FinAI – LAB : the joint research lab between Télécom Paris and BNP Paribas on AI in the financial sector

Established in 2025, the FinAI-Lab (Financial AI Laboratory) is a joint scientific research laboratory founded by BNP Paribas and Télécom Paris (a member of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris and the Institut Mines Telecom), dedicated to the study and development of artificial intelligence applied to banking and finance. It aims to address the scientific, technological, and regulatory challenges associated with the deployment of AI in critical and highly regulated financial environments.

The FinAI-Lab serves as a space for close collaboration between academic researchers and industry experts. It brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Institut Polytechnique de Paris—including Télécom Paris and École Polytechnique—as well as an ecosystem of CIFRE doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, research engineers, and experts from the business and IT units of the BNP Paribas Group.

The laboratory’s research activities are organized around four thematic areas (AI and big data for large-scale banking infrastructures, AI and cybersecurity, fundamental models and financial time series, and fraud detection and anti-money laundering) as well as a cross-cutting area dedicated to trustworthy AI. This cross-cutting theme underpins all research efforts and addresses issues of explainability, fairness, accountability, model governance, and compliance, particularly with regard to the European AI Regulation.

The goal of FinAI-Lab is to develop practical, high-value-added AI solutions to improve operational performance, strengthen cybersecurity, and support financial and regulatory activities. By contributing to the advancement of scientific knowledge and its translation into practical applications, the lab aims to position its partners as leading authorities in responsible AI.

The leading team

Albert Bifet

Co-Scientific Director of the FinAI Lab

Albert Bifet is a professor of AI and director of Te Ipu o te Mahara—The AI Institute at the University of Waikato, as well as a professor of Big Data at Télécom Paris. As a specialist in machine learning on data streams, he develops large-scale adaptive and responsible AI systems. An open-source pioneer, he co-founded Apache SAMOA and co-authored Machine Learning for Data Streams (MIT Press). An active member of the international scientific community, he also contributes to AI standardization initiatives.

Léa Déléris

Co-Scientific Director of FinAI-Lab

Léa Déléris is Head of AI Robots and Tech (AIR Tech) at BNP Paribas, a cross-functional unit within the Risk and Compliance departments dedicated to artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, and innovation. She joined BNP Paribas in 2018 to establish and lead a data science team within the Risk function. Previously, Léa spent more than ten years at IBM Research in the United States and Europe, where she led research teams in AI and natural language processing. She graduated from École Polytechnique, Stanford University, and Paris Dauphine–PSL University.

Mariam Barry

Co-Director of Operations of the FinAI-Lab

Mariam Barry holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (2022), specializing in “online AI for data streams” as part of a CIFRE thesis at BNP Paribas. A graduate of ENSTA ParisTech and École Polytechnique, she is Head of AI Research and IT Innovation at the BNP Paribas Group. An expert in data science, machine learning, big data, and streaming data, she is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris and a lecturer on AI and Big Data at École Polytechnique. Her work aims to bridge the gap between scientific research and industrial innovation for the management of transaction flows on a global scale.  

Thomas Le Goff

Co-Director of Operations of the FinAI-Lab

Thomas Le Goff is an associate professor of digital law and regulation at Télécom Paris – Institut Polytechnique de Paris (i3 Laboratory, CNRS, UMR 9217), where he teaches and conducts research on regulations related to digital technologies, data, cybersecurity, and AI. His research focuses specifically on the links between AI and sustainability and on how regulation can contribute to the development of environmentally friendly technologies. Thomas Le Goff wrote his doctoral dissertation on the regulation of AI in the energy sector, including an analysis of the AI Act and proposals aimed at integrating environmental sustainability into AI regulations.