Architect Financial Technologies

Architect Financial Technologies Inc. is a Chicago-based multinational derivatives exchange group and electronic brokerage that builds trading infrastructure for capital markets, covering equities, ETFs, futures, options and tokenized assets. The company operates through several regulated subsidiaries and affiliates: Architect Securities LLC, a FINRA-registered introducing broker-dealer for SEC-regulated securities and security derivatives; Architect Financial Derivatives LLC, an NFA-registered independent introducing broker for CFTC-regulated derivatives; and Architect Bermuda Ltd., regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, which operates the AX exchange.

AX, launched in November 2025, is described by the company and press coverage as the first regulated centralized exchange offering perpetual (non-expiring) futures contracts on traditional asset classes, including foreign currencies, interest rates, single stocks, stock indexes, metals, energy and other commodities. Contracts are standardized, centrally cleared and traded on an anonymous order book; the venue provides a web-based interface, low-latency APIs and open-source SDKs, with collateral accepted in US dollars and stablecoins and custody through banking partners. Risk controls include price bands, volatility halts, default waterfalls and product-specific margin, with portfolio margin planned across asset types.

In May 2026 Architect announced the acquisition of IMX Health LLC, a U.S. Designated Contract Market, and plans to launch the American Innovation Exchange, a CFTC-regulated venue for futures and options on compute costs tied to multiple GPU vendors and models and other AI supply-chain inputs, with cross-marginable instruments on related inputs such as metals, energy and power, pending regulatory review.

Founding story

Founded by Brett Harrison, previously president of FTX US, who resigned in September 2022 and by December 2022 was reported to be raising capital for a trading technology venture. He closed a $5 million round in January 2023 and founded Architect Financial Technologies to develop institutional-grade trading infrastructure, with investment from Coinbase and Circle. (Sources variously date the founding to 2023; internal records list 2022.)

Business model

Architect operates regulated market infrastructure and brokerage entities: an international perpetual futures exchange (AX) for institutional clients, US introducing broker-dealer and introducing broker businesses, and, following the DCM acquisition, a planned US futures and options exchange. Sources do not detail fee structures.

Traction

Sources report cumulative capital raised of $52 million prior to disclosure of the Series A totals, a reported ~$187 million post-round valuation, institutional availability of AX in eligible jurisdictions, connectivity to CME Group, Cboe, Nasdaq and Coinbase Derivatives, and subsequent regulatory approval expanding AX access to individual investors and omnibus brokerage accounts. No revenue, volume or customer-count figures are disclosed in the sources.

Latest developments

On May 28, 2026 Architect announced the acquisition of IMX Health LLC, a US Designated Contract Market, and the planned launch of the American Innovation Exchange for futures and options on compute costs and other AI supply-chain inputs, pending regulatory review; it is also developing an exchange-for-physical market linking cash-settled compute derivatives to physical compute delivery marketplaces, including through a partnership with Compute Desk (The Compute Index, Inc.).