Have you ever noticed how accurate Netflix's recommendations are to your taste? And how is Google Maps so confident I'm going home, that it will suggest directions to my house? Even my iPhone suggests what time I should set my alarm clock right before I go to bed. This means it knows when I'm going to bed and tells me the optimal time to wake up, down to the minute, based on my sleep patterns. So why do most organizations continue to use their data the same way they would have used it 10, 15 or even 20 years ago?

Have you ever noticed how accurate Netflix's recommendations are to your taste? And how is Google Maps so confident I'm going home, that it will suggest directions to my house? Even my iPhone suggests what time I should set my alarm clock right before I go to bed. This means it knows when I'm going to bed and tells me the optimal time to wake up, down to the minute, based on my sleep patterns. So why do most organizations continue to use their data the same way they would have used it 10, 15 or even 20 years ago?

The 2017 Benzinga Global Fintech Awards is a competition to showcase the companies with the most impressive technology that are paving the future in financial services and capital markets. To get you prepared for this year's awards, Benzinga will profile each fintech company that has applied. For this installment, we spoke with I Know First (answers have been edited for length and clarity). I Know First: I Know First's self-learning forecasting algorithm utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to find relationships and patterns in large sets of historical stock market data in order to analyze and predict behavior and identify the best daily market opportunities. I Know First: On the institutional side, our typical clients are family offices, hedge funds and other asset management firms, as well as banks.