including 26 in quantum computing, which uses quantum physics to tackle problems that would take years for existing computers to solve.