Factbox – What is Jane Street, a US trading company facing Indian fever?
By Jayshree P Upadhyay
MUMBAI (Reuters) – India has banned Jane Street, one of the world’s largest quantum trading companies, from accessing the securities market after investigating “illegal profits.”
Market regulators also said they locked in $567 million from US-based Jane Street and challenged the findings. Here are the facts about Jane Street and its India presence:
What is Jane Street?
Jane Street has over 3,000 staff in five offices in the US, Europe and Asia. It trades stocks in 45 countries and has also seen a rapid increase in its presence in Hong Kong as it purchases more office space.
Jane Street was founded in 2000 and earned $20.5 billion in annual revenue last year.
It describes its website as a company that keeps prices consistent and reliable, using sophisticated quantitative analysis and a deep understanding of how the market works.
“We’re a puzzle solver company on and off the clock,” it says.
How is Jane Street operated in India?
Jane Street operates in India through four group entities, two of which are based in the country, while the other two are in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The company launched its first Indian forces in December 2020. The other two Asian entities operate as foreign investors registered in India.
Scale of the Indian business
Between January 2023 and March 2025, the four entities cumulatively earned $5 billion in profits.
Jane Street’s massive India presence first became apparent last year when the company sued a rival hedge fund, a millennium management, and accused it of stealing a valuable in-house trading strategy.
A court hearing in the US revealed that the strategy includes Indian options and that Jane Street’s profits generated $1 billion in 2023. The two companies settled their lawsuits in December.
Claims against Jane Street
Indian market regulators say Jane Street was the first to aggressively buy a large number of bank stocks and futures as a group, temporarily pushing up the bank index.
At the same time, we have created a large short position in the index options.
He then actively sold a large selection of the same bank stocks and futures, profiting from his options position.
The massive purchases have affected retail investors’ investments and led to manipulation of the market, Sebi said.
Sebi also said by incorporating the entities in India, Jane Street has managed to “avert” Indian regulations prohibiting foreign portfolio investors from taking on day-to-day positions in the cash market.