ALDI | HOFER

In 2009, Stephen Bohanon, Gary Nelson, and Sean McElroy founded Alkami Technology with a singular vision: to empower regional and community financial institutions to compete with the nation's largest banks. The founders recognized that while megabanks had sophisticated digital platforms, community banks and credit unions were being left behind, unable to offer their customers the seamless digital experiences they had come to expect. Starting with a cloud-native approach - a rarity in banking at the time - they built a unified digital banking platform that would level the playing field for these smaller institutions. Today, Alkami has evolved from that initial insight into a publicly-traded company serving over 19.5 million users across hundreds of financial institutions. The platform has expanded beyond core digital banking to encompass onboarding, data analytics, marketing automation, and fraud prevention - all integrated into a single codebase that delivers continuous innovation. Alkami's commitment to excellence has been recognized by J.D. Power, which certified the company's Mobile App Platform for providing 'An Outstanding Mobile Banking Platform Experience' in both 2024 and 2025. Under CEO Alex Shootman, the company continues its mission to help financial institutions grow confidently, adapt quickly, and build thriving digital banking communities.

We're a team of nearly a thousand people spread across Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, London, and beyond, united by a single vision - to make every search interaction meaningful and rewarding. Since starting in 2012, we've grown from a small startup to powering over 30 billion search requests every week, helping companies like Under Armour, Stripe, Gymshark, and Walgreens deliver experiences that feel almost magical. But what really drives us isn't the scale - it's seeing developers build something that makes their users' lives a little easier. Our platform is API-first by design because we know how frustrating it can be to wrestle with clunky integrations and outdated systems. We've built tools for AI search, recommendations, personalization, and analytics that developers actually enjoy using - fast, reliable, and flexible enough to handle whatever you're building. Whether it's an ecommerce site, a SaaS platform, or something entirely new, we're here to help you create search experiences that keep people coming back. We're not just building software; we're building the infrastructure for understanding intent at internet scale.

Alpaca is a global leader in brokerage infrastructure APIs, powering hundreds of financial institutions across 40+ countries. With over 7 million brokerage accounts opened through their platform and 61,000+ monthly active developers, Alpaca has established itself as the de facto standard for embedded finance and trading APIs. The company's commission-free trading infrastructure enables developers and businesses to build customizable investing applications across stocks, ETFs, options, fixed income, and crypto asset classes. As a US-headquartered self-clearing broker-dealer with regulatory approvals across multiple jurisdictions, Alpaca combines proprietary technology with compliant infrastructure to serve fintechs, institutions, hedge funds, and crypto exchanges worldwide. Their mission to open financial services to everyone on the planet has attracted over $320 million in total funding from top-tier investors including Portage Ventures, Spark Capital, Tribe Capital, and Y Combinator, supporting a global team of 230+ professionals distributed across the USA, Canada, Japan, Hungary, Nigeria, Brazil, the UK, and beyond.

Al Watania Information Systems (Wisys) was founded in 1999 to specialize in information systems and business solutions using cutting-edge technologies. The company focuses on SAP systems including SAP Business One, SuccessFactors, and S/4HANA, catering to large, medium, and small businesses across Saudi Arabia. As a part of the AWQAF Sulaiman Abdulaziz Alrajhi group, Wisys plays a key role in achieving Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 by implementing SAP ERP systems, adhering to global standards, and improving client work procedures through digital transformation. The company's vision is to be the best choice for partners in providing information systems services and business solutions. Their mission centers on delivering services based on best practices in a work environment that fosters creativity and excellence. Wisys achieves client satisfaction by aligning systems with business goals and providing a positive work environment for employees. The company has recently been recognized with the Outstanding Service Partner Award 2025 from Huawei Cloud Saudi Arabia, reflecting their commitment to delivering scalable and secure cloud solutions that support the Kingdom's digital transformation journey.

Alber Blanc is a proprietary trading firm specializing in high-frequency algorithmic trading and liquidity provision. Founded in 2010, the firm manages its own private capital with complete independence from external investments. Operating from offices in Cyprus, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Singapore, the company provides liquidity for many exchanges with particular focus on emerging markets. The team of 170 experts includes experienced traders, talented analysts, and developers who build and operate world-class trading systems. The firm's infrastructure spans more than 100 top-tier servers across 20 data centers worldwide, all connected through a low-latency network optimized for speed. All software is developed in-house, prioritizing low latency and scalability, with a proprietary back-testing system and distributed market data storage enabling instant access to global market data. The trading system operates on the latest software versions and most powerful hardware available.

At aedifion, we combine deep technical expertise with a passion for sustainability to transform how buildings operate. Our cloud-based platform leverages artificial intelligence and real-time data to optimize building operations, reducing energy consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 40% without requiring expensive structural investments. spun out of RWTH Aachen University in 2017, we've grown from a research-driven startup to a team of nearly 100 professionals united by the mission to digitally decarbonize the built environment. Our culture thrives at the intersection of building technology, data science, and software engineering. We believe in creating solutions that deliver measurable environmental impact while providing tangible cost savings for property owners. From implementing IoT edge devices to deploying AI-driven predictive controls, our cross-functional teams work collaboratively to solve complex challenges in building automation. We value continuous learning, academic partnerships, and pragmatic problem-solving - qualities that enable us to deliver sophisticated yet practical solutions that make buildings smarter, more efficient, and environmentally responsible.