The D. E. Shaw group is a specialized investment and technology development firm whose activities center on various aspects of the intersection between technology and finance. Headquartered in New York, the D. E. Shaw group encompasses a number of closely related entities with approximately US $19 billion in aggregate capital. Activities range from computer-based quantitative investment management to the development and financing of technology-oriented business ventures, but are tied together by a common focus on the economic implications of technological innovation. Since its organization in 1988, the firm has earned an international reputation for financial innovation and technological leadership, and has been described as "the most intriguing and mysterious force on Wall Street."*

*Fortune, February 5, 1996