Quant giant Two Sigma Investments LLC is as serious about fun as it is about managing $35 billion in hedge fund assets.
But this technology-obsessed firm's idea of fun involves pitting its engineers against each other annually to surmount difficult challenges using artificial intelligence.
From the snazzy video recap of the event on Two Sigma's website, www.twosigma.com/ careers/life-at-two-sigma/ the-two-sigma-cup, the firm's New York-based employees did have a blast watching the results of their fellow tech jocks' efforts to program a robot not just to play air hockey, but to play it well enough to beat a human competitor.
“The Two Sigma Cup is definitely a celebration of engineering,” said Alfred Spector, managing director and Two Sigma's chief technology officer and head of its engineering organization, in the video.
You'll have to watch the video to find out whether man or machine won the contest, but Mr. Spector maintained the company “came out victorious because it's an opportunity for Two Sigma employees to really get involved in cutting-edge technologies,” which they likely will apply to their daily work life.
