Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) is expanding its AI Data Cloud capabilities with the launch of Cortex AI for Financial Services, a comprehensive suite designed to help financial institutions unify their data ecosystems and deploy AI models, apps, and agents securely—while meeting rigorous compliance and governance standards.

The announcement also includes a managed Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, now in public preview, allowing organizations to harness proprietary and third-party data from partners like FactSet, MSCI, Nasdaq eVestment®, and The Associated Press. This platform connects Snowflake data to AI agent and app ecosystems—including Anthropic, CrewAI, Cursor, Salesforce’s Agentforce, UiPath, and Windsurf—enabling context-rich AI applications across highly regulated industries.

Accelerating Financial Services AI Workflows

Cortex AI for Financial Services aims to streamline complex workflows such as market analysis, quantitative research, fraud detection, customer support, and claims management. Its key capabilities include:

• Complex Machine Learning Workflows: The Snowflake Data Science Agent automates data cleaning, feature engineering, and model prototyping, accelerating production-ready models for trading analytics, risk modeling, and compliance.
• Analysis of Unstructured Data: Cortex AISQL, in public preview, allows institutions to efficiently process and analyze unstructured data—including earnings call transcripts, documents, audio, and images—transforming customer service, investment analytics, and underwriting workflows.
• Easy Access to Insights: Snowflake Intelligence provides a conversational interface for business users to query structured and unstructured data, democratizing access to insights without requiring advanced technical skills.

MCP Server Enables Industry-Wide AI Interoperability

The managed MCP Server standardizes connectivity for AI agents, linking Snowflake data with external tools, apps, and third-party data while maintaining security and governance. Enterprises can connect to platforms like Anthropic, Amazon Bedrock, Azure AI Foundry, CrewAI, Salesforce Agentforce, and more—eliminating custom integrations and accelerating deployment of AI-driven workflows.

Industry leaders weighed in on the significance of Snowflake’s expansion:

• Jonathan Pelosi, Anthropic: “Our partnership with Snowflake helps solve the critical barrier of securely connecting AI to proprietary data, turning analytics and unstructured documents into competitive advantage.”
• João Moura, CrewAI: “Snowflake’s MCP Server moves multi-agent AI from concept to enterprise-ready reality.”
• Ricky Doar, Cursor: “A managed MCP server provides a rich live data environment for faster, more accurate AI coding and production-ready models.”
• John Costigan, FactSet: “Providing AI-ready data products via Snowflake MCP helps clients manage risk and create enduring value.”

Implications for the Financial Industry

By integrating structured and unstructured data into a secure AI-ready environment, Snowflake is positioning Cortex AI and MCP Server as critical infrastructure for financial services firms navigating regulatory complexity and fragmented data ecosystems. The platform promises faster, more accurate insights, reduced operational friction, and enhanced AI deployment at scale.