Akuna Capital

Makes markets in options with its own capital

Akuna Capital

Makes markets in options with its own capital

Overview

Company Historically Provides H1B Sponsorship

Akuna Capital makes markets in options and futures with its own money, and it builds its trading software, pricing models, and strategies in-house. Its traders cover products from stock indexes and interest rates to commodities and cryptocurrencies, and besides its automated systems it keeps floor traders in Cboe's S&P 500 options pit. As a market maker, Akuna constantly quotes prices at which it will buy and sell, so other traders always find someone to trade with, and it profits from the small gap between those prices while hedging its risk. Australian traders first planned the firm in Sydney and opened its Chicago headquarters, in the center of US options trading, in 2011; its name is an Aboriginal word for flowing water.

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About Akuna Capital

Simplify's Rating

Why Akuna Capital is rated

B-

Rated B on Competitive Edge

Rated B on Growth Potential

Rated C on Differentiation

Industries

Quantitative Finance

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Chicago, Illinois

Founded

2011

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

Early hires shape a new desk: since April 2026, Akuna has sought researchers to price sports contracts on prediction markets.
Staff equity vests fast: Akuna's stock options vest in one or two years, and 1.19 million vested in 2025.
Juniors have a way in: 15 of Akuna's 39 open roles in October 2026 were internships or entry-level jobs.

What critics are saying

Akuna lagged its market: its US contract volume grew 11% in the year to December 2025, versus 24% marketwide.
Akuna's sports-desk jobs carry legal risk: in August 2026, appeals judges let Nevada block prediction market Kalshi's sports contracts.
A key rival is far bigger: Dutch market maker Optiver's 2,233 staff made €4.6 billion in trading income in 2025.

What makes Akuna Capital unique

A co-founder from rival Optiver still owns a big stake: Andrew Killion holds 25% to 50% of Akuna's parent.
AI is welcome at work, not in hiring: Akuna disqualifies junior engineering candidates who use AI in interviews or tests.
Most jobs sit in Chicago: 28 of Akuna's 39 open roles in October 2026, including every internship, were at headquarters.

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Benefits

Generous Paid Leave Policies - Vacation leave starting at 20 days per year that increases based on tenure, flexible sick leave, primary carer's leave starting at 12 weeks, and volunteer time off.
Medical & Retirement Packages - 100% coverage of monthly premiums for employees enrolled in Akuna's BlueCross BlueShield offerings and dental and vision plans, as well as a 401(k) plan with company match.
Wellness & Inclusion - Our employees have access to complimentary fitness and mindfulness events both in-person and virtually, as well as an in-building gym in our Chicago office. Additionally, our employee-led Culture Committee works together to continue building a healthy, positive, and inclusive work environment.
Continuing Education - We are proud to offer firm-wide classes through our Akuna U program, access to webinars, digital books, and case studies via Safari, opportunities to attend conferences, and tuition reimbursements to make sure you keep learning!
Social Events - We host happy hours, team outings and poker nights, sponsor a variety of employee-led clubs and sports teams, and offer volunteer opportunities to all employees.
Kitchen & Games Room - Catch up over a coffee made to order by our in-house barista and grab a bite to eat in our stocked kitchen, or challenge a fellow coworker to a friendly ping pong match in our games room!
Referral Bonuses - We want to reward you for helping us grow our awesome, hard-working team.

Company News

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Jan 4th, 2023

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Caden is reinventing personal data gathering, measurement, and addressability via an ethically built platform that puts consumers first by compensating them for their data and empowering them to control itNext-generation personal data company Caden has raised an oversubscribed $6 million seed round led by Streamlined Ventures bringing total funds raised to $9.4 million. Existing investors, including Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang’s AME Cloud Ventures and 1707 Capital, were joined by new investors Industry Ventures, Montage Ventures, Akuna Capital, and Lightning Capital, among others.Caden is the latest venture of successful entrepreneur John Roa, who sold his previous startup to Salesforce Inc. in 2015. The proceeds of this round will be used to launch the Caden platform and further build out the team in New York City.For consumers, Caden empowers everyone to finally take control of their personal data and make money from it. The Caden mobile app allows users to pull in data on what movies they watch, where they travel, what they buy, etc., and see fun and insightful analytics on their consumer profiles. They can then opt-in to monetizing their data in a variety of ways, creating a passive income stream that never treads on their privacy.Marketing Technology News: Lasso Announces a Significant Step Forward in Healthcare Marketing MeasurementFor businesses, Caden is an “ethically-sourced” first-party data provider, bringing the most accurate, robust, and actionable data streams to the open market via Caden’s proprietary Knowledge Graph platform

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GSR Ventures invests into Paradigm Electronics Inc. in $35M

Paradigm, the messaging platform for institutional digital asset traders, has raised $35M in Series A funding from investors that include GSR Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Jump Capital, CMT Digital Ventures, Dragonfly Capital Partners, Vectr, Avon Ventures, QCP Capital, mgnr.io, Alameda Ventures, Akuna Capital, Mirana Ventures, Nexo, Genesis, Optiver, BitDAO, Babel Finance, and IMC Financial Markets.

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