IMC Trading

In October 2025, we built our own AI harness for traders and researchers. Within weeks, every researcher at the firm was using it in every office. At FOW India 2026, Pawel, Head of Technology for our Mumbai office, talked about what came next. At first, AI spend doubled every month. Rather than cap it, we let IMCers see their own spend every day, and spend actually fell even as more people used the tool. A dedicated team now tests each new model and sets the default configuration. Skills written in one office are shared with others, and the team is now working on making those skills improve themselves from conversations. What changed, in Pawel's words: "The loop from an initial idea, to exploring it, to seeing whether it has legs has been shortened to hours." Read more here: https://bit.ly/4zcroyA

MAKE YOUR MOVE ♟️ The clock is ticking. Applications for Chess Academy close this Sunday, 1 November at midnight AEDT. If you love the game and want to challenge yourself against the best, make sure you apply this week. Qualify online for your chance to compete at IMC Sydney and play Magnus Carlsen. Open to all university students across Australia and New Zealand, regardless of chess rating or experience. Don't miss your shot at the World No. 1. Apply now: https://bit.ly/4rGiabm

Meaghan Dugan has joined IMC as Managing Director – U.S. Market Structure Strategy Lead. She brings more than 20 years of experience across listed options trading, market making, electronic trading and exchange leadership, most recently as SVP, Head of U.S. Derivatives at Cboe Global Markets. Fair, efficient and resilient markets are the cornerstone of our business. Meaghan’s deep expertise across the U.S. trading venue ecosystem will help us work with exchanges, regulators, clearing organizations and industry bodies to strengthen how markets work for all participants. “I started my career as a market maker, so joining IMC feels like coming home,” said Meaghan. “I’m excited to work with the team and our industry partners on the market structure issues that matter most to investors and liquidity providers alike.” Welcome to the team, Meaghan! Read the full announcement: https://bit.ly/4dPdEBP

Shawn Cruz, Business Development at IMC Trading, moderated "Options Market Structure: Adapting to New Realities and Participants," a panel at our 93rd Annual Markets Structure Conference featuring Liam Smith, John Ruby, Mauricio Izurieta and Shelly Brown. The panel discussed the recent growth of the options market, including liquidity dynamics, the importance of managing balance sheets and the impact of technology on execution quality and risk management. #STA2026DC

COMPETE. QUALIFY. PLAY MAGNUS CARLSEN. Four steps stand between you and a game against the world No. 1. ♟️ Apply. Register by Sunday 1 November and your path to Sydney begins. ♟️ Qualify. Battle it out in a Rapid Swiss-format online tournament on Chess.com on 9, 10, or 11 November. Finish in the top two of your bracket and you're through. ♟️ Compete in Sydney. We'll fly you to IMC Sydney for the championship on Wednesday 9 December, with flights, hotel, and meals covered. ♟️ Play Magnus. Take on the World No. 1 in a show-match, then learn from him and Grandmaster Robert Hess in an exclusive masterclass. Make your move. Apply now before 1 Nov: https://bit.ly/4rGiabm

Last year, IMC stepped into chess by partnering with Magnus Carlsen, R Praggnanandhaa and Fabiano Caruana. This year, our first Chess Scholar is a 10-year-old who has already held Magnus to a draw. At nine, Aarit Kapil drew Magnus in Titled Tuesday blitz, the format where Magnus is at his best. Since then, he became the youngest Indian, and the third-youngest player in the world, to beat a Grandmaster in classical chess, and he is now one norm away from becoming International Master.  Our scholarship, through ChessBase India's HelpChess Foundation, will fund his coaching, travel, and tournament fees as he goes for that title. Chess and trading reward the same things: quick pattern recognition, probabilistic thinking, and clear decisions under pressure. Backing a young talent like Aarit is how we want to give back to the game. I can't wait to see what he does next. Congratulations to Aarit!

CHESS ACADEMY SYDNEY IS HERE♟️ We're inviting university students across Australia and New Zealand to compete for a chance to play the world No. 1, Magnus Carlsen, at our Sydney office. Think fast. Compete hard. Perform under pressure. These are the skills that define great chess players — and the people who thrive at the world's top trading firms. Qualify online. Earn your place in Sydney. Play Magnus. Make your move. Register now: https://bit.ly/4rGiabm

It’s exciting to bring together two IMC Foundation charity partners, Room to Read and Bon Timoun, to create more opportunities for children in Haiti to discover the joy of reading. Seeing their work come together in Haitian-Kreyól books for young readers is a wonderful example of how our partnerships can multiply their impact.

Congratulations to the Indian national chess team on clinching silver in the Open section at the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Leading the charge for India was our very own GM R Praggnanandhaa, who won bronze on Board 1 — the top seat at the table. Here's a glimpse of Pragg enthralling students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in a simul exhibition earlier this year. ChessBase India | Team Liquid