Clare Khat

Investment Banking Associate with 5+ years of corporate finance and M&A advisory experience at a leading international bank. Combining deep financial modelling and valuation expertise with genuine intellectual curiosity about AI in finance. Experienced executing 25+ live transactions end-to-end — from origination and pitching through valuation, structuring, due diligence, and close.

Specialise in building and stress-testing DCFs, LBOs, trading comparables, and precedent transaction analyses that drive real client decisions. Uniquely positioned to contribute to frontier-AI work in corporate finance — developing deal-relevant prompts, systematically mapping where AI reasoning diverges from professional banker judgment, and translating how bankers navigate ambiguity into problems that challenge frontier AI models. Eager to be among the first investment bankers working directly on frontier AI in finance — combining hands-on transaction experience, deep modelling fluency, and genuine fascination with how AI fits into financial workflows.

Available for 30+ hours/week residency commitment with flexible scheduling, fully remote, starting immediately.

Artificial Intelligence Researcher at AfterQuery (2026-01 – Present)

AI Finance Research Programme at AI Finance Research Programme (2024-01 – Present)

Develop realistic, deal-relevant prompts and iterate on AI outputs to test reasoning quality across corporate finance, valuation, and M&A scenarios — applying live transaction experience to design prompts that probe genuine banker reasoning. Systematically map where AI reasoning falls short of professional banker judgment — identifying gaps in valuation logic, structuring intuition, assumption stress-testing, and deal-context awareness across frontier model outputs. Translate how bankers navigate ambiguity, structure transactions, and stress-test assumptions into structured problems that challenge frontier AI — encoding professional judgment into reproducible evaluation scenarios.

Build and validate real-world DCFs, LBOs, comparables, and deal cases used to evaluate AI systems — establishing the benchmark standard against which model outputs are tested. Make the reasoning behind each valuation and structuring decision explicit — documenting the why so models learn professional banker logic, not just the output.

CEO at Jamie Noir Closet LLC

Machine Learning Researcher at Tessera Therapeutics (2024-07 – Present)

Machine Learning Researcher at Tessera Therapeutics (2022-01 – 2024-06)

Investment Banking Summer Associate at International Investment Bank — M&A / Corporate Finance (2022-09 – 2023-01)

Execute M&A and corporate finance mandates end-to-end across buy-side and sell-side transactions — managing deal processes from origination and pitch through valuation, due diligence, structuring, negotiation, and close across sector-agnostic coverage. Build and maintain DCF, LBO, trading comparable, precedent transaction, and merger models for live transactions — presenting valuation ranges, structuring alternatives, and accretion/dilution analysis to clients and senior bankers. Navigate deal ambiguity and structuring trade-offs — stress-testing assumptions, running sensitivity and scenario analyses, and pressure-testing models the way experienced deal teams do.

Author CIMs, management presentations, pitch books, and board materials to institutional standards — combining rigorous financial analysis with clear, structured narrative. Coordinate buy-side and sell-side due diligence across legal, accounting, commercial, and financial workstreams — synthesising findings into structured analysis for decision-makers. Deliver advisory across multiple sectors — developing operating models, industry research, and strategic alternatives analysis supporting deal origination and execution.

Graduate Research Assistant at Penn State University (2016-08 – 2021-12)

Investment Banking Analyst at International Investment Bank — M&A / Corporate Finance (2019-01 – 2021-03)

Supported M&A and corporate finance execution — building financial models, valuation analyses, and client-facing materials across live transactions and pitch processes. Constructed DCF, LBO, comparable company, and precedent transaction analyses from scratch — developing strong foundational modelling and valuation discipline. Prepared pitch books, information memoranda, and management presentations; conducted industry and company research supporting deal origination and execution.

Graduate Teaching Assistant at Penn State University (2018-08 – 2018-12)

Bachelor of Technology in Computer Engineering – Aliah University

Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics – Penn State University

Bachelor's Degree in Economics & Finance – University of Arkansas