AlpacaDB

AlpacaDB Inc.
Company typePrivate [1]
IndustryFinancial technology [1]
Founded2015 (2015)[2]
FoundersYoshi Yokokawa and Hitoshi Harada[3]
Headquarters
San Mateo, California
,
United States[4][5]
Area served
Worldwide [6][7]
Number of employees
200+ [8] (2025)
Subsidiaries
  • Alpaca Securities (US)[9]
  • Alpaca Crypto (US) [10]
  • Alpaca Japan (Japan) [11]
  • AlpacaX Securities and
  • AlpacaX Crypto (Bahamas)[12][13]
Websitealpaca.markets

AlpacaDB Inc. (herein referred to as "Alpaca") is an American financial technology company headquartered in Silicon Valley that provides an API for stock, options, fixed income, and crypto trading for institutions and individual traders to build financial applications. This functionality lets developers process know your customer verification [14] as well as the trading of stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, and cryptocurrencies. Alpaca also offers securities lending for stocks and ETFs and provides brokerage functionality and market data that comply with regulatory requirements.[14][1][15]

History

Originally co-founded in 2015 by Yoshi Yokokawa and Hitoshi Harada, Alpaca initially focused on developing a database called MarketStore, and a machine learning algorithm called AlpacaAlgo, to make predictions from large sets of market time-series data.[3][16] AlpacaAlgo would go on to execute millions of dollars in real-money trading volume.[17]

Yokokawa pivoted Alpaca in 2018 to a platform that would handle banking, security and regulatory complexities through APIs. Part of this pivot included the registration of Alpaca Securities LLC in March 2017, and FINRA approval occurring in 2018.[18][19][20]

Investor-backed funding began in 2018 with $3 million in pre-series A funding and the company took part in Y Combinator's Winter 2019 (W19) batch.[21][3] By April 2025, the company had raised more than $170 million, backed by investors such as Portage Ventures, Spark Capital, Social Leverage, and Y Combinator. During its Series C round in which it secured $52 million, Alpaca opened a New York office and expanded into the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.[1][22]

Fintech firms and investment platforms have built their services on Alpaca’s APIs.[1] For example, the Y Combinator-backed startup Gotrade, launched with Alpaca’s Broker API allowing users in more than 150 countries to invest in U.S. equities with fractional shares. In 2025, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken used Alpaca’s Broker API to introduce U.S. stock and ETF trading to its users, enabling fractional shares with low-latency execution and no commission.[23][24]

The no-code platform Composer, employs Alpaca’s Trading API where users design, backtest, and run algorithmic strategies without writing code. In 2025, Alpaca also announced partnerships with regional investment apps such as ZAD, a Kuwait-based provider of Shariah-compliant investing services, and Manzil Invest USA, a platform with faith-aligned portfolios for American Muslims, both of which use the Broker API for trade execution and account infrastructure.[25]

Structure

AlpacaDB, Inc. is the primary corporate entity and the company operates globally through several subsidiaries such as:[26]

  • Alpaca Securities LLC ("Alpaca Securities"), a member FINRA/SIPC[19][27]
  • Alpaca Crypto LLC ("Alpaca Crypto"), a FinCEN registered money services business (NMLS# 2160858) for cryptocurrency services[28]
  • AlpacaJapan Co., Ltd, a Kinsho under Kanto Local Finance Bureau Director (#3024) and a JSDA member[26]

Alpaca is a member of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC).[29][30] Alpaca supports millions of brokerage accounts and has several hundred client partnerships in dozens of countries. The company holds several licenses with financial regulators including the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Money Services Business (MSB), Securities Commission of the Bahamas, and Japan Securities Dealers Association (JSDA).[27][1][31]

Products

Alpaca's business model has several revenue streams including payment for order flow, commission fees, margin interest, cash management spreads, and API usage fees from enterprise clients.[32]

Alpaca's documentation lists five APIs for developers to interact with their platform and their GitHub site provides SDKs for a number of programming languages.[33][34]

The platform's underlying Order Management System (OMS), is said to handle order processing transactions in milliseconds.[35][36]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Alpaca raises $52M Series C to take its API brokerage platform to new markets". TechCrunch. April 23, 2025.
  2. ^ "Alpaca picks up $3m, alongside launch of its service". FinTech Global. October 25, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Cooper, Danny (April 23, 2025). "Alpaca Raises $52M Series C Fueling Growth into New Worldwide Markets". Zillionize.
  4. ^ "ALPACA SECURITIES LLC". BrokerCheck.
  5. ^ "Alpaca". LeadIQ.
  6. ^ "What regions support cryptocurrency trading?". Alpaca.
  7. ^ "Countries Alpaca is available". Alpaca.
  8. ^ "Alpaca Securities - About the company". Tracxn.
  9. ^ "BrokerCheck Report Alpaca Securities LLC CRD# 288202" (PDF). FINRA.
  10. ^ "Using Alpaca in Algo Trading: Everything You Should Know". Composer. December 19, 2023.
  11. ^ Erazo, Felipe (July 19, 2022). "Alpaca Completes Acquisition of Japanese Broker-Dealer AlpacaJapan". Finance Magnates.
  12. ^ "REGISTER OF DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESSES" (PDF). Securities Commission of the Bahamas. November 12, 2022.
  13. ^ "Securities Industry Act, 2024" (PDF). Securities Commission of the Bahamas. August 31, 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Alpaca". Sacra.
  15. ^ "Alpaca Expands Broker API with Securities Lending Feature, Enhancing Passive Income Opportunities for Retail Investors". AInvest. May 16, 2025.
  16. ^ Yuki, Hayashi (March 31, 2021). "Running thousands of DeepLearning models for the live market". Medium.
  17. ^ "Fintech AI Startup Alpaca Closes $1.75M Round to Build a Trade Idea Discovery App for Casual Stock Traders". PRWeb. January 24, 2017.
  18. ^ Constine, Josh (November 8, 2019). "Alpaca nabs $6M for stocks API so anyone can build a Robinhood". TechCrunch.
  19. ^ a b "In the Matter of the Continued Membership of Alpaca Securities LLC, (CRD No. 288202)" (PDF). FINRA. March 6, 2025.
  20. ^ "BrokerCheck Report Alpaca Securities LLC CRD# 288202" (PDF). FINRA.
  21. ^ "Fintech Startup Alpaca Raises $3M in Pre-Series A". FinSMEs. October 24, 2018.
  22. ^ "Alpaca Raises $52 Million in Series C Funding to Fuel Global Expansion and Category Leadership". Business Wire. April 23, 2025.
  23. ^ "Kraken Offers US Securities Through Strategic Partnership with Alpaca". Business Wire. April 28, 2025.
  24. ^ "Alpaca Raises $50 Million Series B & Announces Crypto Offering". Fintech Finance News. September 1, 2021.
  25. ^ Faridi, Omar (July 24, 2025). "Fintech Platform Alpaca Enters New Partnerships to Expand Financial Access and Enhance Trading". Crowdfund Insider.
  26. ^ a b "Alpaca Markets Broker Review 2025". Trading Finder. January 11, 2025.
  27. ^ a b "Is Alpaca Trading Regulated?". Broker Chooser. February 10, 2023.
  28. ^ "Alpaca Crypto LLC NMLS ID: 2160858". Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.
  29. ^ "Manufacturing in the US, Building in Open Source… and more | E2154". YouTube. July 21, 2025.
  30. ^ Eusterbrock, Nienke (August 15, 2025). "Alpaca gains OCC and FICC clearing memberships". PostTrade 360°.
  31. ^ "REGISTER OF DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESSES" (PDF). Securities Commission of the Bahamas. November 12, 2022.
  32. ^ "Alpaca". Sacra.
  33. ^ "Alpaca". GitHub.
  34. ^ Farn, Ted. "Alpaca". MCP Market.
  35. ^ Patel, Neal (November 30, 2021). "Alpaca unlocks 100x faster order processing with Redpanda". Redpanda.
  36. ^ Reed, Eric (March 9, 2025). "Alpaca Review 2025: Fees, Services and More". SmartAsset.
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