Latest news with #XTXMarkets
Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Billionaire to open maths school for the most talented children
One of Britain's biggest taxpayers is opening the country's first specialist secondary school for exceptionally talented young mathematicians. Alex Gerko, a Russian-born billionaire, has already spent millions of pounds trying to improve numeracy in this country. He is now launching a 'needs blind' private school, offering bursaries to those who cannot afford the fees, which is due to open in September next year in north London. It will be called 1729 Maths School because of the number's significance in maths as the smallest sum of two cubes expressed in different ways (it is known as the Hardy-Ramanujan or 'taxicab' number). Gerko, the founder of XTX Markets, went to a specialist maths school in Moscow from the age of 12 and wants British children to
Bloomberg
14-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK's Richest Trader Adds Billions to Wealth as XTX Results Surge
XTX Markets founder Alex Gerko is bolstering his status as Britain's richest trader, leading a recent charge of self-made finance billionaires breaking into the nation's ultra-wealthy elite. Gerko's net worth surged to a record $13.2 billion after the London-based firm reported a jump in 2024 revenue and earnings, more than doubling his fortune over the past two years, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He's now the world's 164th-richest person, and the third-wealthiest in the UK.
The Independent
09-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Rare Alan Turing wartime papers saved for the nation after export bar
A collection of rare project writings by Second World War codebreaker Alan Turing has been saved for the nation after an export bar was placed on them to prevent them being taken abroad. The wartime documents are valued at more than £397,000 and relate to the Delilah project, which developed a portable encryption system for use in military operations. They were saved for the nation after an export bar was placed on them and then funds were raised to buy them – including £250,000 from algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets. There was also a £20,000 grant from the charity Friends of the Nations' Libraries, and more than £97,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, private donations, and King's College, Cambridge. The documents will join the largest collection of Turing-related documents at King's College, Cambridge and – once digitised – they will become part of the Turing Papers online archive, freely available to scholars. Following Turing's ground-breaking work on the Enigma machines at Bletchley Park, he began work on the Delilah project at Hanslope Park to develop a portable encryption system or voice scrambler to protect military secrets in the field. The papers consist of more than 40 pages of unpublished Delilah project notes written by Turing and colleague Donald Bayley. Unpublished evidence of Turing's work has rarely survived. Turing himself did not usually keep research notes, working drafts or correspondence. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy said: 'It's brilliant news that the Friends of the Nations' Libraries charity has successfully campaigned to save Alan Turing's vital notebooks. 'Turing was not only a pioneering figure in science and mathematics, but also a national hero. 'This is a powerful example of what can be achieved when private and charitable sectors come together. 'After a Government export ban was placed on the notebooks, this collaboration has ensured that these treasures will be preserved for years to come.' Turing arrived at King's College as an undergraduate in 1931 and was made a Fellow in 1935. The Turing Archive was founded in 1960 following a donation of his papers by his mother, Sara Turing. King's College Provost Gillian Tett said: 'Alan Turing's work laid the foundations of computer science, artificial intelligence and much of our modern world. 'We are honoured to house the 'Delilah' papers at King's and are deeply grateful to our partners in this endeavour.' Geordie Greig, Chair of Friends of the Nations' Libraries, said: 'This extraordinary private donation means that crucial papers written by one of Britain's geniuses have been saved and can studied at Cambridge.' Alex Gerko, Founder and co-chief executive at XTX Markets, said: 'The 'Delilah' papers are a unique collection of notes from one of the nation's greatest mathematicians. 'It's important that this archive remains in the UK and is made publicly accessible, so we are thrilled to be part of that effort.'
The Independent
09-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Inside Alan Turing's unpublished WWII code-breaking notebooks
Notebooks containing Alan Turing 's unpublished WWII code-breaking work have been saved for the UK. A fundraising campaign led by Friends of the Nations' Libraries secured the funds to purchase the notebooks, preventing their sale to an international bidder. The notebooks detail Turing's "Delilah project," focusing on building a portable voice encoder. A substantial donation from XTX Markets, along with contributions from other organisations and individuals, enabled King's College, Cambridge, to acquire the archive. The notebooks will be added to the existing Turing collection at King's College and made available online for research and study.
The Independent
08-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Secret notebooks written by Alan Turing during WWII saved for the nation
Rare notebooks of Alan Turing's unpublished code-breaking work during the Second World War have been saved for the nation thanks to a charity campaign. The British mathematician, credited with breaking the Enigma code, seldom preserved his own research notes, meaning evidence of his papers was often lost. But now a significant archive has been saved by a campaign spearheaded by the Friends of the Nations' Libraries, after the government stepped in to stop its sale for £400,000 unless private funds were raised. The handwritten notes document Turing's 'Delilah project', which involved building a portable voice encoder to be used in military operations. He turned to the project in 1943 after his groundbreaking work on the Enigma machines at Bletchley Park. With the help of the electrical engineer Donald Bayley he built a single prototype of the machine which could digitise and encipher speech for transmission across a telephone line. The two men kept a logbook of the experiment's results, alongside handwritten notes from lectures Turing gave to engineers at Hanslope Park, a secretive government communications centre near Milton Keynes. Despite Turing's status as a national hero, the 40 pages of notes were at risk of leaving the UK – unless a British library or archive could raise the £397,680 needed to buy them at auction. In an attempt to halt the sale to an international bidder, the government followed advice to put a temporary export licence stop on the notebooks in August 2024, meaning they were banned from leaving the country. The papers, described as a national treasure and the most important archive of Turing material yet to come to auction, have now been saved by a major private donation. The papers will now be kept at King's College, Cambridge, thanks to a £250,000 donation from the algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets and a £20,000 grant from Friends of the Nations' Libraries, which has helped to save the UK's written and printed history since its foundation in 1931. Geordie Greig, chair of Friends of the Nations' Libraries and editor-in-chief of The Independent, said: 'This extraordinary private donation means that crucial papers written by one of Britain's geniuses have been saved and can be studied at Cambridge. 'It is a wonderful act of generosity by XTX Markets and its founder Alex Gerko, and we are delighted to have played a part in bringing together this brilliant collaboration between XTX Markets and King's College, a centre of academic excellence, to save our heritage." Alex Gerko, co-CEO of XTX Markets said: 'The 'Delilah' papers are a unique collection of notes from one of the nation's greatest mathematicians. It's important that this archive remains in the UK and is made publicly accessible, so we are thrilled to be part of that effort.' The balance of support has come from a £97,876 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, private donations, and King's College. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, said: "It's brilliant news that the Friends of the Nation's Libraries charity has successfully campaigned to save Alan Turing's vital notebooks. Turing was not only a pioneering figure in science and mathematics, but also a national hero. 'This is a powerful example of what can be achieved when private and charitable sectors come together. After a government export ban was placed on the notebooks, this collaboration has ensured that these treasures will be preserved for years to come.' The notebooks will now join the largest collection of Turing-related documents at King's College, where Turing studied as an undergraduate from 1931 to 1934. Once digitised they will become part of the Turing Papers online archive, freely available to scholars and students around the world. The original archive was founded after his mother, Sarah, donated his papers in 1960. King's College Provost Gillian Tett said: 'Alan Turing's work laid the foundations of computer science, artificial intelligence and much of our modern world. We are honoured to house the 'Delilah' papers at King's and are deeply grateful to our partners in this endeavour, particularly XTX Markets, Alex Gerko and the Friends of the Nations' Libraries.'
