AI Usage Doubles Participant Count in WorldQuant Contest

Registrations for the global quantitative research competition hosted this year by WorldQuant, a hedge fund spin-out from Millennium Management, nearly doubled compared to the previous year to reach approximately 156,000, bolstered by the rising adoption of artificial intelligence.

Record Participation in the Contest

The International Quant Championship, organized by the Millennium Management affiliate WorldQuant, requires participants to build mathematical models that predict price movements across various financial instruments.

According to an announcement by the company, registration numbers rose from around 80,000 last year to approximately 156,000 this year, with students' more intensive use of artificial intelligence driving this increase.

Artificial Intelligence Lowered Barriers

Victor Ayebameru, a self-taught student of quantitative finance from Adekunle Ajasin University in Nigeria, won first place in the competition.

This success clearly demonstrated the extent to which the widespread use of artificial intelligence has lowered barriers to entry in quantitative financial trading.

Global and Diversified Participant Profile

Nitish Maini, Chief Strategy Officer at WorldQuant, stated that over 40,000 women participated in the competition and nearly 28 percent of the participants came from Africa.

The easier access to artificial intelligence tools has enabled students from diverse backgrounds to develop trading algorithms.

Sectoral Growth and Funds

According to With Intelligence data, total assets of global hedge funds managing over $1 billion increased by more than 19% by the end of 2025, reaching a record $4.05 trillion.

Meanwhile, quant-focused funds recorded an average asset growth of 30% throughout the year, and such competitions have become important talent pipelines for major hedge funds.