Zardoz

Before CashCat. Before Robinhood. There was Zardoz.

The trading system behind the founders’ path to Robinhood.

CA: 0x931e7b2fd1d20ebf8043e461bb855c3ceb18092a

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

Now, in the “Robinhood: Vlad Tenev” podcast episode of NPR’s How I Built This with Guy Raz, Vlad’s own voice connects it all.

“Why can’t the software that we’re building for an institutional purpose be used in the same way to offer the same type of amazing pricing and high-frequency execution to retail consumers as well?”

“Take this sophisticated technology that we’ve built and make it into a consumer product.”

Podcast Source: Robinhood: Vlad Tenev — How I Built This with Guy Raz.

The key founder-era section begins around 18:18, with the Robinhood idea discussed from 34:48.

https://t.co/EsCdFp9tMV

https://t.co/J5tVYux7MI

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

@RobinHubHB $ZARDOZ

Robinhood’s origin story hiding in plain sight.

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

@BaijuBhatt From feeling Luce to feeling Zardoz 😂

We made it as a little tribute to the whole story: a cult film, two friends, and the trading tech that helped lay the foundation for Robinhood today.

It just felt too memeable not to bring back. Hope you like it.

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

@vladtenev Zardoz carries an important piece of your story and Robinhood’s. As you’ve said, that tech helped lay the foundation of Robinhood today.

All of that comes together in this meme, a tribute to your passions and where it all started.

Feels worth a nod, don’t you think?

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

Vlad, think memes are like constants in crypto. Most of the time they look small, then somehow move everything in the biggest way possible. see.. "c" is a constant too, and where it took us after Einstein..

We commemorated Zardoz because we love memes and the stories behind them. Thought you might enjoy seeing part of Robinhood origin story brought back.

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

@vladtenev @arbitrum Maybe some credits to Zardoz engineering team as well?👀

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

Connery Room at Robinhood HQ. Guess why.

And where do you think the name “ZARDOZ” came from?

A 1974 Sean Connery film. 🎯

@BaijuBhatt

https://t.co/2ilA6zL8jT

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

@RobinhoodApp Shipping the future is easier when you have been building over a decade since the Zardoz era, don't you think?

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

@RobinhoodCrypto What about the tek where it all started? 👀

$ZARDOZ

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

Listen from 18:00 to 40:00.

Spend 22 minutes less scrolling and 22 minutes more listening.

@vladtenev explains how the institutional trading technology built during the Zardoz era, along with the team and learnings, helped shape the Robinhood idea.

Sources below.

https://t.co/sAxN2y0UQX

https://t.co/J5tVYux7MI

https://t.co/CNrWUGclYt

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

Put the public record together:

Zardoz was the documented trading system.

Chronos was the company Vlad called the “spiritual precursor to Robinhood.”

And Vlad now explains, in his own voice, how the technology, team and learnings were carried toward a consumer product.

The sources finally connect.

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

Now, in the “Robinhood: Vlad Tenev” podcast episode of NPR’s How I Built This with Guy Raz, Vlad’s own voice connects it all.

“Why can’t the software that we’re building for an institutional purpose be used in the same way to offer the same type of amazing pricing and high-frequency execution to retail consumers as well?”

“Take this sophisticated technology that we’ve built and make it into a consumer product.”

Podcast Source: Robinhood: Vlad Tenev — How I Built This with Guy Raz.

The key founder-era section begins around 18:18, with the Robinhood idea discussed from 34:48.

https://t.co/EsCdFp9tMV

https://t.co/J5tVYux7MI

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

The continuity also included people.

Vlad said:

“There’s still some people at Robinhood today that were originally working for Chronos on our trading software for institutions.”

The experience did not disappear when the direction changed.

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

Our research keeps going deeper.

Tonight we found a podcast where Vlad, in his own voice, explains how the early institutional trading work carried into what came next.

There’s more in it than we expected.

Details tomorrow.

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

More context on Zardoz. It goes deeper than the origin story.

In a technical account republished by Forbes, Vlad said Chronos developed two software platforms under the Zardoz name in 2011.

Built for co-location.
One reached under 15 microseconds wire-to-wire.
Before Robinhood reached millions, the founders were already engineering trading infrastructure at the microsecond level.

Founder-written proof. Public since 2014.

Source: Vlad Tenev’s technical account on Zardoz, republished by Forbes in 2014

https://t.co/h5fXsYnRdQ

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

Simple.

[Zardoz @zardozorigin]

Zardoz was an earlier trading product built at Chronos Research, the company Vlad later called "the spiritual precursor to Robinhood."

@RobinhoodApp became the founders’ final consumer-facing product, but the trading-product intent was there from the Zardoz era.

Choices matter..