Key Takeaways
- • Rob Krzyzanowski, former head of global equities business engineering at Citadel, departed in March 2023 and has co-founded Hedgineer, a B2B AI investment platform for hedge funds, alongside three other hedge fund alumni including former Citadel MD Michael Watson and Millennium equities manager Gerard Miller.
- • Hedgineer transitioned from a podcast series and Slack community launched over a year ago into an operational fintech platform in 2026, positioning itself to serve institutional investors with AI-driven solutions.
- • The founding team combines deep hedge fund engineering expertise: Krzyzanowski spent over four years at Citadel starting at age 29, Watson held an MD role in equities engineering at Citadel, and Mahlstedt previously managed software engineering at the firm.
- • Hedgineer has recruited additional senior talent from major financial institutions, including Jhanvi Virani (former Goldman Sachs engineering lead for Marquee portfolio analytics) as managing director and Brian Lee (former Citadel UI engineer) in May 2026.
- • The platform is actively expanding with open positions for a forward-deployed engineer and director of marketing, indicating aggressive growth phase operations.
Summary
Rob Krzyzanowski, a 34-year-old engineer who spent over four years as Citadel's head of global equities business engineering, has co-founded Hedgineer, a B2B artificial intelligence investment platform designed specifically for hedge fund operations. Krzyzanowski joined Citadel at age 29 as head of core engineering and held several roles before departing in March 2023. Since then, he worked as an independent researcher collaborating with major AI research organizations including Anthropic and Google DeepMind before launching Hedgineer.
The venture brings together four co-founders with significant hedge fund pedigrees. Beyond Krzyzanowski, the founding team includes Michael Watson, a former managing director at Citadel who also worked in equities engineering; Brian Mahlstedt, who served as senior software engineering manager at Citadel; and Gerard Miller, who worked in equities management at Millennium Management. Hedgineer evolved from a podcast series and Slack community that began over a year prior into a full fintech platform in 2026, indicating a transition from thought leadership to operational product delivery.
The firm has demonstrated strong recruiting capability, attracting experienced talent from tier-one institutions. Jhanvi Virani joined as managing director after working as an engineering lead for Goldman Sachs' Marquee portfolio analytics platform. Brian Lee, formerly a UI engineer at Citadel, joined the team in May 2026. These hires reflect Hedgineer's ability to compete for talent from both hedge funds and investment banks, suggesting institutional investor confidence in the platform's potential.
Hedgineer remains in expansion mode, with active recruitment for a forward-deployed engineer position to scale the team and a director of marketing role, indicating both product development and go-to-market acceleration phases are underway. The platform represents a notable example of talent migration from traditional hedge funds into specialized fintech ventures addressing the hedge fund industry's increasing focus on AI-driven investment solutions.
The venture brings together four co-founders with significant hedge fund pedigrees. Beyond Krzyzanowski, the founding team includes Michael Watson, a former managing director at Citadel who also worked in equities engineering; Brian Mahlstedt, who served as senior software engineering manager at Citadel; and Gerard Miller, who worked in equities management at Millennium Management. Hedgineer evolved from a podcast series and Slack community that began over a year prior into a full fintech platform in 2026, indicating a transition from thought leadership to operational product delivery.
The firm has demonstrated strong recruiting capability, attracting experienced talent from tier-one institutions. Jhanvi Virani joined as managing director after working as an engineering lead for Goldman Sachs' Marquee portfolio analytics platform. Brian Lee, formerly a UI engineer at Citadel, joined the team in May 2026. These hires reflect Hedgineer's ability to compete for talent from both hedge funds and investment banks, suggesting institutional investor confidence in the platform's potential.
Hedgineer remains in expansion mode, with active recruitment for a forward-deployed engineer position to scale the team and a director of marketing role, indicating both product development and go-to-market acceleration phases are underway. The platform represents a notable example of talent migration from traditional hedge funds into specialized fintech ventures addressing the hedge fund industry's increasing focus on AI-driven investment solutions.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.