D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. is a global investment and technology development firm based in New York, New York whose activities center on many aspects of the intersection between technology and finance. The firm was founded by David E. Shaw, who was formerly a faculty member in the computer science department at Columbia University. The firm, through various affiliates, specializes in applying quantitative and qualitative trading strategies to hedge fund management and other investments. It makes private equity investments in early-stage and established firms involved in technology, health care, and financial services. It also acquires assets of distressed companies.
As recently as August 2008, the firm, described by Fortune in 1996 as "the most intriguing and mysterious force on Wall Street," managed nearly $40 billion in aggregate capital, making it one of the world's largest hedge funds by assets under management.
