About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Blogs

Metamako Makes First Acquisition as it Takes on xCelor’s Hardware Business

Subscribe to our newsletter

Metamako has acquired the network device business of Chicago based xCelor, bringing xCelor hardware customers into the Metamako fold and allowing xCelor to concentrate on developing high-performance network applications that will be provided on Metamako hardware. This is Metamako’s first acquisition and a strategic milestone for the provider of low-latency FPGA-enabled network solutions.

Sydney based Metamako has grown quickly since it came to market in 2013, developing a client base of over 100 companies, building its own applications such as the MetaWatch network monitoring solution and MetaFilter FPGA app that delivers ultra low-latency market data filtering. It has also built an ecosystem of partners writing apps for its devices, while customers can also write their own apps for the devices.

The acquisition moves Metamako another step forward, adding xCelor’s switch business, six hardware customers and another app partner. It also sets a precedent for further inorganic growth.

Kevin Covington, CEO at Metamako, says: “The company will be five years old next month. It is backed by private and venture funding and has grown well. It has been cashflow positive since its early years and its profitability means it could reinvest in skills and capabilities. We have now added to this by acquiring assets from xCelor. Our goal is to be the industry’s platform of choice for high-performance in network devices and applications.”

Rob Walker, chief technology officer at xCelor, describes the acquisition as a win-win for both the firms and the industry as a whole. He says: “While Metamako strengthens its hardware business, xCelor can completely focus on developing cutting-edge network applications, something we have wanted to do for a few months.”

Metamako recently opened a Chicago office to support the acquisition and expand its presence and support offer in North America. Beyond headquarters in Sydney, it also has offices in New York and London. Covington notes that while Australia hosts the company’s core engineering skills base, 90% of its customers are elsewhere.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Recorded Webinar: Enhancing trader efficiency with interoperability – Innovative solutions for automated and streamlined trader desktop and workflows

Traders today are expected to navigate increasingly complex markets using workflows that often lag behind the pace of change. Disconnected systems, manual processes, and fragmented user experiences create hidden inefficiencies that directly impact performance and risk management. Firms that can streamline and modernise the trader desktop are gaining a tangible edge – both in speed...

BLOG

Sustainable Trading to Wind Down, Leaving ESG Legacy for Trading Industry

Sustainable Trading, the non-profit membership network created to drive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) best practices within the financial trading industry, is set to close its doors. The decision, which comes just over three years after its high-profile launch, was confirmed following a board recommendation and subsequent member vote at an Extraordinary General Meeting on...

EVENT

ExchangeTech Summit London

A-Team Group, organisers of the TradingTech Summits, are pleased to announce the inaugural ExchangeTech Summit London on May 14th 2026. This dedicated forum brings together operators of exchanges, alternative execution venues and digital asset platforms with the ecosystem of vendors driving the future of matching engines, surveillance and market access.

GUIDE

Regulatory Data Handbook 2019/2020 – Seventh Edition

Welcome to A-Team Group’s best read handbook, the Regulatory Data Handbook, which is now in its seventh edition and continues to grow in terms of the number of regulations covered, the detail of each regulation and the impact that all the rules and regulations will have on data and data management at your institution. This...