10+ hours of monthly productivity gains per developer
9-month project completed in 3-4 months with fewer resources
Scaled from 20 to 1,000+ active users in just over a year
Turned non-coders into developers, expanding workforce
CME Group uses Gemini Code Assist to accelerate developer tasks and enable its technical workforce to focus on innovation.
CME Group uses Gemini Code Assist to accelerate developer tasks and enable its technical workforce to focus on innovation.
Driving innovation with Google Cloud
CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, has built an enviable reputation for trust and reliability over its 175-year history. However, driven by a culture of innovation, it isn’t resting on its legacy and is on a transformation journey to move nearly all application assets to Google Cloud.
The ultimate aim of the transformation is to accelerate innovation and product delivery. To achieve this, CME Group wanted to upgrade its technology infrastructure and manage the complexity of migrating from on-premises systems to the cloud while reducing security vulnerabilities.
However, CME Group typically approaches new technology adoption cautiously due to strict regulatory requirements and lengthy internal review processes. The legal protections that Google Cloud provided proved important in CME Group selecting Gemini Code Assist to support its migration.
We’re looking to expand our customer base. We’re looking to launch new products. Using Code Assist is an enabler for us to achieve these business goals.
Arun Kumar Chandrasekaran
Executive Director of Cloud Developer Services, Platform Engineering
A portfolio of AI-powered tools that provide context-aware code suggestions and aid developers across the entire software development lifecycle, Code Assist was launched as a trial run with 20 users in late 2023, and CME Group hasn’t looked back.
“For us, it’s really not a cost-play. It’s a growth and innovation play,” says Arun Kumar Chandrasekaran, executive director of cloud developer services, platform engineering at CME Group. “We’re looking to expand our customer base. We’re looking to launch new products. Using Code Assist is an enabler for us to achieve these business goals.”
Boosting developer efficiency and transforming the workforce
After CME Group expanded its Code Assist users from 20 to 100 in 2024, a controlled study found a 45% increase in pull requests, with 70% of surveyed developers attributing improved productivity to Code Assist. This gave CME Group the confidence to roll it out to 1,000 active users—over half of its development workforce.
Several non-coders have said they have become coders. They were able to learn new technologies, which wouldn't have been possible before, even with tons of training. Code Assist has transformed our workforce, which is a huge win that we didn’t see coming.
Arun Kumar Chandrasekaran
Executive Director of Cloud Developer Services, Platform Engineering
Today, CME Group uses Code Assist across three primary use cases:
- Understanding legacy code during migration, providing documentation for outdated systems where expertise is scarce to tackle technical debt.
- Generating new code and automated tests, helping CME Group shift from manual to automated testing, and reducing cycle times.
- Accelerating code translations and migrations securely.
A compelling example of migration optimization involved securely moving 2,000 sensitive regulatory reports from on-premises Java and Oracle to BigQuery, the autonomous data to AI platform.
The manual migration timeline was nine months, so CME Group turned to Code Assist. “The team completed the migration in only three to four months,” says Chandrasekaran. “They did it in less than half the time, using fewer people.”
With Code Assist handling manual tasks, CME Group has measured efficiency gains of at least 30 minutes per developer per day—10.5 hours every month for each developer. This has allowed them to focus on building innovative capabilities and creating new design solutions that ultimately improve the customer experience.
Using Code Assist has also yielded an unexpected benefit: It’s become a “non-judgmental mentor” for employees learning new skills. “Several non-coders have said they have become coders,” says Chandrasekaran. “They were able to learn new technologies, which wouldn’t have been possible before, even with tons of training. Code Assist has transformed our workforce, which is a huge win that we didn’t see coming.”
Empowering the workforce with Code Assist
Throughout the transformation process, the Google Cloud product teams have been hands-on with CME Group, and the collaboration has led to them presenting together at Google Next. “We have a direct line with the product teams, and the engagement has been awesome,” says Chandrasekaran. “Whether it’s the product teams or the account managers, they’re very, very quick to review our feedback comments and try to incorporate them. It’s a very fruitful partnership.”
Looking ahead, CME Group has deployed Gemini for Google Workspace across its entire organization and is working to increase daily active usage of Code Assist among all programming roles. Its roadmap includes integrating Gemini CLI and Antigravity, along with Gemini Code Assist, in its engineering workflows.
For Chandrasekaran, the transformation extends beyond engineering efficiency. “What we’re seeing on the ground is our people embracing Gemini Code Assist and feeling empowered by it,” he says. “It's amplifying the human potential of what they can do, what they can achieve, and where they can add value.”
What we’re seeing on the ground is our people embracing Gemini Code Assist and feeling empowered by it. It's amplifying the human potential of what they can do.
Arun Kumar Chandrasekaran
Executive Director of Cloud Developer Services, Platform Engineering
CME Group is the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, enabling clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data.
Industry: Financial Services
Location: United States
Products: Google Cloud, Antigravity, BigQuery, Gemini CLI, Gemini Code Assist, Google Workspace with Gemini
