Twin brothers Stephen and Gabino Roche are driving Saphyre to new heights as its AI-powered trading technology breaks barriers and disrupts trading
There must be something in the coffee in New Jersey. No matter what time of day or where in the world they have just flown back from, twin brothers Stephen and Gabino Roche are brimming with infectious energy. I guess that’s what comes from running an award-winning, game-changing organisation like Saphyre.
We catch up with Stephen and Gabino in the middle of a series of announcements that the disruptive fintech is making – from new hires to high-profile partnerships. Saphyre is clearly on the rise.
Stephen and Gabino admit they have entrepreneurship in their blood, so it was almost inevitable that after successful ‘solo’ careers they would come together to form a Roche supergroup.
“We were excited to get into this finance space,” recalls Stephen. “And one thing that we noticed is there's a lot of old, archaic systems in there – things are still in Windows 95 and MS DOS or manual processes. They're using faxes.
“So one of the things that Gabino brings to the table, his expertise with the team that he's built here in Saphyre, is building software products faster. That's one of the biggest secrets to success that we have, because when clients want a new feauture, functionality or want to see a solution, Gabino and the team are very quick at bringing it out – within weeks, not months, not years.”
“We're bringing Silicon Valley tech to finance.”
For anyone unfamiliar with Saphyre (where have you been?), the company leverages patented AI technology to digitise all pre-trade data and activities.
Saphyre's platform maintains memory of data and documents, and expedites flow in a digitally structured manner so that it can be consumed and understood by any permissioned counterparty in the finance industry. This allows firms not only to assess risk faster but they can speed their onboarding processes, get real-time ready-to-trade statuses per account, and eliminate 70%-75% of redundant or inefficient post-trade activities.
So how did it all begin? Let’s rewind to 2017. Gabino’s experience working at JP Morgan and alongside other leading financial institutions led him to a revelation. He realised that the opportunity existed to create what he calls the ‘connective tissue’ between these financial titans.
“In finance, some of the culture that happens is a bunch of sticks – everyone has to follow these rules because you’ve got to make sure things don't break, and so people don't question the status quo and that's why the innovation doesn't happen,” says Gabino.
“I believe and there's several in the finance world who are with us, that we partner with, when you can challenge the status quo and think outside of the box then you can actually deploy the technology quickly. That's where you change the game. That's where you change the industry.”
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