The Trip to the Moon: Scaling Autonomous AI with Sonia Schulenberg

In this episode of Scale Her Up, Dr. Brenda Hector talks with Sonia Schulenberg, CEO and founder of Level E Research. Sonia shares her journey from Mexico City to the University of Edinburgh, where she pioneered the use of autonomous AI agents in asset management. She breaks down why traditional AI fails in the "non-stationary" world of finance and how she built a digital twin of the global market to outperform multibillion-dollar funds . Beyond the tech, Sonia reveals the staggering level of commitment required to scale, including a legendary story of closing an investment round and paying salaries while in active labor .The Hook: She was told her vision for AI in finance was a "trip to the moon." Sonia Schulenberg didn't just build the rocket; she’s now navigating the entire asset management industry toward a new frontier.Key Topics:The Problem with Traditional AI: Why financial markets act like a "shifting giraffe" and require a unique continuous learning approach .The Operative System for Finance: How Level E Research provides a B2B SaaS platform that automates everything from decision-making to compliance.The Cost Crisis: Why active fund managers are underperforming and how AI can save the "eroding value" of our pensions.Explainable AI: Why AI is "nothing" if it cannot explain its own behaviours to regulators and stakeholders.Unstoppable Resilience: The reality of 100-hour work weeks and the drive to deliver "smarter, faster, and cheaper" solutions.Estimated Timestamps:[00:01:00] Early career at Citi and the proposal that started it all.[00:06:00] Moving to Edinburgh: Choosing machine learning over an MBA.[00:10:00] Developing the first fully autonomous fund in the world.[00:17:00] Winning the Aberdeen Asset Managers & FinTech Scotland competition.[00:27:00] Overcoming the "fear" that AI will replace humans.[00:37:00] The Tuesday Deadline: Why Sonia fired 12 lawyers to get results.[00:39:00] The Birth Story: Fundraising, labor, and a Friday deadline for salaries.