Announcing o11's backing from Y Combinator.
Microsoft Copilot vs Gemini Advanced vs o11: Best AI for Finance?
The “AI Wars” are dominated by two giants: Microsoft (Copilot) and Google (Gemini). They are integrating AI into everything—email, search, coding, and office suites.
For a general user, this is a revolution. For an Investment Banker or Private Equity professional, however, it is often a frustration.
Why? Because generic AI doesn’t understand the nuances of finance.
In this showdown, we compare the Big Tech generalists against o11, the specialist AI built exclusively for capital markets.
1. Microsoft Copilot for Finance
The “Good Enough” Generalist. Copilot is everywhere. It’s in your Outlook sidebar summarizing emails. It’s in Word drafting generic text.
- The Problem: It is “Finance-Light.” It can help with Excel formulas, but it struggles with complex financial logic. Ask it to “Spread these comps” or “format this chart to firm standards,” and it falters. It also has strict guardrails that often prevent it from giving direct financial advice or calculations.
- Verdict: Great for summarizing emails. Bad for building models.
2. Google Gemini Advanced
The Information Engine. Gemini (formerly Bard) shines at retrieving information and reasoning. Its “1.5 Pro” model has a massive context window, perfect for reading huge documents.
- The Problem: It lives in the browser (mostly). It is disconnected from your actual workflow (Excel/PPT on your desktop). You have to copy-paste data in and out. It also lacks deep integration with specialized financial data sources.
- Verdict: Excellent research assistant. Disconnected workflow tool.
3. o11: The Financial Specialist
The Execution Layer. o11 isn’t trying to write your emails or plan your vacation. It is built to do one thing: Automate Financial Deliverables.
Why Specialization Matters
| Feature | Copilot / Gemini | o11 |
|---|---|---|
| Context | “General Knowledge” | “Financial Context” (Knows what EBITDA is, knows how LBOs work) |
| Integration | Surface-level Excel/PPT | Deep Object-Level Control (Edit cells, charts, shapes directly) |
| Data Handling | Text-based | Structured Data (Understands tables, financial statements) |
| Security | Cloud-based training | Local-First & Private (Your data doesn’t train the public model) |
The “LBO Test”
We asked all three AIs: “Build a basic LBO model for a company with $100M revenue.”
- Copilot: Gave a text explanation of what an LBO is and suggested some Excel formulas.
- Gemini: Generated a Python script to calculate returns (useful, but not Excel).
- o11: Created a downloadable Excel file with a fully linked 3-statement model, debt schedule, and returns analysis, formatted to investment banking standards.
Conclusion
If you want to write a poem or summarize a recipe, use Copilot or Gemini. If you need to close a deal, build a model, or pitch a client, use o11.
