While Nasdaq is best known for running stock exchanges around the globe, it is also one of the largest providers of technology to other exchanges and companies involved with trading. Nasdaq plans to set up a venture capital arm to invest in financial technology companies that can help grow its own businesses. It isn’t the first financial firm to set up a venture arm as a way to stay competitive: CME Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co , Citigroup Inc and Banco Santander SA have similar units.
A venture arm would formalize some of the investing Nasdaq is already doing in fintech companies that are just starting up. It was one of the earliest supporters of blockchain, which is a record-keeping tool that some expect will fundamentally change the cost, speed and accuracy of trading. Nasdaq’s current investments include San Francisco-based blockchain startup Chain.com and artificial-intelligence company Digital Reasoning.
The move aligns with the goals of Nasdaq’s chief executive, Adena Friedman, who wants to increase the company’s focus on technology. Friedman states that “It’s a matter of making sure that we continue to take all of the new technologies that are available in the marketplace and … offering them to our clients.”
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/02/09/business/09reuters-nasdaq-venture.html?_r=0