AI Investment Analyst

LOCATION: Cottonwood Heights, UT (In-office role)

Mercato Partners is a growth-equity firm investing in capital-efficient technology companies across vertical SaaS, healthcare technology, and applied AI. Founded in 2007, the firm partners with exceptional founders in under capitalized U.S. innovation regions and has produced top-decile performance across four prior funds. Our investment team runs full deal cycles from thesis development through exit. We are building a modern investing platform that integrates AI-native workflows into sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support.

Mercato is seeking an AI-native Investment Analyst to join the investment team. Analysts play a central role in sourcing, evaluating, and supporting growth-stage technology investments. This role combines investment judgment with modern AI tools to accelerate sourcing, strengthen diligence, and enhance portfolio insight. The position includes meaningful exposure to founders, senior executives, and the firm’s Investment Committee. Analysts contribute to thematic research, financial analysis, due diligence, and portfolio monitoring while helping build scalable, AI-driven workflows across the firm.

This is a high-ownership, high-expectation role suited for someone who is analytically rigorous, intellectually curious, and energized by partnering with entrepreneurial leaders.

• Undergraduate degree in finance, economics, engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, or a related field.
• Experience in consulting, investment banking, venture capital, corporate strategy, or operating roles preferred but not required.

• A software project
• A research initiative
• A startup
• A data product
• An AI workflow or tool

• Familiarity with modern AI tools and workflows.
• Comfort writing prompts, using APIs, or building lightweight automations.
• Ability to translate technical concepts into business implications.

• Strong interest in venture capital, growth equity, or entrepreneurship.
• Ability to analyze market size, competitive dynamics, and unit economics.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage credibly with founders, executives, LPs, and board members.

• Strong work ethic and attention to detail.
• High integrity, intellectual humility, and an ownership mindset.
• Comfortable operating with incomplete information and shifting priorities.

• Build and maintain dynamic market maps across industries such as vertical SaaS, healthcare technology, and applied AI.
• Develop and refine AI-enabled sourcing workflows to identify emerging companies and founders ahead of the broader market.
• Track funding activity, founder movement, and sector signals using automated research tools.
• Conduct initial screening analysis on inbound and outbound opportunities.
• Support early with founder outreach and participate in introductory calls and meetings.
• Build financial models, perform scenario analysis, and support valuation work under the guidance of senior investment team members.
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate market research, customer analysis, and competitive intelligence.
• Synthesize insights from structured or unstructured data sources, including customer reviews, transcripts, and usage data.
• Map competitive landscapes and summarize key findings for Investment Committee discussion.

• Identify repetitive or manual investment workflows and propose automation solutions.
• Build internal tools, dashboards, scripts, or AI-driven research processes to improve team efficiency.
• Maintain internal sourcing databases and knowledge systems.
• Help document repeatable best practices across sourcing, diligence, portfolio management, and fundraising.

Mercato Partners offers a competitive compensation package including base salary, discretionary bonus, and profit-sharing. All employees are eligible for group health, dental, and vision insurance, and a 401(k) plan.