You may know Thomas Peterffy as a Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Interactive Brokers Group, Inc., but what is unknown to the world is the fact that he was a refugee who migrated from place to place in search of a better future.
Thomas was Born in 1944 in Hungary, in a hospital basement during a Russian air raid. The harsh Soviet rule in Hungary made many people leave the place and move in search of a better life. Thomas and his father Perenc Peterffy were among them.
His father who was living with his second wife found it hard to accommodate his son. He gave Thomas a 100 dollars and asked to him to make his living. There began his journey from being penniless to being one of the world’s wealthiest person.
The young immigrant Thomas was not so good at speaking English, left his engineering studies and emigrated to the United States as a refugee in 1965. He moved to the New York City and earned a bachelor’s degree from Clark University.
He began his career as an architectural draftsman in the US. It was in this firm, he programmed a newly purchased computer, which ultimately shaped his future. Eventually, he left this career as a designer of software and bought a seat on the American Stock Exchange to trade equity options. He consistently replaced manual processes with more efficient automated ones.
He made a major change by introducing handheld computers onto the trading floors in early 1980’s. He founded his first company T.P. & Co in 1978 and his second venture was Timber Hill Inc., in 1982. In 2001, he named Timer Hill Group to Interactive Brokers Group LLC. The company’s headquarters is now located in Greenwich, now logs in over one million trades per day.
According to Forbes reports, the net worth of Thomas Peterffy estimates around $16 billion and this makes him stand as the 32nd richest man in the US. And he is fondly known as “The Father Of High-Speed Trading.”
During the 2016 Presidential Elections, Thomas Peterffy donated $100,000 to the campaign of Republican nominee Donald Trump. He said: “This election will determine the course of this country for a long time into the future.”
Bengaluru-based investment bank IndigoEdge, in partnership with entrepreneur Hitesh Ahuja, has launched PixelSky Capital, a secondaries fund targeting INR 400 crore. The fund will invest in eight late-stage tech and consumer companies expected to go public within three to four years, with cheque sizes of INR 40–50 crore each. PixelSky has already invested in beauty retailer Purplle and aims to close a second deal by June 2025.
The fund focuses on secondary transactions, allowing existing shareholders to sell stakes to new investors, providing liquidity ahead of IPOs. Founders have committed INR 10–15 crore, with additional capital coming from domestic family offices and startup founders. Final close is expected by March 2026.
Led by Hitesh Ahuja, who sold his foodtech startup Yumlane in 2023, and IndigoEdge cofounder Zerin Rahiman, PixelSky marks IndigoEdge’s expansion from advisory and proprietary investments into fund management. The firm has facilitated over 150 transactions worth around $3 billion and invested INR 25–30 crore as a limited partner in multiple VC funds. PixelSky is currently evaluating about 20 companies before finalizing its portfolio
Meta is developing its first true AR glasses, set to launch in 2027. Before the public release, employees will test the device starting in 2024. The company is also releasing new generations of Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2023 and 2025 with enhanced features like a “viewfinder” display.
Specifications and Features
The AR glasses are expected to feature OLED displays and Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, offering sophisticated AR and AI capabilities. They will enable users to interact with virtual objects and project high-quality holograms of avatars onto the real world.
Design and Competition
Meta aims for a sleek design, potentially building on its Ray-Ban partnerships. The AR glasses market is competitive, with Apple and Google also investing heavily. Meta seeks to make its AR glasses a game-changer by offering a unique user experience.
Future Plans
In addition to AR glasses, Meta is expanding its VR offerings with new headsets like the Quest 3 and exploring other wearable technologies. The company is focused on reducing costs to make the AR glasses more consumer-friendly by launch.
MobiKwik is venturing into the stock broking sector with the launch of its subsidiary, MobiKwik Securities Broking Private Limited (MSBPL), following approval from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on March 3, 2025. This move aims to diversify MobiKwik’s offerings beyond its core digital payments services and compete with established players like Zerodha and Groww.
MSBPL will provide a range of brokerage services, including trading in shares, securities, commodities, and derivatives. The subsidiary has an initial capital of Rs 1 lakh, with plans for an additional Rs 2 crore investment to support its operations.
As MobiKwik enters this competitive market, it brings a substantial user base of 172 million and a merchant network of 5 million. Despite recent financial challenges, including a reported loss of Rs 55.2 crore in Q3 FY25, the company aims to leverage its existing infrastructure and user engagement to capture a share of the growing investment technology market, projected to reach $74 billion by 2030.
This strategic expansion aligns with MobiKwik’s broader goals of enhancing its financial service