Pico introduced ultra-low latency venue connectivity.

Pico’s ultra-low latency solution supports clients with latency-sensitive trading strategies requiring highly accurate views of the market and faster execution times. Utilizing high- performance Layer 1 switching technology, Pico can now achieve one-way market data latency of 5-87ns and round-trip latency of 140ns for order entry (an 80 percent reduction from standard Layer 3 access). This new Layer 1 offering is supported by Pico’s global engineering expertise and instrumented with its best-in-class Corvil Analytics1, assuring operational performance, transparency, and visibility. Corvil’s real-time analytics continuously monitors Layer 1 switch transit latency, with immediate alerts generated if nanosecond thresholds are violated, providing maximum operational transparency for latency-sensitive trading. End-of- day reports on details including message rates, microbursts, and gap detection give clients important service assurance visibility.

Layer 1 connectivity is available across venues in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific (APAC), with Pico’s global service delivery team providing the required support for this turnkey solution to ensure rapid time to market.

“Layer 1 access is an important component for many trading strategies and Pico’s advances in optimizing exchange connectivity latency set a new benchmark which gives clients the ability to gain a significant competitive edge,” said Roland Hamann, CTO & Head of APAC at Pico. “Pico is committed to delivering a differentiated client experience and we continue to invest in our next generation network to remain ahead in performance, security, scalability and transparency. This launch further strengthens our comprehensive range of network products that meet the full spectrum of electronic trading requirements.”

Pico has built a cloud infrastructure for financial markets participants with mission critical exchange connectivity spanning 47 data centers across key global market centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Its resilient proprietary network, PicoNet™, is a globally comprehensive, low-latency and fully redundant network connecting major financial data centers with access to major public cloud providers. This allows Pico the technical capability to offer financial market data anywhere to its clients for true borderless trading. The combination of Pico’s global infrastructure and data services with its analytics and machine intelligence solution, Corvil Analytics, contributes to clients being equipped with cutting-edge solutions to meet ever-changing market conditions.

On August 4, 2021, Pico announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination with FTAC Athena Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate as Pico. The transaction reflects a pro forma enterprise value for the combined company of approximately $1.4 billion. The business combination, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Pico and FTAC Athena, is targeted to close in late 2021, subject to stockholder approvals and other customary closing conditions.