Bill Dague, vice president and head of data products at NASDAQ Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) delivered key insights on the transformation of data services at NASDAQ in response to emerging market needs in the era of artificial intelligence at Monday's Benzinga Fintech Deal Day.

Moderated by Jake Greenstein, partner and head of infrastructure at Hivemind, the discussion focused on NASDAQ's pivot during the pandemic to meet the demands of a burgeoning class of retail investors.

Dague emphasized the essence of data as a product, stating, "For data to be a good product, it needs to be reliable, accurate, timely, and unique."

He explained that NASDAQ's data, touching over a billion people daily, must be agile and innovative to maintain its global impact.

Rising to Meet the Pandemic's Data Demands

During the pandemic, NASDAQ observed a dramatic shift as retail investors took a heightened interest in macroeconomic data. "The pandemic brought a lot of change... and the rise of the retail investor phenomenon," Dague said.

He added that NASDAQ responded by acquiring Quandl, an alternative data platform, in 2018, which laid the foundation for rapid productization in response to changing demands.

"During the pandemic, actually data that wasn't interesting suddenly became very interesting," he said, acknowledging the increased appetite for macroeconomic data and alternative data sets that the pandemic has spurred.

This quick response was critical as investors sought unique insights into sectors like global travel and supply chain risks amidst the pandemic's shocks. As Dague explained, these tools provided investors with critical insights during a period of significant global disruption.

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Retail Investors Driving Innovation

With the rise of retail investors, NASDAQ observed new market dynamics.

"The participation of retail in the equity markets especially was just a huge driver of change," Dague said, emphasizing how this unprecedented engagement has necessitated new ways to view the market.

Responding swiftly, within a year after the pandemic began, NASDAQ launched a product aimed at understanding the retail investors' market behavior, highlighting the agility of their operations.

AI Transformation At Nasdaq

Dague addressed the transformative impact of AI on data product development.

"You don't have AI or machine learning without data," he asserted, stressing the importance of quality data in the era of AI.

"Gen AI is actually starting to take over some of those machine learning workloads," demonstrating its potential to enhance the way NASDAQ handles complex data tasks.

The integration of Generative AI has introduced fresh methodologies for data mapping and analysis, revealing unconventional applications that may not have been obvious before.

NASDAQ's vision for the future is clear: Empowering a broader spectrum of users, from technical to business-focused, with data products that are more intuitive and user-friendly. Dague advises that understanding AI's capabilities and limitations will be invaluable.