Cari has raised $32.5 million in the first tranche of its initial external funding round, with all of the capital coming from banks.
Investors include all six of Cari’s Design Partner Banks: First Horizon Bank, Huntington Bank, KeyBank, M&T Bank, Old National Bank and SouthState Bank, along with other institutions including Glacier Bank.
Cari is developing a bank-governed digital money network that allows regulated financial institutions to bring deposits on-chain and provide programmable, always-on financial services.
The company’s relationship with its Design Partner Banks began in September 2025, with the institutions helping co-develop the network’s technology, operations, governance and use cases.
Cari launched its first minimum viable product on March 31 and delivered a full product suite on July 31.
The platform now includes programmable capabilities, a front-end wallet and an operational portal allowing participating banks to complete the mint, transfer and burn cycle for tokenized deposits.
More than 30 banks have joined the network, while another 40-plus institutions are in active discussions to participate. Together, the current network and pipeline represent institutions with more than $10 trillion in combined assets.
Cari plans to use the funding to move the network toward production, accelerate bank onboarding and integrations, develop additional programmable money products and use cases and expand capabilities supporting banks’ digital asset strategies.
The Cari Network operates as a permissioned Layer-2 blockchain anchored to Ethereum and is designed to provide instant, 24/7 settlement while keeping deposits within the regulated banking system.
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel company, served as financial advisor to Cari on the financing.
KEY QUOTES:
“There is no stronger endorsement of what we are building than having the banks we are building it with choose to invest alongside us. From day one, we’ve believed that banks should be at the center of how digital money evolves, not adapting to infrastructure built without their input or influence. The fact that our first outside capital comes entirely from banks speaks volumes about what we’ve accomplished together and the opportunity ahead.”
Gene Ludwig, Founder and CEO of Cari
“The benefits of tokenized deposits should be available to all clients. Cari’s shared infrastructure gives us access to capabilities that would be difficult and costly to develop independently, while allowing us to continue competing on the relationships and service that differentiate First Horizon. We see a significant opportunity for our clients as the network continues to grow.”
Bryan Jordan, Chairman, President and CEO of First Horizon Bank
“The future of digital money should be shaped by banks, not built around them. Cari gives banks a practical, collaborative way to bring faster settlement, programmability, and always-on treasury capabilities to commercial customers while preserving the trust, safeguards, and relationships that are fundamental to banking.”
Chris Nichols, President of Institutional Banking at SouthState Bank
