Bridgewater is pouring cash into artificial intelligence as billionaire founder Ray Dalio steps back, report says

• With Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio stepping away, the firm's new leadership is making significant changes, Bloomberg reports.
• Leadership will aim to invest in artificial intelligence and boost profitability.

Bridgewater Associates' new leadership is making significant changes as Ray Dalio, its billionaire founder, steps back from duties, according to a Wednesday Bloomberg report.

The changes had started at the world's largest hedge fund even before Dalio ceded control five months ago. The new CEO, Nir Bar Dea, who joined Bridgewater in 2015, is aiming to increase returns and profitability with new priorities, including artificial intelligence.

"Just doing what we've been doing isn't good enough," Bar Dea told Bloomberg in an interview. "Evolve or die. That's what's happening here."

The roughly $138 billion fund is pouring more cash and talent into artificial intelligence and machine learning, while also cutting costs in other areas. Over the next two weeks, the company will reorganize and eliminate about 100 jobs out of the 1,300-strong workforce.

Bar Dea will work with leadership to modernize Bridgewater, per the report, and push innovation, which will include building a new team under co-CIO Greg Jensen that will build investment tools powered by AI.

The changes also take place as the broader financial world sees a boom in nascent technologies, like quantum computing and generative AI tools.

Last month the New York Times reported that Bridgewater would pay Ray Dalio billions of dollars via special stock to get him to retire. Negotiations took six months to settle on the final amount, and discussions were reportedly heated, with Dalio saying he had "property rights" over the company and therefore wanted compensation for it.