[vortico]

It's likely not a huge profit decision, and the path to profit is likely very indirect. They did it probably because

- it increases its brand awareness/respect for technical customers, potential job candidates, and business partners

- it can teach finance and CS students about basic algorithms used in the industry. In some industries, it is healthier for a company's technical edge to not be so far ahead of competitors.

- the open-source """community""" (whatever that is) can find bugs and extend the software for the benefit of GS. I highly doubt this is a motive, but it's a possibility/daydream.