As AI Accelerates Cyber Threats, EXANTE Launches €1M Grant for Open-Source Projects Powering Global Markets

June 16, 2026, London, UK — A global prime broker EXANTE today announces the launch of Gecko Fund, a new €1 million grant programme to support critical open-source software projects used across trading and financial data systems. The initiative provides direct funding to maintainers of the fintech’s backbone, including APIs, single-maintainer libraries, and core components of global trading infrastructure.

Open-source software underpins 70% of businesses, making it a critical part of the global economy. Yet much of this infrastructure is maintained by small, underfunded teams, creating a growing source of fragility in the technology that businesses and financial markets rely on every day.

The launch addresses a growing structural imbalance in the open-source ecosystem. While demand-side value reaches an estimated $8.8 trillion, 63% of maintainers behind widely used projects lack adequate funding. For businesses, this disconnect creates hidden dependencies on under-resourced infrastructure, elevating exposure to cybersecurity incidents, supply chain fragility, and operational disruptions. These risks are further intensified by AI, which is accelerating the discovery and exploitation of vulnerabilities.

“When we started building EXANTE more than fifteen years ago, open-source software made it possible to move quickly and solve problems that would otherwise have been out of reach,” said Anatoly Knyazev, founder of Gecko Fund and co-founder of EXANTE. “Our goal is not simply to fund software,” added Knyazev. “It is to strengthen the communities and maintainers behind the infrastructure that modern finance depends on every day. We believe the industry that benefits from these tools should play a role in sustaining them.” 

The programme has already issued its first grant: €10,000 to Kryo, an open-source Java serialization framework widely used in high-performance data processing and trading environments.

“Critical open-source work often happens quietly, even as major industries depend on it,” commented Nathan Sweet, сreator of Kryo. “Kryo has been maintained as a passion project since 2009, wi  by th no outside funding — just two people across two continents who believed the work was worth doing. We are grateful to EXANTE and Gecko Fund for making that dependence reciprocal.”

Gecko Fund focuses on existing open-source projects that are already widely used but underfunded relative to their impact. The programme prioritises technologies across Erlang/OTP, Scala, Java/JVM, JavaScript, developer tooling, and core infrastructure libraries, while remaining open to other projects that play an important role in the financial ecosystem.

“Nearly 70% of our critical technology stack relies on open-source software — and we’re far from alone,” said Richard Forss, EXANTE’S Chief Technology Officer. “Open-source infrastructure is not a charity case. It is load-bearing technology that underpins modern businesses, financial markets, and critical services worldwide. Gecko Fund is our way of helping ensure that this infrastructure remains resilient, secure, and sustainable.”

Applications are reviewed quarterly based on factors including adoption, relevance to the financial ecosystem, current funding levels, and potential impact of additional support. Individuals, project teams, communities, and organisations are eligible to apply. Grants range from €10,000 to €150,000, depending on the project’s scope and impact.

Applications are now open at geckofund.org.

About EXANTE

EXANTE is a global prime broker that provides institutional-grade trading infrastructure for professional investors. Founded in 2011, the company developed proprietary trading technology that provides direct access to global financial markets through a single trading platform. Today, EXANTE offers access to more than 2 million financial instruments across 50+ markets, including equities, ETFs, bonds, futures, options, currencies, and metals. The platform is trusted by 20,000+ professional investors from more than 100 countries, supporting over $4 billion in client assets.

Media Contacts

Julia Chapman, jch@exante.eu
Daria Skorospelova, daria.s@mindsetcomms.com

Disclaimer and Risk Warning: The information contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any investments or related services that may be referenced here. Investing involves a high level of risk. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.