What is EquiLibre's background and who founded it?

EquiLibre was founded by three former DeepMind researchers—Martin Schmid, Rudolf Kadlec, and Matej Moravcik—who were visiting PhD students at Google's AI research office in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where they built DeepStack, the first AI to defeat professional no-limit poker players. They moved back to their home country, Czechia, and established the startup in 2022.

How has EquiLibre's trading AI performed since launch?

EquiLibre's algorithms have delivered "a perfect record of zero negative months since inception" since their rollout on crypto markets in 2025 and subsequent deployment on stock exchanges. They are trading billions in daily volume across the S&P 500 and NASDAQ in partnership with quant firm Tower Research Capital.

What are EquiLibre's previous funding rounds?

According to Dealroom data, EquiLibre's seed round of $10 million（約16億円） was led by Blossom Capital at a $140 million（約220億円） valuation. The startup also had pre-seed backers including CEE-focused VC firm Credo.

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DeepMind poker AI trio valued at $500M after Series A, now trading billions

TechCrunch AI12h ago6 min read

Key takeaway

Three former DeepMind researchers who built a poker-playing AI have founded EquiLibre Technologies and are now using the same reinforcement-learning technique to trade stocks and crypto. After raising a Series A at a $500 million（約800億円） valuation, the Prague-based startup has recorded zero negative months since launching its trading algorithms on crypto markets in 2025 and stock exchanges afterward, managing billions in daily volume. The success signals that DeepMind alumni startups pursuing frontier AI remain a hot area for venture investment, especially when they can apply proven AI techniques to high-stakes, profitable domains like financial trading.

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3 Key Points

What happened
EquiLibre Technologies, a Prague-based AI lab founded by three former DeepMind researchers, raised a Series A at a $500 million（約800億円） valuation led by Creandum. The founders—Martin Schmid (CEO), Rudolf Kadlec (CTO), and Matej Moravcik (CSO)—previously built DeepStack, an AI that defeated professional poker players; they are now applying reinforcement learning to stock and crypto trading in partnership with quant firm Tower Research Capital.
Why it matters
The startup's trading algorithms have generated "a perfect record of zero negative months since inception" across billions in daily volume on the S&P 500, NASDAQ, and crypto markets since their 2025 rollout. For quant hedge funds, where automation is already standard, faster or more profitable AI models can quickly translate to cash—making EquiLibre's approach attractive to VCs pursuing frontier AI from DeepMind alumni. The reinforcement learning technique the founders pioneered in games now underpins a much larger financial-markets use case.
What to watch
EquiLibre plans to scale its compute infrastructure to build one of the largest compute clusters in Central and Eastern Europe. The startup faces competition from established trading firms like Jane Street, which already deploys reinforcement learning and claims "tens of thousands of high-end GPUs"; EquiLibre is aiming to "get more from less" compute. Schmid stated the market is "not a winner-takes-all" despite these pressures.

FAQ

What is EquiLibre's background and who founded it?: EquiLibre was founded by three former DeepMind researchers—Martin Schmid, Rudolf Kadlec, and Matej Moravcik—who were visiting PhD students at Google's AI research office in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where they built DeepStack, the first AI to defeat professional no-limit poker players. They moved back to their home country, Czechia, and established the startup in 2022.
How has EquiLibre's trading AI performed since launch?: EquiLibre's algorithms have delivered "a perfect record of zero negative months since inception" since their rollout on crypto markets in 2025 and subsequent deployment on stock exchanges. They are trading billions in daily volume across the S&P 500 and NASDAQ in partnership with quant firm Tower Research Capital.
What are EquiLibre's previous funding rounds?: According to Dealroom data, EquiLibre's seed round of $10 million（約16億円） was led by Blossom Capital at a $140 million（約220億円） valuation. The startup also had pre-seed backers including CEE-focused VC firm Credo.

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