ThetaRay has introduced Ray, an agentic artificial intelligence system designed to support anti-money laundering (AML) investigations within financial institutions.
The new tool is embedded in the ThetaRay Investigation Centre and is intended to address operational pressures created by higher regulatory expectations and increasing alert volumes.
According to the official press release, regulatory frameworks in major markets have raised standards for investigative depth, consistency, and documentation. In the European Union, the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation and the establishment of a central AML Authority aim to harmonise due diligence and monitoring requirements across member states. In the United States, updated priorities from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network underline the need for evidence-based investigations and clearly substantiated suspicious activity reports.
These developments have placed investigation teams under strain, as manual data collection and fragmented workflows often slow case resolution and introduce inconsistencies. ThetaRay’s Ray is positioned as a response to these challenges by automating large parts of the investigative process while keeping human analysts involved in decision-making.
Automating evidence gathering and case preparation
Ray is designed to manage end-to-end investigations, including data aggregation, counterparty and behavioural analysis, geolocation checks, adverse media screening, and document review. The system produces structured case files intended to meet audit and regulatory requirements, with supporting materials such as charts or visual summaries attached where relevant.
An on-demand AI assistant is also included to help analysts test assumptions, request additional checks, and summarise documentation during reviews or escalations. According to ThetaRay representatives, the objective is to reduce variation between investigators and ensure that conclusions can be traced back to underlying evidence.
Company officials stated that previous efforts to modernise AML operations often focused on detection rather than investigation, leaving a bottleneck in downstream processes. They also noted that investigative outcomes can differ widely between analysts, which may increase regulatory risk.
ThetaRay said institutions using the system could reduce manual investigation time significantly while improving consistency and transparency. Ray is available for banks, fintech companies, and payments platforms operating under heightened AML scrutiny.
