Nasdaq
“Can a legacy stock exchange transform into the dominant financial technology and regulatory infrastructure platform powering global capital markets?”
Founded in 1971 as the world's first electronic stock market, Nasdaq evolved from a pure exchange operator into a diversified financial technology and infrastructure company. The 2008 merger with OMX accelerated its transformation into a global exchange technology provider. Over the 2010s and 2020s, Nasdaq systematically acquired analytics, compliance, and regulatory technology firms, culminating in the landmark $10.5B acquisition of Adenza in 2023. Today, Nasdaq derives the majority of its revenue from technology and analytics SaaS solutions rather than transaction fees, positioning itself as infrastructure for global capital markets rather than simply a trading venue.