KX Systems
KX is a privately owned software company that sells a time series database kdb+, used for financial modeling and data analysis, and its associated proprietary programming language q. It was founded in 1993 by Janet Lustgarten and Arthur Whitney, the developer of the K programming language. In 2014, First Derivatives increased their ownership interest to 65 percent; in 2018, the company (now FD Technologies plc) announced plans to buy out the remaining shares of KX. KX has offices in New York City, London, England, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.
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| KX Systems | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Software & Tech Services |
| Founded | 1993 in Palo Alto, California |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 14 offices[1] (2018) |
Area served | |
Key people | |
| Products | |
| Parent | TA Associates |
| Website | kx.com |
KX is a privately owned software company that sells a time series database kdb+, used for financial modeling and data analysis, and its associated proprietary programming language q.[6][7]
It was founded in 1993 by Janet Lustgarten and Arthur Whitney,[8] the developer of the K programming language. In 2014, First Derivatives increased their ownership interest to 65 percent; in 2018, the company (now FD Technologies plc) announced plans to buy out the remaining shares of KX.[9] KX has offices in New York City, London, England, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.[1][10]
Overview
[edit]In 1993, Whitney and Lustgarten joined to commercialize the k programming platform Whitney had created after building the A+ language and other trading systems at Morgan Stanley.[7][11] The purpose of the software was to access and explore large data volumes in financial services computer systems.[12] Initially, Kx Systems had an exclusive contract with Swiss global financial services firm UBS to provide them with the K language. In 1998, the contract with UBS expired and the firm launched the kdb+ database. As part of kdb+, Whitney developed a new language named q that operated with k and uses English keywords.[13]
In 1999, the company reached a marketing agreement with a Northern Ireland based firm, First Derivatives.;[14] it opened an office in Manhattan in 2002,[15] Germany and Japan in 2003,[16] and Hong Kong in 2009.[17] In 2014, First Derivatives purchased a 65 percent share of Kx Systems.[18] Kx became a technology supplier to NASA's Frontier Development Lab.[19] In July 2018, FD Technologies bought all remaining shares in KX Systems that it did not already hold;[20] Whitney and Lustgarten then went on to found Shakti.[21][22]
In 2025, FD Technologies sold KX to TA Associates as part of their downsizing of spinning-off divisions such as the company and other subsidiary First Derivative which was sold to EPAM Systems.[23][24]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "KX: Contact Us". Kx. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "FD Technologies appoints Ashok Reddy as CEO of KX division". youinvest.co.uk. August 5, 2022.
- ^ "Kc Systems". Craft.
- ^ "Kc Systems". Craft.
- ^ Atwood, Alice (December 23, 2015). "Exchange Capacity 'Key Issue'—Kx COO". Futures and Options World. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "Search | STAC - Insight for the Algorithmic Enterprise | STAC". stacresearch.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07.
- ^ a b "A Conversation with Arthur Whitney". ACM Queue. 7 (2): 12–13. February 2009. doi:10.1145/1515964.1531242. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ "Company Overview of Kx Systems, Inc". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ "First Derivatives in £41m share buyout". BBC News. 2 July 2018.
- ^ "Kx Systems". CNBC. 15 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-24. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ Williams, Jenny (June 1, 2014). "Janet Lustgarten, CEO at KX Systems, On Shampoo Apps, Databases and Founding Her Own Company". Computer Weekly. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ Dempsey, Michael (February 8, 2015). "What Data Can Tell You About Customers". Raconteur. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ Dempster, John. "History of Kdb+/q Database by kx.com". Time Stored. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ "In Brief: Kx Systems Signs European Marketing Deal". American Banker. March 19, 1999. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "Kx Systems Opens New York Office". Finextra. October 18, 2002. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ Wold, Melanie (February 24, 2003). "Kx Systems Expands to Germany and Japan". Financial News. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ "Kx Systems Opens Asian Office in Hong Kong, Appoints Burke to Head". Intelligent Trading Technology. February 11, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "IEX Launches Real-Time Market Surveillance". Markets Media. January 2, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ "Final frontier: First Derivatives selected for NASA project". The Irish Times.
- ^ "FD to buy out minority Kx Systems shareholders". FD Technologies plc. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
- ^ "shakti". shakti.com. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
- ^ Butcher, Sarah (27 November 2019). "The new data platform from the reclusive genius of banking IT". eFinancialCareers. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
- ^ "AI Ready Vector Database and Data Analytics Platform | KX". Retrieved 2025-11-12.
- ^ "First Derivative's new owners invest in Newry". Newry Reporter. 2024-12-19. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
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