About City Agentic Finance Lab (CAFiL)
The first university lab dedicated to agentic finance.
CAFiL was founded in 2023 at City St George’s, University of London. We are based in the Department of Engineering in the School of Science & Technology, on the Clerkenwell campus, a short walk from the City of London and the Old Street technology cluster. We connect engineering research, industry practice and student talent to answer one practical question: what does it take for AI agents to act for people and firms in ways that are reliable, fair and accountable?
Vision
A financial system in which AI agents and digital money work reliably, fairly and transparently for people and businesses — with London leading the way.
Mission
We produce the independent evidence, open tools and skilled people that financial services need to adopt AI agents responsibly — connecting rigorous engineering research with industry, regulators, founders and our students.
Values
Evidence before hype
We measure what works, say what does not, and grade every claim about a deployment as announced, piloted, live or at scale.
Independent and open
We choose our questions and methods, publish our methods and disclose our funding.
Built with industry
We co-design and test our work with firms, regulators and other universities.
Responsible by design
Customer outcomes, fairness, inclusion and accountability shape what we build and recommend.
Talent first
Our students work on real questions with real organisations, and we credit their contributions.
Our background
CAFiL’s members have researched software agents in markets for more than twenty years, beginning in 2003 with agents that pooled demand and bought on behalf of consumers. That work asked the questions the financial industry is asking today: when should an agent act for us, how do we make markets of agents efficient and fair, and who is accountable when software spends money?
Our members bring experience across leading UK universities, technology leadership in fintech, the founding and leadership of research groups, and engagement with industry and regulators. Since its founding in 2023, CAFiL has brought that experience together in one lab.
How we work
CAFiL is a deliberately networked lab. A small core team works with Associates — leading academics and industry practitioners — with students on our Student Mentorship Programme, and with partners. Together we publish evidence and insight, convene the invitation-only City Agentic Finance Roundtable and monthly Agentic Finance Talks, teach, and work with firms on projects that matter to them.
- Core team
- Associates
- Students on the mentorship programme
- Partners
Our independence
We choose our own research questions and methods, and we keep the right to publish. Sponsors and partners may comment on drafts but cannot veto findings. Every output discloses its funding. Commercial work is contracted through City St George’s, University of London.
Our scope
We do not work on cyber security, intrusion or threat detection, offensive or defensive security tooling, surveillance, or defence and military applications. Our work on compliance and fraud focuses on governance, evaluation, accountability, consumer protection, liability and redress — not on building detection or surveillance systems. Questions on cyber security and fraud-detection models are referred to specialist colleagues, including City St George’s Institute for Cyber Security.
Our home
City St George’s, University of London is “the University of business, practice and the professions”. It was formed in August 2024, when City, University of London and St George’s, University of London combined, and it educates more than 27,000 students from over 170 countries.