Why we invested in Hoptroff
Author: Marin Cauvas, Investor at Anthemis
Time is a pillar of world economies. In financial services, time is at the source of almost all arbitrages of execution, legal and compliance, and operational matters. Time is a universally adopted concept, and its measurement is increasingly critical to the functioning of the business world. Recently, Anthemis invested in Hoptroff , an early stage company revolutionizing ‘time traceability’, a core component of the infrastructure of modern economies.
Time stamping, or time traceability, is not a new concept for financial institutions. In market trading, regulations such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) highlight the importance of time stamping with traceability and granularity requirements ranging from one second for voice trading to one microsecond for high-frequency trading. Historically, players in this space had the option to acquire time either over the internet from third-party time service providers, or via GPS satellites. In both cases, typically, financial institutions need to have a time distribution network that requires an architecture of deployed time servers and a team of specialists for monitoring and maintenance.
Time stamping, or time traceability, is not a new concept for financial institutions. In market trading, regulations such as MiFID II highlight the importance of time stamping.
Hoptroff is a cloud-based solution that aims to improve efficiency, accuracy and trust in business time stamping. With Hoptroff, clients can fully externalize the cumbersome and highly specialized task of time management. Currently, with three timing hubs in London, New York and Tokyo, this young company is already emerging as a global player, able to connect to network providers globally and distribute time to any major data center in the world.
The team behind Hoptroff is nothing short of impressive. The company is led by Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Simon Kenny. Simon has an extensive background in the media space, having been a Partner at media consultancy Ravensbeck and President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Richard Hoptroff is not only a time expert and inventor, he is also the brains behind the world’s first commercially produced atomic wristwatch.
Hoptroff is aiming to redefine a critical component of the infrastructure of the financial services industry in providing a more efficient solution to time distribution. The combination of a large market opportunity that extends well beyond the financial services industry, a favorable regulatory tailwind, and significant intellectual property and technology barriers to entry, has made all of us at Anthemis very excited to partner up with Hoptroff. We are thrilled to support the Hoptroff team on their journey to growth.
This article was originally published in Anthemis Insights on 1 July 2020 by Marin Cauvas.
