Epic Markets
Pre-launch online brokerage founded in 2026 by two former Citadel Securities FX executives, which disclosed a USD 10 million pre-seed round from Karatage in July 2026.
Industry: Retail brokerage | Location: London, United Kingdom | Founded: 2026 | Total Funding: USD 10M
About Epic Markets
Epic Markets is a fintech startup that is preparing to launch a multi-asset retail trading platform. It is headquartered in London and plans to start with a presence in both the United States and the United Arab Emirates, with the UAE serving as a core operating base while the company works through regulatory licensing. The company's own landing page carries a regulatory disclaimer indicating it will at least offer contracts for difference (CFDs), the leveraged derivative products that let retail traders speculate on price moves without owning the underlying asset.
The company's stated pitch is to build a platform grounded in institutional-grade execution standards, bringing the kind of fast, high-quality trade execution historically reserved for professional trading firms to ordinary retail traders. It had not launched a product at the time of TechScoop's reporting, and no public regulatory licences had yet been secured.
Epic Markets was started by Bryan Seegers and Kevin Kimmel, two former executives of Citadel Securities. Kimmel spent more than a decade as Global Head of eFX at Citadel before leaving the year before the round was reported, and previously held senior roles at JP Morgan, YellowJacket and Tradeweb. He is chief executive of Epic Markets. Seegers is co-founder and chief compliance officer and comes from the same Citadel background.
Epic Markets has raised USD 10 million in a pre-seed round, a cheque TechScoop described as anomalous in size for that stage. The entire round was funded by a single backer, the London-based investment firm Karatage, which focuses on artificial intelligence, decentralized finance and crypto-infrastructure. The round was listed in TechScoop's September 2026 tracker of the largest MENA startup rounds after LEAP 2026.
The capital will go toward building the platform and completing the regulatory licence applications the company needs before it can launch, which it is targeting for later in the year. The UAE's regulatory frameworks in the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Abu Dhabi Global Market make it an attractive base for this kind of trading venture, and the company would compete with established regional and international brokers already courting Gulf traders.
TechScoop noted several caveats: the company has no launched product, its licences are pending, and CFDs are high-risk leveraged instruments that regulators in many markets have restricted for retail users. The round reflects investor confidence in the founders' track record rather than in an operating business.
Leadership
- Kevin Kimmel, Chief Executive and co-founder
- Bryan Seegers, Co-founder and Chief Compliance Officer
- Kevin Kimmel, Chief Executive
- Bryan Seegers, Chief Compliance Officer