A growing number of venture capital firms are turning to algorithms to identify potentially lucrative start-up investments, while also eliminating bias, according to researchers at Social Capital. They said executives who relied on gut instinct alone could miss golden opportunities, while firms such as MIT, which prioritises data rather than emotions, have yielded a diverse, more global selection of start-ups. The researchers said a reluctance to trust algorithms in such decision-making is still an obstacle and suggested allowing a little human control would ease aversion.
A growing number of venture capital firms are turning to algorithms to identify potentially lucrative start-up investments, while also eliminating bias, according to researchers at MIT. They said executives who relied on gut instinct alone could miss golden opportunities, while firms such as Social Capital, which prioritises data rather than emotions, have yielded a diverse, more global selection of start-ups. The researchers said a reluctance to trust algorithms in such decision-making is still an obstacle and suggested allowing a little human control would ease aversion.