Deutsche Börse's DB1 Ventures Leads Seed Funding Round in OptimX Markets

Deutsche Börse's Corporate Venture Capital arm DB1 Ventures has led the Seed funding round in OptimX Markets, a future block trading platform.

Based in New York, OptimX is an independent, venue-neutral block trading solution in the global cash equities space. OptimX has developed an advanced technology suite that provides investment banks, brokers, and institutions with a unique platform for sharing and processing institutional block orders. To support their go-to market launch in the EU and UK, a partnership with co-investor Aquis Exchange will be established. 

Eric Leupold, Managing Director Cash Market at Deutsche Börse, commented: "Buy side firms in the EU have a continued preference for executing large cash equity transactions in blocks, which has been reinforced by MiFID II. OptimX has a compelling value proposition for this off-order book market. We look forward to working closely with the team and our co-investors to build and scale the business."

David Barnett, CEO and Founder of OptimX Markets, commented: "Our collaboration with Deutsche Börse paves the way for our advanced technology suite to make waves in the European marketplace. As one of the world's most renowned financial market operators, Deutsche Börse's rich heritage and a steadfast commitment to fostering burgeoning technologies provides OptimX with the critical support and guidance that will allow us to reshape the landscape of European equities liquidity and beyond."