Model ML appoints Alex Kayyal as Chief Financial Officer

Model ML has appointed Alex Kayyal as Chief Financial Officer, bringing a veteran technology finance executive and investor to the company.

Kayyal joins the financial services software group after senior roles at The Trade Desk, Salesforce and Lightspeed Venture Partners. He has also served on more than 10 boards, from early-stage start-ups to listed companies.

The appointment comes as Model ML reports rapid growth 18 months after launch. In the second quarter of 2026, it doubled annual recurring revenue, added more than 47,000 seats and saw daily activity per user triple in 12 weeks.

Model ML sells software to banks, private equity firms, asset managers and advisory firms, focusing on research, due diligence, analysis and document creation. Its customers include HSBC, PwC, Deloitte, FT Partners and five of the 10 largest global asset managers, according to the company.

Founded in 2024, the business has been valued at more than USD $1 billion. It has raised more than USD $100 million from investors including FT Partners, HSBC Asset Management, QED and Y Combinator, and expanded to almost 200 employees across nine offices in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Kayyal most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of The Trade Desk, where he led the company's global finance organisation after first joining its board as an independent director. Earlier, he spent nearly a decade at Salesforce, including as SVP & Managing Partner of Salesforce Ventures, where he oversaw more than USD $5 billion invested across more than 300 companies globally.

He later became a General Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners and served on the firm's investment committee. Kayyal began his career at Merrill Lynch, first in the office of the CFO and later in IPO and M&A advisory.

Growth push

The hire adds financial leadership as Model ML seeks to scale further with large institutional clients. The company said Kayyal's experience as both an operator and investor would help it expand while maintaining the standards expected by customers and backers.

Model ML describes its software as an AI operating system for financial and professional services firms. The platform routes work across different AI models for tasks such as financial analysis and document drafting.

Its rise reflects a broader push by financial institutions and advisory groups to deploy AI tools in core workflows rather than limited pilot projects. Banks, consultants and investors have been testing systems that can handle document-heavy work, but suppliers still face pressure to demonstrate reliable output, governance and commercial staying power.

Against that backdrop, the arrival of an executive with experience in public markets, venture investing and board oversight may help reassure customers and investors as the company expands. Model ML said it now serves thousands of customers globally each day.

Kayyal said the scale of the market and the pace of the company's growth drew him to the role.

"Finance is one of the largest market opportunities globally. In just 18 months Model ML's platform has fundamentally transformed how finance professionals work, and its adoption at several global banks and leading professional services institutions stands as a testament to that. I've seen the speed Chaz and his team are moving at and that velocity continues to increase exponentially. Model ML is moving faster than any other company I have seen or invested into in my entire career, and the level of ambition is truly unmatched. I couldn't be more excited to join Chaz and the team on this journey to help grow Model ML into a lasting global business," Kayyal said.

Englander said the company was bringing in a finance chief with experience across company building, investing and advisory work.

"Alex has seen what it takes to scale technology companies from every side of the table: as an operator, investor, investment banker and board member. We're growing quickly across markets and working with global institutions. Alex's experience will be invaluable as we build Model ML for the long term," Englander said.