XTX Markets, an online trading firm, is set to establish a significant data center in Finland. This move represents a notable shift from the prevalent practice within the financial sector, where IT requirements are commonly outsourced to leading technology companies in Silicon Valley.
The market maker based in London plans to build a data center in Finland’s Kajaani District with a 250-megawatt capacity. The initial phase of this facility will have computing capabilities amounting to 22.5MW.
XTX Company’s Aim for a Strategic Nordic Location
XTX chose to locate its data center in Finland because of the cost-effective electricity and the cool climate in the Nordic country. The region has become a popular choice for data hosting due to the naturally cool conditions, reducing the requirement for elaborate cooling systems.
XTX’s decision to construct its own data center showcases the firm’s commitment to controlling its technological infrastructure independently. This strategy differs from competitors such as Citadel Securities, which choose to utilize cloud services from companies like Google for data storage and algorithm testing.
Heavy Dependency on High-Processing Power
XTX Markets depends significantly on processing power to carry out its algorithmic trading strategies. The company is known to utilize 25,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) for computational resources to support its operations.
Joshua Leahy, XTX’s Chief Technology Officer, mentioned to the FT that the company acquired the Kajaani site to enhance its computing capacity. In Europe, the availability of data center space is constrained as demand exceeds supply. Additionally, the market maker currently runs a supercomputer located in Iceland.
XTX Experimenting New Technologies
XTX Markets unveiled an AI program in New York City in February. The program aims to advance algorithmic trading research by merging finance with AI technology, offering a hub to explore opportunities in the intersection of finance and machine learning.
XTY Labs leads the AI Residency Program, which includes Junior and Senior AI Residents. These residents work on research projects lasting 6 to 12 months, concentrating on developing machine learning algorithms for the financial industry.