A5X secures $70M Series D to scale derivatives trading platform
Brazilian fintech A5X has closed a $70M Series D funding round led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Kaszek, announced in September 2026. The round values the São Paulo-based derivatives exchange at approximately $525M and includes participation from existing investors IMC, Jump Trading, Optiver, XTX Markets, XP, and ABN AMRO Clearing.
Founded in 2023, A5X is building a derivatives exchange to compete with B3 in Brazil.() The platform combines trading and clearing technology licensed from London Stock Exchange Group with infrastructure developed for the Brazilian market.()
The Series D represents a significant step up from A5X's previous round of approximately $39M raised in September 2025.() The company raised approximately $39M in September 2025, bringing total capital to more than $109M in just over one year. The participation of major Wall Street institutions and quantitative trading firms signals institutional confidence in A5X's ability to disrupt Brazil's derivatives market.
A5X currently employs more than 200 people. The company's product roadmap includes financially settled derivatives across equity indices, individual stocks, currencies, local interest rates, and cryptocurrencies, structured as European-style contracts with automatic exercise at expiration.
Planning a hire?
Talk through the best hiring option
This article usually leads to one practical question: should you use country guide or it recruitment? We can help you choose quickly.
Simple next step
Start with country guide and we will help you pick the best hiring setup.
Why A5X's growth signals urgent fintech talent demand across Brazil
The funding and valuation trajectory at A5X reflects a broader acceleration in specialized talent requirements for fintech recruitment in Latin America, particularly in complex financial infrastructure. Building a derivatives exchange that meets regulatory standards while competing on latency, pricing, and product innovation requires deep expertise across quantitative research, low-latency engineering, regulatory compliance, and market operations.
A5X's investor base reveals the talent profile the company likely needs to scale. IMC, Jump Trading, Optiver, and XTX Markets are global quantitative trading firms that collectively employ thousands of engineers, researchers, and traders specializing in algorithmic execution, machine learning, and high-frequency trading infrastructure. Their participation suggests A5X will compete for talent with similar technical depth.
Kaszek, a leading Latin American venture capital firm, has backed more than 130 technology ventures across the region. The firm's involvement indicates confidence that Brazil's fintech ecosystem can support the specialized hiring A5X requires, even as competition for engineering and quantitative talent intensifies across São Paulo and other regional hubs.
The partnership with London Stock Exchange Group adds another dimension to A5X's talent strategy. Integrating LSEG's trading, clearing, and surveillance technology into a Brazil-specific regulatory and market structure requires professionals who understand both global exchange architecture and local compliance frameworks. This dual expertise is scarce and commands premium compensation in markets where hiring talent in Brazil already faces wage inflation and retention challenges.
For employers across Brazil's financial services sector, A5X's growth represents both opportunity and competitive pressure. The company's ability to attract $70M from top-tier investors while scaling to more than 200 employees() in under three years demonstrates that capital is available for teams executing complex infrastructure projects. It also signals that competition for senior engineering, quantitative research, and trading operations talent will intensify as A5X moves toward launch.
Hiring acceleration expected as A5X expands engineering and operations teams
A5X's headcount growth from founding in 2023 to more than 200 employees() suggests significant hiring velocity. With $70M in fresh capital and a stated mission to launch a full-scale derivatives exchange, that velocity is expected to accelerate.
The company's product roadmap indicates it will need to build teams across multiple disciplines. Derivatives exchanges require quantitative analysts to design contract specifications and risk models, software engineers to build and maintain trading and clearing systems, connectivity specialists to integrate with brokers and market participants, compliance professionals to navigate Brazilian securities regulation, and business development teams to onboard liquidity providers and institutional clients.
A5X's technology partnership with LSEG provides a foundation, but adapting global exchange technology to Brazil's regulatory environment and market structure requires more than standard implementation. The company will need professionals experienced in derivatives market microstructure, clearing and settlement workflows, and the specific requirements of Brazil's securities regulator CVM and central bank.
Compensation benchmarks for these roles in São Paulo have risen sharply over the past two years as fintech and crypto firms compete with traditional banks and asset managers for the same talent pool. Senior software engineers with experience in low-latency systems, quantitative researchers with derivatives expertise, and compliance professionals who understand both local and international exchange regulation are particularly scarce.
For companies operating in or entering the Brazilian market, A5X's funding and growth trajectory offers a clear signal: specialized financial technology talent is both available and expensive in Brazil, and competition for that talent is intensifying. Employers will need to move quickly on hiring decisions, offer competitive total compensation packages, and provide clear paths to meaningful technical and business impact to attract and retain the professionals required to build and scale complex financial infrastructure.