Washington, D.C.— FIA is pleased to announce that Amazon Web Services (AWS) has agreed to sponsor FIA’s fourth annual Innovators Pavilion, a showcase for fintech startups that are offering forward-thinking solutions for the global derivatives markets.
The Innovators Pavilion is an integral part of the Futures & Options Expo, FIA's annual tradeshow, which draws more than 4,500 people each year to Chicago. Attendees include senior executives from a wide range of exchanges and trading firms as well as technology and operations staff from across the industry.
“FIA welcomes Amazon Web Services to the Innovators Pavilion,” said FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken. “On a global scale, technology is driving change and innovation in the derivatives marketplace and financial services in general. Whether it’s big data, cloud computing, or artificial intelligence—all of these are coming together in a way that will revolutionize how we conduct business.”
As part of the sponsorship, AWS will bring the first-ever “Cloud Expert Bar” to FIA Expo to help Expo attendees start or accelerate cloud adoption. Attendees will be able to connect directly with technology and consulting companies in the AWS Partner Network (APN) and discuss their deployment needs across the full trade lifecycle. Startups and large, global organizations alike can expect themes to include using data lakes to organize and manage market data on the cloud, leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence to generate alpha and minimize risk, and simplifying compliance with regulatory reporting solutions on the cloud.
In addition, AWS subject matter experts will be on hand to discuss AWS Activate for startups, a program dedicated to providing low-cost, easy-to-use infrastructure to help startups scale and grow. AWS solutions architects will be available to answer AWS-related technical questions from design to deployment, including how to optimize elasticity.
“We’re proud to be working with Amazon Web Services to promote innovation in markets technology. Their support is vital to our efforts to create a thriving fintech community in our industry,” said Matt Haraburda, the chairman of the Innovators Pavilion selection committee. Haraburda is the president of XR Trading, a proprietary trading firm headquartered in Chicago. He also serves on the executive committee of the FIA Principal Traders Group, which brings together some of the world's leading trading firms and market makers.
Since 2015, FIA has featured 57 fintech startups in the Innovators Pavilion. Each year's group is selected by a panel of industry experts from venture capital companies and FIA member firms through a competitive application process. Each successful applicant receives free space on the show floor to display its products and services as well as the opportunity to interact with thousands of Expo attendees.
This year's FIA Expo will take place Oct. 16-18 at the Hilton Chicago.
