Jane Street posts 'Connected Cities' puzzle

Cracking The Cryptic published a sponsored video from Jane Street on May 14 titled “Connected Cities: A MONSTER Puzzle From Jane Street,” adding a new installment to the trading firm’s long-running public puzzle program. (youtube.com) The YouTube listing said the video was posted on May 14, 2026, and showed 1,894 views about two hours after publication. The description thanked Jane Street for sponsoring the video and directed viewers to play the puzzle through a Jane Street link. Jane Street says on its website that it posts new puzzles “every month or two” as part of a broader culture of problem solving. ### Where did the puzzle appear, and who published it? Cracking The Cryptic, a puzzle-focused YouTube channel with 694,000 subscribers, hosted the new video on May 14. The listing identifies the video as “Connected Cities: A MONSTER Puzzle From Jane Street” and labels it as that day’s puzzle. The description says Jane Street sponsored the episode and includes a link to the puzzle itself. Jane Street runs a dedicated puzzles page on its website. The firm says the page features number puzzles, logic puzzles and puzzles “with and without clear answers,” and describes puzzling as part of its day-to-day work. (youtube.com) ### What does Jane Street say puzzles are for? Jane Street says the puzzle page reflects skills it sees as central to its business. On the same page, the firm says “creative problem solving, or puzzling” is among the skills necessary for it to stay successful in financial markets. The company also says identifying new problems and developing novel ways to solve them is intrinsic to its work. (youtube.com) Jane Street describes itself elsewhere on its site as a quantitative trading firm and liquidity provider with a focus on technology and collaborative problem solving. On its “Who We Are” page, the firm says it emphasizes edge cases and tail risks that others overlook. (janestreet.com) ### What else was attached to the video besides the puzzle? The YouTube description linked the video to recruiting. The listing tells viewers to “Learn and apply to Jane Street’s programs – including WiSE,” and points to a 2026 WiSE link in the description. (janestreet.com) Jane Street’s homepage says candidates can join through internships, events and multi-day programs, and frames those offerings around “real-world challenges” and a “supportive community.” The company’s recruiting pages also feature employee videos across departments and offices. (janestreet.com) ### How does this fit into Jane Street’s broader public-facing puzzle effort? Jane Street says its main puzzles page is updated every month or two and invites readers to submit solutions. The company also maintains an archive of older puzzles and a separate current-puzzle page. As of May 14, the current puzzle listed on Jane Street’s site was a different challenge titled “Arch Madness,” indicating the “Connected Cities” video sits alongside, rather than replaces, the firm’s standing monthly puzzle cycle. (youtube.com) The firm has also used puzzles in other outreach efforts. (janestreet.com) Jane Street’s site includes special puzzle pages tied to programs such as AMP and AIME, alongside its general archive. ### Where can readers find the next step? The May 14 YouTube listing says viewers can play “Connected Cities” through the Jane Street link in the description, while Jane Street’s website says new puzzles continue to appear on its puzzles page every month or two. Cracking The Cryptic’s channel page and Jane Street’s puzzle archive remain the two named places where readers can follow subsequent releases. (janestreet.com) (youtube.com) (janestreet.com)