# Northern Trust: Research and IP

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/northern-trust/ai-research-patents-partnerships
Last updated: Oct 16, 2026

*Part of the [Northern Trust AI strategy profile](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/northern-trust).*

## What AI research, patents and partnerships does Northern Trust have?

Northern Trust's AI patent record is small and centred on digital assets: US 11,928,438 B1, granted March 12, 2024, has large language models review bytecode to decide whether it enables a smart contract (inventors Arijit Das and Justin Chapman); the same family was published as PCT application WO 2025/014545 on January 16, 2025 and continued as US 2026/0141187 A1 on May 21, 2026. A second grant, US 11,869,015 B1 (January 9, 2024), covers benchmarking that may use a k-nearest-neighbour or other machine-learning algorithm. Its technology partners are mostly platforms: Microsoft (Dynamics 365 for client service since 2022, Copilot for Service in 2024, Microsoft 365 Copilot firmwide), GitHub Copilot, Snowflake (a founding seat in the Open Semantic Interchange financial-services working group, June 2026), Databricks (the rebuilt investment-analytics platform), FINBOURNE and Saphyre. Research happens in the asset manager: 13 quantitative hires in Amsterdam (February 2025), papers on natural-language processing and LLM signals, two NT Adaptive Equity funds that use NLP (June 2026) and a January 2026 stewardship paper on AI. Northern Trust has not named a frontier model lab as a partner. ([Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US11928438B1/en), [Google Patents (WIPO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2025014545A1/en), [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20260141187A1/en), [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US11869015B1/en), [Microsoft](https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/1729896786525631164-northern-trust-dynamics-365-customer-service-united-states), [Microsoft](https://news.microsoft.com/en-hk/2024/03/06/introducing-microsoft-copilot-for-finance-the-newest-copilot-offering-in-microsoft-365-designed-to-transform-modern-finance/), [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/northern-trust-at-barclays-conference-strategic-focus-on-growth-and-efficiency-93CH-4232423), [Northern Trust (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/northern-trust-collaborates-industry-peers-130000427.html), [Databricks](https://answers.databricks.com/modernizing-investment-analytics-spark-declarative-pipelines-serverless-compute-HF0C15zM0Qk), [Northern Trust](https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/pr/2026/northern-trust-and-saphyre-expand-collaboration-to-enhance-the-full-account-lifecycle-for-investment-operations-outsourcing-clients), [Northern Trust Asset Management (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250204433154/en/Northern-Trust-Asset-Management-Expands-Global-Quantitative-Investment-Strategies-Team), [Northern Trust Asset Management (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20260603817494/en/Northern-Trust-Asset-Management-Announces-Adaptive-Equity-Funds), [Northern Trust Asset Management](https://northerntrust.com/content/dam/northerntrust/pws/nt/documents/asset-management/2026-sustainable-investing-trends.pdf))

## Which AI patents does Northern Trust hold or have pending?

Assignee Northern Trust Corporation, from Google Patents. Northern Trust's other published families cover blockchain tokens, digital identity, meeting records and production-environment checks, not AI.

| Number | Title and subject | Status | Date | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| US 11,928,438 B1 | Computing technologies for large language models: an LLM reviews bytecode to decide whether it enables a smart contract (inventors Arijit Das, Justin Chapman) | Granted | March 12, 2024 | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US11928438B1/en) |
| WO 2025/014545 A1 | International (PCT) application in the same family; filed February 15, 2024, priority July 7, 2023 | PCT application published | January 16, 2025 | [Google Patents (WIPO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2025014545A1/en) |
| US 2026/0141187 A1 | Continuation of the LLM smart-contract patent, filed January 7, 2026 | Application published | May 21, 2026 | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20260141187A1/en) |
| US 11,869,015 B1 | Computing technologies for benchmarking, which may use a k-nearest-neighbour or other machine-learning algorithm | Granted | January 9, 2024 | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US11869015B1/en) |

## Who are Northern Trust's AI and data technology partners?

Relationships the bank or the vendor has announced.

| Partner | What it is | Since | Status | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service | Replaced a decade-old on-premises CRM in Asset Servicing ('Digital Partner Platform'); built-in AI tools let staff search client emails by keyword and concern; PwC implemented it | July 2022 (live February 2023) | In production | [Microsoft](https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/1729896786525631164-northern-trust-dynamics-365-customer-service-united-states) |
| Microsoft Copilot for Service and Service Agent | Copilot for Service in the client relations organisation; Northern Trust's AI engineering lead quoted in Microsoft's July 2026 Service Agent post | March 2024 | In production | [Microsoft](https://news.microsoft.com/en-hk/2024/03/06/introducing-microsoft-copilot-for-finance-the-newest-copilot-offering-in-microsoft-365-designed-to-transform-modern-finance/), [Microsoft](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365/blog/it-professional/2026/07/15/service-agent-microsoft-365-copilot-customer-service/) |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot | Copilot rolled out to employees; GitHub Copilot across developers, with an estimated 31% time saving | 2025 | In production | [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/northern-trust-at-barclays-conference-strategic-focus-on-growth-and-efficiency-93CH-4232423), [MarketBeat (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/northern-trust-conference-ntrs-bets-080213324.html) |
| Snowflake (Open Semantic Interchange) | Founding member of the Financial Services Working Group for shared, vendor-neutral data definitions for AI | June 3, 2026 | Announced | [Northern Trust (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/northern-trust-collaborates-industry-peers-130000427.html), [Northern Trust](https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/pr/2026/northern-trust-collaborates-with-industry-peers-to-strengthen-data-and-ai-interoperability) |
| Databricks | Investment-analytics platform rebuilt on Spark Declarative Pipelines, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog and serverless compute; 60% faster processing and 40% lower cost, per the Northern Trust presenters | 2026 (presented) | In production | [Databricks](https://answers.databricks.com/modernizing-investment-analytics-spark-declarative-pipelines-serverless-compute-HF0C15zM0Qk) |
| FINBOURNE | LUSID and Luminesce for valuations and reporting, delivered through the Matrix Data Platform | February 2024 | In production | [FINBOURNE Technology (Finextra press release)](https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/99813/northern-trust-selects-finbourne) |
| Saphyre | Fintech with patented AI technology for pre-trade data; workflows across the account lifecycle for outsourcing clients | Expanded April 2026 | In production | [Northern Trust](https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/pr/2026/northern-trust-and-saphyre-expand-collaboration-to-enhance-the-full-account-lifecycle-for-investment-operations-outsourcing-clients) |
| Equity Data Science | Research management system sold through Northern Trust's Investment Data Science suite | June 2025 | In production | [Northern Trust (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20250625523297/en/Northern-Trust-Adds-Investment-Data-Science-Clients-in-Hong-Kong) |

## What AI and machine-learning research does Northern Trust publish?

Almost all of it comes from Northern Trust Asset Management (NTAM).

| Output | What it is | Date | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Quant team expansion | 13 quantitative researchers, portfolio analysts and developers hired in Amsterdam, several with machine-learning and AI experience | February 4, 2025 | [Northern Trust Asset Management (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250204433154/en/Northern-Trust-Asset-Management-Expands-Global-Quantitative-Investment-Strategies-Team) |
| Uncovering Alpha in the Networked Economy | Research on extracting signal from text with NLP and LLMs, estimating 50-60% of global data is text | September 23, 2025 | [Northern Trust Asset Management](https://ntam.northerntrust.com/content/dam/northerntrust/investment-management/global/en/documents/research/quantitative/uncovering-alpha-networked-economy.pdf) |
| Stewardship in Focus: Artificial Intelligence | NTAM stewardship paper (Sarby and Koch), cited in NTAM's 2026 sustainable-investing outlook, which names AI as the macro trend shaping each of its themes | January 2026 | [Northern Trust Asset Management](https://northerntrust.com/content/dam/northerntrust/pws/nt/documents/asset-management/2026-sustainable-investing-trends.pdf) |
| Chief innovation strategist | Gijsbert de Lange appointed to embed advanced AI into equity, fixed-income and multi-asset strategies | January 29, 2026 | [Northern Trust (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20260128771359/en/Northern-Trust-Asset-Management-Appoints-Gijsbert-de-Lange-as-Chief-Innovation-Strategist) |
| NT Adaptive Equity UCITS funds | Two funds that apply natural-language processing and alternative data; NTAM runs $47 billion in quantitative strategies | June 3, 2026 | [Northern Trust Asset Management (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20260603817494/en/Northern-Trust-Asset-Management-Announces-Adaptive-Equity-Funds) |
| AI in investment research | The CEO said AI is enhancing research and idea generation, 'uncovering signals that may be overlooked', embedded in the adaptive equity quant strategies | July 22, 2026 | [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-northern-trust-beats-q2-2026-forecasts-shares-slip-93CH-4806291) |

## What does the Northern Trust profile record on this topic?

| Date | Move | Detail | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jun 3, 2026 | NT Adaptive Equity UCITS funds launched | Two Irish-domiciled funds use natural-language processing and alternative data; NTAM manages $47 billion in quantitative strategies. | [Northern Trust Asset Management (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20260603817494/en/Northern-Trust-Asset-Management-Announces-Adaptive-Equity-Funds) |
| May 21, 2026 | LLM patent continuation published | US 2026/0141187 A1, filed 7 January 2026, continues the 2024 patent on LLM review of smart-contract bytecode. | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20260141187A1/en) |
| May 20, 2026 | Anne-Sophie van Royen heads index and quantitative strategies | Leads $923 billion in index and $47 billion in quantitative strategies at NTAM, reporting to the co-CIOs. | [Northern Trust Asset Management (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/northern-trust-asset-management-appoints-140000271.html) |
| Jan 29, 2026 | First chief innovation strategist in asset management | Gijsbert de Lange to embed advanced AI technologies into equity, fixed-income and multi-asset strategies. | [Northern Trust (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20260128771359/en/Northern-Trust-Asset-Management-Appoints-Gijsbert-de-Lange-as-Chief-Innovation-Strategist) |
| Sep 23, 2025 | NLP and LLMs as alpha sources | Asset-management research on extracting signal from text, with 50–60% of global data estimated to be text. | [Northern Trust Asset Management](https://ntam.northerntrust.com/content/dam/northerntrust/investment-management/global/en/documents/research/quantitative/uncovering-alpha-networked-economy.pdf) |
| Feb 4, 2025 | NTAM adds 13 quantitative staff in Amsterdam | Quantitative researchers, portfolio analysts and developers, several with machine-learning and AI experience; they include Gijsbert de Lange. | [Northern Trust Asset Management (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250204433154/en/Northern-Trust-Asset-Management-Expands-Global-Quantitative-Investment-Strategies-Team) |
| Mar 12, 2024 | LLM patent granted | US 11,928,438 B1 (inventors Arijit Das and Justin Chapman) covers large language models reviewing bytecode to decide whether it enables a smart contract. | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US11928438B1/en), [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20260141187A1/en) |
| Feb 28, 2024 | FINBOURNE plugged into the Matrix Data Platform | LUSID and Luminesce selected to modernise valuations and reporting, integrated with the data-mesh platform the announcement calls Northern Trust's new digital 'backbone'. | [FINBOURNE Technology (Finextra press release)](https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/99813/northern-trust-selects-finbourne), [Northern Trust](https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/what-we-do/asset-servicing/matrix) |
| Jan 9, 2024 | Machine-learning benchmarking patent granted | US 11,869,015 B1, assigned to Northern Trust Corporation, describes benchmarking that may rely on a k-nearest-neighbour or other machine-learning algorithm. | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US11869015B1/en) |

## Common questions

### Does Northern Trust have AI patents?

A few. Its clearest AI patent is US 11,928,438 B1, granted March 12, 2024, in which large language models review smart-contract bytecode; the family includes PCT application WO 2025/014545 (published January 16, 2025) and continuation US 2026/0141187 A1 (May 21, 2026). US 11,869,015 B1 (January 2024) covers machine-learning benchmarking.

### Which AI model providers does Northern Trust use?

Northern Trust has not named a model provider for NT Byron. Its disclosed AI tools come from Microsoft (Dynamics 365 with Copilot for Service, Microsoft 365 Copilot) and GitHub Copilot. The bank has not announced a partnership with OpenAI, Anthropic or Google for production models.

### What is Northern Trust's role in Open Semantic Interchange?

In June 2026, at Snowflake Summit, Northern Trust became a founding member of the Financial Services Working Group of Open Semantic Interchange, the Snowflake-led open-source effort to give firms shared data definitions. Chief information architect Jez Davies said it lays 'the foundations for the Agentic future'.

### Does Northern Trust work with Databricks?

Yes. At a Databricks session Northern Trust's investment-analytics lead described replacing a 30-year platform built on mainframe ingestion and Oracle databases with Databricks Spark Declarative Pipelines, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog and serverless compute, reporting a 60% improvement in processing speed and a 40% cost reduction.

### Who does AI research at Northern Trust?

Mainly Northern Trust Asset Management: the quantitative team expanded in Amsterdam in February 2025, Gijsbert de Lange became chief innovation strategist in January 2026, and Anne-Sophie van Royen heads index and quantitative strategies. Most of the published research comes from that team rather than from a central AI lab.
## Deeper on Northern Trust

- [What is Northern Trust's AI strategy?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/northern-trust/ai-strategy)
- [What technology stack does Northern Trust run?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/northern-trust/technology-stack)
- [How does Northern Trust govern AI responsibly?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/northern-trust/responsible-ai)


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