CME Group will offer startups free access to historical futures and options data through the nonprofit FinTech Sandbox. The partnership makes CME Group a key data partner in FinTech Sandbox's efforts to support financial technology innovation by providing free resources to startups.
Through its six month program, Boston-based FinTech Sandbox provides entrepreneurs and startups with data feeds, APIs, cloud hosting, customer introductions to beta test partners looking to collaborate with startups, and expertise from accelerator partners.
The nonprofit is backed by a consortium of financial and technology sponsors including Fidelity Investments F-Prime Capital, Thomson Reuters, Silicon Valley Bank, Amazon Web Services, Intel, SIX Financial Information, Goodwin Procter and .406 Ventures. With backing from its sponsors, it does not take equity or cash from participants in the program, rather it asks that startups share learnings and non-proprietary code schemas and shortcuts with the community.
"We formed an agreement with FinTech Sandbox because we strongly believe in supporting entrepreneurs in the global FinTech community," said Craig Mohan, CME Group managing director of market technology and data services. "The futures industry was built on innovation and we are excited to help startups make advancements in areas that will positively impact our customers."
The high cost of data is one of the key challenges for financial technology startups that the non-profit set out to solve. FinTech Sandbox executive director Jean Donnelly said the data that CME Group is providing is valuable, quality historical data that can be useful to firms looking to build solutions in the FinTech space.
"Access to the kind of deep, quality data that CME Group is making available gives startups in our program a tremendous leg up in identifying problems to solve and in building products to the robust standards of large financial institutions," Donnelly said.
BOSTON and CHICAGO, Nov. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace and FinTech Sandbox, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote entrepreneurship and innovation globally in the financial technology sector, today announced a new data agreement. CME Group will provide FinTech Sandbox startups with free access to historical futures and options data to promote technological innovation that will benefit the industry.
"We formed this agreement with FinTech Sandbox because we strongly believe in supporting entrepreneurs in the global FinTech community," said Craig Mohan, CME Group Managing Director of Market Technology and Data Services. "The futures industry was built on innovation and we are excited to help startups make advancements in areas that will positively impact our customers."
"Access to the kind of deep, quality data that CME Group is making available gives startups in our program a tremendous leg up in identifying problems to solve and in building products to the robust standards of large financial institutions," said Jean Donnelly, Executive Director of FinTech Sandbox.
Unique among organizations supporting startups in the burgeoning global FinTech ecosystem, FinTech Sandbox facilitates free access to financial data and infrastructure for up-and-coming startups. FinTech Sandbox takes no fees and requires no equity from startups that participate. The six-month program includes:
A robust set of data feeds and APIs from a wide array of data partners
Cloud hosting from industry-leading infrastructure partners
Membership in a vibrant, global FinTech community
