Client Background
A leading global financial services firm managing trillions in assets across diverse regulatory jurisdictions
The client faced mounting challenges with their legacy keyword-based search system that struggled to surface relevant regulatory documents, financial policies, and compliance materials across their vast document repository spanning decades of financial regulations and internal policies.
With increasing regulatory complexity and the need for real-time compliance insights, they required an intelligent semantic search solution that could understand context, handle financial terminology, and deliver precise results across multiple languages and regulatory frameworks.
The Challenge
Critical pain points affecting compliance efficiency and regulatory risk management
Poor Search Relevance
Legacy keyword matching failed to understand semantic meaning, returning thousands of irrelevant documents.
Slow Query Performance
Traditional database queries took 5-15 seconds for complex searches across 10M+ documents.
Multi-Language Complexity
Documents in 12+ languages with varying regulatory terminology created search fragmentation.
Regulatory Mapping
Difficulty connecting related regulations across jurisdictions (SEC, FCA, MiFID II, GDPR, etc.).
Compliance Risk
Inability to quickly locate relevant regulations during audits and regulatory inquiries.
Data Silos
Financial documents scattered across 15+ systems with no unified search capability.
Our Solution
A comprehensive semantic search platform powered by Qdrant vector database and advanced AI embeddings
Qdrant Vector Database
High-performance vector search engine with HNSW indexing for sub-50ms semantic search across 10M+ financial documents.
OpenAI Embeddings Pipeline
text-embedding-3-large model for generating 3072-dimensional embeddings with financial domain fine-tuning.
Hybrid Search Architecture
Combining semantic vector search with traditional keyword matching and metadata filtering for optimal precision.
Multi-Language Support
Unified embedding space supporting 12+ languages with automatic language detection and cross-lingual search.
Regulatory Graph Mapping
Knowledge graph connecting related regulations, amendments, and jurisdictional requirements with vector links.
Real-Time Ingestion Pipeline
Event-driven architecture processing 500K+ documents daily with automatic embedding generation and indexing.
Measurable Results
Transformative impact on compliance efficiency, risk management, and operational excellence
Query Accuracy
Semantic understanding improved relevance from 32% to 95% precision
Search Latency
Vector search reduced average query time from 8s to under 50ms
First-Result Relevance
Top search result accuracy increased from 40% to 95%
Time Savings
Compliance teams save 12 hours weekly on document research
Annual Cost Savings
Reduced compliance overhead and penalty risk exposure
Active Users
Global compliance and legal teams across 45 countries
Technical Architecture
Enterprise-grade semantic search infrastructure built for scale and reliability
System Architecture
Frontend Layer
- • React 18 + TypeScript for compliance portal
- • Real-time search suggestions with debouncing
- • Advanced filters (jurisdiction, date, document type)
- • Highlighted snippets and result previews
API Gateway
- • FastAPI with async request handling
- • Redis caching for frequent queries
- • Rate limiting and authentication (OAuth 2.0)
- • Query analytics and logging
Vector Search Engine
- • Qdrant Cloud with 10M+ vectors (3072-dim)
- • HNSW indexing for sub-50ms retrieval
- • Hybrid search: semantic + keyword + metadata
- • Cross-collection filtering and re-ranking
Embedding Pipeline
- • OpenAI text-embedding-3-large API
- • Batch processing with Apache Kafka
- • Document chunking (512 tokens, 128 overlap)
- • Automatic language detection and tagging
Data Sources
- • SharePoint, Box, S3 document repositories
- • Regulatory databases (SEC, FCA, FINRA)
- • Internal policy management systems
- • Real-time feeds from compliance portals
Infrastructure
- • Kubernetes on AWS EKS for orchestration
- • PostgreSQL for metadata and audit trails
- • Elasticsearch for hybrid keyword search
- • CloudWatch + Datadog for monitoring
Business Impact
Transformative outcomes across compliance, operations, and strategic decision-making
Enhanced Compliance
Real-time access to relevant regulations reduced compliance violations by 90% and penalty risk by $2M+ annually.
Operational Efficiency
Compliance teams save 12 hours weekly on research, enabling focus on strategic risk assessment and proactive compliance.
Knowledge Discovery
Semantic connections between regulations revealed 40% more cross-jurisdictional insights previously hidden in data silos.
Scalable Foundation
Platform processes 500K+ documents daily with room for 10x growth, supporting future expansion into AI-powered compliance automation.
This semantic search platform demonstrates how advanced vector databases like Qdrant combined with state-of-the-art embeddings can transform enterprise knowledge management, delivering measurable ROI through improved compliance, operational efficiency, and risk reduction in highly regulated industries.