By Anna Irrera
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Financial services software developer OpenFin has raised $15 million in a funding round that included JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and the venture capital arms of high-speed trading firm DRW Trading Group and interdealer broker NEX Group Plc, the company said on Thursday.
Other investors include venture capital firms Bain Capital Ventures, Nyca Partners and a group of financial industry executives, OpenFin said in a statement. NEX and DRW invested through their respective venture capital arms Euclid Opportunities and DRW Venture Capital.
OpenFin's software helps financial institutions create and upgrade trading applications using programming language HTML5 as quickly and frequently as technology companies update apps on smartphones.
It currently takes between six to 18 months for new applications or even updates to existing programs to reach a trader's computer at major banks, OpenFin said.
HTML5 has become popular on Wall Street because it allows software to run on different devices. It is also popular with fresh computer science graduates, who banks are finding harder to attract away from technology firms.
OpenFin's software also allows different applications, such as those for real-time market data, news and research, to interact. Firms can also use it to redesign more complex applications in phases, as it allows newer parts of the applications to work with the components that have yet to be redesigned.
OpenFin, whose clients include Tullett Prebon Group Holdings Plc [TLPRH.UL], Citadel LLC, NEX and JPMorgan, said it planned to use the new funding to expand its New York and London teams to a total of 50 people over the year.
The latest funding round brings the total raised by the seven-year-old company to $22 million.