Alex describes TRAM as an AI system built to supercharge tax experts, claiming it moves them almost two orders of magnitude faster than the traditional manual approach with fewer errors. ✦ AI generated
Alex Boucott · The TWIML AI Podcast · 2026-06-09 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 4:42
What we eventually built is what we call TRAM, which is the tax review and assessment model, which is like a system of a few different things... essentially, it its job is to supercharge our tax experts. So, what we found is that TRAM allows our internal tax experts to move almost two orders of magnitude faster through this process with less errors than the traditional just fully human, you know, focused approach.
verbatim transcript · starts at 4:42
4:42thought was screaming to be solved by AI. So, what we eventually built is what we call TRAM, which is the tax review and assessment model, which is like a system of a few different things that I'm I'm sure we'll get into. But essentially, it its job is to supercharge our tax experts. So, what we found is that TRAM allows our internal tax experts to move almost two orders of
5:06magnitude faster through this process with less errors than the traditional just fully human, you know, focused approach. >> And did you work in tax prior to joining Sphere? >> I did not. Um so, I I've learned a lot about tax. Um and I think I was always like, you know, I would read, you know, US Supreme Court rulings kind of just for fun, out of interest of of kind of
5:30what's going on and how does the legal world work. But no, I didn't I didn't come from like a traditional, you know, PwC tax background or anything like that. >> Uh what was your background? >> Yeah, just a So, a pure engineering background, mostly in startups. So, I started my career before moving into startups, I started in the semiconductor industry and then working on GPUs, writing CUDA kernels. Um and then
5:54eventually left to start a startup with a friend, um which was like a web data collection startup. Um and we worked with like investment banks and private equity firms and things like this to help them collect really massive amounts of web data at scale to power their internal like analyses and signals. Um and eventually that that company got acquired by Bain & Company. Um And so I was at Bain for a bit and then
6:23started another startup and eventually Nick reached out. He was the founder of Sphere, Nick Rutter. Nick reached out about Sphere. And at the time it was just Nick in a little one-person office here in San Francisco. And um you know, looking back maybe a little inadvisable, but but he convinced me it was a good idea to leave the other place I was at and come and join him at