Optiver

What Optiver does

Optiver is a privately held global market maker and technology-driven trading firm, founded in Amsterdam in 1986 and operating across 11 offices worldwide with approximately 2,000 employees. The firm provides continuous liquidity to financial markets by quoting buy and sell prices across listed derivatives, cash equities, ETFs, bonds and foreign currencies, serving banks, brokers and institutional clients as counterparties rather than end-investors. Revenue is generated from bid-ask spreads captured on proprietary capital deployed across 100+ global exchanges, with the firm executing 10M+ trades and processing petabytes of market data daily. The core business is supplemented by Optiver Execution Services (OES), a US-registered broker-dealer that provides competitive equity options pricing to institutional customers.

The firm's underlying technology stack is proprietary and built for low-latency performance: C++ and FPGA hardware for execution, with petabyte-scale data platforms and AI-augmented quantitative research covering deep learning, LLMs, statistical modeling and reinforcement learning. Researchers, engineers, mathematicians and traders operate in a single integrated performance loop, with infrastructure designed for rapid experimentation and a short path from idea to production. Optiver has formalized this approach with dedicated AI initiatives, including an AI Lab in Shanghai and the IIT Bombay-Optiver AI Innovation Lab, and has built an external ecosystem of strategic minority investments (BMLL Technologies, McKay Brothers, Eden Block, Nasdaq Private Market, Digital Asset, Optimal Market Technologies) across data, connectivity, AI and crypto infrastructure.

Optiver is owned and operator-controlled, with no identified parent or majority external investor; legal entities span the Netherlands (Optiver Holding B.V., Optiver VOF), the UK (Optiver FX Ltd), the US (Optiver US LLC, Optiver Execution Services LLC), and India (Optiver India Securities Private Limited), reflecting its regulated market-making footprint across jurisdictions. The firm has been actively expanding its US presence (New York office opened 2024 and expanded 92,000 sq ft in 2026) and APAC presence (Mumbai opened 2024), and has made senior sales and trading hires from Citadel Securities, Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Flow Traders to strengthen its direct-to-buy-side distribution.

Name

Optiver

Legal name

Optiver Holding B.V.

Website

https://optiver.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Optiver is a privately held, Amsterdam-headquartered global market maker that provides continuous liquidity across options, equities, ETFs, bonds and currencies to banks, brokers and institutional clients using proprietary low-latency technology and quantitative research across 100+ exchanges.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Institutional Market Making

NAICS

Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Compute & Acceleration ICs (CPU/GPU/AI/FPGA/ASIC) (HDAHABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI Inference Hardware & Edge Accelerators (HDAAAAAC), Financial Services Personalization (Banking, Investing, Insurance) (HDAAAGAH), Skills & Microlearning Marketplaces (Bite-Sized Lessons) (EDAFAIAK)

Keywords

• Algorithmic market making
• Institutional liquidity provision
• High-frequency trading
• Quantitative trading research
• Equity options execution

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Market Making: Optiver generates revenue by continuously quoting buy and sell prices across financial markets, using proprietary capital and technology to provide liquidity at scale. Revenue derives from bid-ask spreads across options, ETFs, equities, bonds and currencies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Optiver is a global market maker that provides continuous buy and sell price quotes across options, ETFs, equities, bonds, and foreign currencies on 100+ exchanges worldwide. The firm uses proprietary low-latency technology built on C++ and FPGA hardware combined with machine learning, deep learning, LLMs, and quantitative research to execute 10M+ trades daily and price 1M+ financial instruments. Optiver also offers Optiver Execution Services (OES), a US registered broker-dealer that leverages the firm's market-leading liquidity to provide competitive equity options pricing to institutional customers.

Product overview

Optiver is a unified technology- and research-driven trading platform offering market making services across global financial markets. The core Optiver product provides liquidity across listed derivatives, cash equities, ETFs, bonds and foreign currencies, supported by teams of scientists, engineers, mathematicians and traders employing machine learning and quantitative methods. The offering is supplemented by Optiver Execution Services for institutional equity options pricing, Ready Trader Go educational competition for student recruitment, and The Optiver Foundation for CSR initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ready Trader Go: Optiver's student coding competition where students build and optimize trading algorithms for a simulated market exchange.
• Optiver Execution Services
• Optiver Foundation
• The Delta Network
• OptiBook

Products and services

• Optiver Global Market Making Core market making service providing continuous buy and sell price quotes across options, ETFs, equities, bonds, and foreign currencies on 100+ global exchanges for institutional clients including banks, brokers, asset managers, and hedge funds. Executes 10M+ trades daily using proprietary low-latency C++ and FPGA technology combined with machine learning and quantitative research.
• Optiver Execution Services (OES) Leverages Optiver's market-leading liquidity to provide competitive equity options pricing to a broad range of institutional customers. Operates as a US registered broker-dealer entity serving asset managers, hedge funds, and other institutional investors requiring best execution in equity options.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10M+ trades executed every day at volume where 1% improvement is measurable and actionable
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Optimal Market TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026Optiver joined Akuna Capital, Belvedere Trading, and Virtu Financial in investing in Optimal Market Technologies, a new options intermediary competing with Citadel Securities for retail options order flow. Launched novel Competition for Order Flow (CFOF) model.
• IIT BombaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 October 2025Optiver partnered with IIT Bombay to establish the IIT Bombay-Optiver AI Innovation Lab, a dedicated research facility supporting cutting-edge interdisciplinary research in artificial intelligence focused on financial markets.
• Georgetown University Psaros CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025Optiver partnered with Georgetown University's Psaros Center focused on advancing research, convening policymakers and financial industry leaders, and raising quality of solutions-oriented discussion impacting financial markets policy.
• University of New South Wales (UNSW)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 March 2025Optiver Foundation awarded $2.7 million grant to UNSW Sydney to support Future You program getting kids aged 8-12 excited about STEM subjects and inspiring future career possibilities.
• The Ocean CleanupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Optiver Foundation partnered with The Ocean Cleanup as anchor funder for technology-driven proof-of-concept project to stop plastic waste from reaching the ocean in Mumbai, India using Interceptor system.
• University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 August 2022Optiver Foundation partnered with Oxford to launch international scholarship programme supporting 30 women from low and middle-income countries to pursue postgraduate STEM degrees over five years with full funding including course fees and living costs.
• Women WincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 May 2022Optiver Foundation partnered with Women Win to create the FREE STEM Fund expanding access to STEM learning for girls and women in underserved communities across Global South. Fund supports thousands of women in 40+ countries through locally led initiatives.
• University of CambridgeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Cambridge University Algorithmic Trading Society where students work through market-making concepts, build trading algorithms and test strategies in simulated environment based on real trading systems.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Qube Research & Technologies: Quantitative-led global market maker and proprietary trading firm. Co-invested with Optiver in McKay Brothers and competes directly in providing institutional liquidity across global venues.
• Citadel Securities: Dominant global market maker in options and equities and Optiver's most direct competitor. Citadel Securities holds the largest market share in US retail options flow that Optiver is now actively challenging through targeted hires and CFOF investments.
• Flow Traders: Amsterdam-headquartered liquidity provider in ETFs and other exchange-traded products. Directly comparable European market making franchise and notable overlap in institutional sales leadership (Pierre-Antoine Jaunâtre joined Optiver from Flow Traders).
• IMC Financial Markets: Global proprietary trading firm and electronic liquidity provider across options, equities, futures, FX and other asset classes. Highly comparable market making business model, technology stack and institutional sales motion.
• Hudson River Trading: Quantitative trading firm applying ML and sophisticated engineering to global markets. Operates as a peer high-frequency liquidity provider with comparable technology-driven edge and global venue reach.
• DRW Trading: Diversified proprietary trading firm active in options, equities, fixed income, FX and crypto. Long-tenured (1986 vintage) market making peer with overlapping asset coverage and a co-investor alongside Optiver in Nasdaq Private Market.
• Wolverine Trading: Proprietary trading firm specialising in equity options market making and institutional execution. Direct peer in US options, the asset class where Optiver is most aggressively expanding.
• Jane Street: Large quantitative trading firm specialising in ETF and equity market making globally. Operates at comparable scale with strong technology and quantitative research orientation, directly competing with Optiver across ETF and equity options liquidity.
• Virtu Financial: Publicly listed global market maker and execution services provider across equities, ETFs, fixed income and currencies. Has overlapping global venues and is co-invested with Optiver in Optimal Market Technologies to compete in retail options flow.

Emerging players

• Two Sigma Securities: Quantitative technology firm with a securities arm active in equities and ETFs market making. Adjacent quantitative-trading peer with significant ML research overlap to Optiver's data-driven approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OptiverEurope
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@optiverglobal
• Facebookfacebook.com/OptiverGlobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/optiver
• Instagraminstagram.com/optiverglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments15 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Optiver