#225 Matt Ober | AI, Markets, and the Death of Signal
Tue Feb 03 2026
Markets feel louder than ever, but somehow less clear.In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, Rocco Strydom sits down with Matt Ober, Managing Partner at Social Leverage, to unpack what’s really happening beneath the surface of today’s markets.With AI-generated research flooding Twitter, Substack, and trading platforms and capital pouring into anything labeled “AI” even professional investors are struggling to separate real signal from machine-amplified noise.Matt brings a rare perspective shaped by:Building data systems inside quantitative hedge fundsBuying and operationalizing alternative data before AI was mainstreamServing as Chief Data Scientist at a major activist hedge fundNow backing early-stage founders simplifying finance instead of overcomplicating itIn this conversation, we break down:Why “alternative data” is no longer alternative, it’s just dataHow AI is changing market sentiment, research, and investor behaviorWhy email, ownership of audience, and direct distribution still matterHow consumption-based data pricing could reshape finance and AI economicsWhat founders misunderstand about AI, noise, and real leverageIt’s a grounded look at how markets, media, and investing are evolving in an AI-saturated world and what still actually matters.
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Markets feel louder than ever, but somehow less clear.In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, Rocco Strydom sits down with Matt Ober, Managing Partner at Social Leverage, to unpack what’s really happening beneath the surface of today’s markets.With AI-generated research flooding Twitter, Substack, and trading platforms and capital pouring into anything labeled “AI” even professional investors are struggling to separate real signal from machine-amplified noise.Matt brings a rare perspective shaped by:Building data systems inside quantitative hedge fundsBuying and operationalizing alternative data before AI was mainstreamServing as Chief Data Scientist at a major activist hedge fundNow backing early-stage founders simplifying finance instead of overcomplicating itIn this conversation, we break down:Why “alternative data” is no longer alternative, it’s just dataHow AI is changing market sentiment, research, and investor behaviorWhy email, ownership of audience, and direct distribution still matterHow consumption-based data pricing could reshape finance and AI economicsWhat founders misunderstand about AI, noise, and real leverageIt’s a grounded look at how markets, media, and investing are evolving in an AI-saturated world and what still actually matters.