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AI just crashed the party in capital markets

  TSG  ·  3 minute read
AI just crashed the party in capital markets
6:03

AI in capital markets

The financial data and markets infrastructure (FDMI) sector has delivered strong results in recent years, but its foundations are being reshaped. Providers that want to sustain growth must adjust how they operate, where they compete, and how they invest. 

 

The industry’s position today 

FDMI players run the core infrastructure of capital markets: trading venues, clearing and settlement, custody and fund services, data and analytics, and workflow technology. It is one of the fastest-growing segments in financial services. 

Those numbers show strong momentum. Yet rising expectations, new competitors, and technology shifts challenge whether those gains can be preserved without strategic adjustments. 

These statistics illustrate how key forces—AI, tokenization, private markets—are already changing the terrain. 

Trend 

Data 

Implications for FDMI Providers 

Tokenization growth 

The global asset tokenization market was valued at US$865.54 billion in 2024, and is projected to reach US$1,244.18 billion in 2025, with further growth toward ~US$5,254.63 billion by 2029. CAGR is ~43.36%.  

Tokenization is not niche. Infrastructure providers who build for issuance, trading, settlement, and custody in tokenized assets stand to capture much of that growth. 

AI-driven analytics for tokenized assets 

The AI-Driven Asset Tokenization Analytics market was US$1.28 billion in 2024; forecasted to grow to ~US$9.41 billion by 2033. That is a projected CAGR of ~22.6%.  

There’s demand for tools that make sense of tokenized asset data. Providers investing in AI analytics can deliver value in surveillance, risk, valuation, reporting. 

Data & analytics market expansion 

The broader data and analytics technology market was US$112.05 billion in 2023, with a projected CAGR of ~11.14% through 2028 to reach US$189.98 billion.  

A rising tide in data spend helps; FDMI providers who can lean into data insights, clean data flows, and analytics platforms (rather than just raw data feeds) can differentiate. 

AI adoption in financial services 

Recent surveys (e.g. Morgan Stanley AI Adopter survey) show that financial services companies have increased their AI exposure significantly—with ~73% of firms reporting some active AI adoption (up from ~66%) in 2025.  

AI is no longer experimental in many firms. Infrastructure vendors must assume customers expect AI assistants, tools, automation, especially for research, code generation, and compliance. 

Real estate tokenization 

Tokenized private real estate funds are expected to grow to US$1 trillion by 2035, with broader real estate tokenization (including loans, securitizations, undeveloped land) reaching several trillion dollars in market size.  

Alternative asset infrastructure (private markets, real estate, etc.) is becoming a major opportunity. FDMI providers who can offer tools, platforms, and governance for these assets can unlock new revenue and build stickier relationships. 

 

How these data shifts reinforce the strategic levers 

Here are how the data above strengthen certain strategic moves: 

  • Resilience and reliability matter more when contracts and workflows are higher volume (tokenization, real-time trading) and when clients are more dependent on clean, accurate data. A single outage, misvaluation, or error has magnified consequences. 
  • Product operating model gains value when features like AI assistants, unstructured-data ingestion, automated compliance or reporting are required. Smaller cross-functional teams can iterate faster to incorporate these. 
  • Commercial execution must adapt: clients buying tokenization modules, or private markets data/platforms, are different from traditional clients. Bundled offers and tailored sales outreach (backed by data) help. 
  • Ecosystem and private market investments look more compelling given the scale of growth in tokenization and alternative asset infrastructure. Those trends are not projections; they are underway. 

 

What leadership should focus on now 

Given the data, leadership in FDMI providers should consider: 

  1. Doubling down on tokenization infrastructure — not just supporting tokenized assets, but investing in tools for issuance, liquidity, regulatory compliance, custodian relationships, and settlement. 
  2. Scaling AI/ML capabilities for analytics, workflow automation, compliance, research support. These are now differentiators, not just potential nice-to-haves. 
  3. Segmented growth strategies geared toward alternative assets (private equity, real estate) as these segments carry complexity that many incumbents are not fully serving yet. 
  4. Strong partnership models especially with Big Tech, FinTechs, cloud providers — to share risk and build faster. But ensuring those partnerships do not surrender control over key infrastructure. 
  5. Enhanced risk and reliability practices — as scale and technical complexity increase, systems must be designed to avoid cascading failures or data errors; observability, error budgets, redundancy will all matter more. 

The forces reshaping financial data and markets infrastructure are not slowing down. Providers that balance resilience with innovation will be the ones that define the next chapter of capital markets. 

At TSG, we’re helping organizations navigate these shifts with confidence and clarity. Get in touch to discuss how we can help you create lasting impact in financial services.