Theo, a novel network connecting onchain capital to global markets via institutional-grade trading infrastructure, announced it has raised $20 million in funding. This funding round was jointly led by Hack VC and Anthos Capital, with participation from numerous other venture capital firms, including Manifold Trading, Mirana Ventures, Metalayer Ventures, Flowdesk, SCB, MEXC, Amber Group, and Selini Capital, and angels from a range of leading TradFi trading firms, including Citadel, Jane Street, HRT, Optiver, IMC, 5 Rings, and JPMorgan.
Launched by former quant traders; Abhi Pingle, Arijit Pingle, and TK Kwon who honed their expertise at elite trading firms Optiver and IMC Trading, Theo was born from a recognition: while onchain capital is growing exponentially, access to traditional and institutional-grade strategies remain out of reach for everyday users. And Theo aims to bridge this gap, delivering the sophistication of Wall Street to the retail investor.
Theo’s platform offers access to institutional-grade trading infrastructure that supports a wide range of strategies traditionally reserved for hedge funds and proprietary trading firms. At its core, Theo runs a custom low-latency validator set that ensures custodial guarantees for users, while enforcing rule-based access for institutional counterparties like market makers and trading firms.
These validators run real-time execution across centralized exchanges (CEXes) and decentralized protocols (DeFi), while also enforcing margin requirements and maintaining system-wide overcollateralization. And retail users can access these strategies via a simple deposit into strategy-specific vaults without the complexity of multiple exchange accounts or algorithmic trading knowledge.
Theo strategies enable anyone to passively access professional trading strategies by simply depositing assets. The platform handles execution, risk, and dynamic capital allocation across approaches like high-frequency arbitrage, cross-chain funding rate optimization, and advanced hedging.
Theo’s infrastructure dynamically reallocates capital to maintain performance, where single-strategy platforms often see returns diminish. And this flexibility ensures greater stability and performance for retail participants.
For trading firms, Theo enables superior capital efficiency. By utilizing user capital through vault participation, firms can cross-margin strategy positions against their proprietary trades—unlocking alpha while users share in the upside. And this creates a mutually beneficial ecosystem: institutional-grade strategies, retail accessibility, and shared value creation.
Theo’s architecture is uniquely positioned to connect traditional and crypto-native financial venues. As the industry evolves, Theo’s role as an infrastructure layer will be essential in bridging legacy markets and the onchain economy, democratizing access to advanced financial tools worldwide.
KEY QUOTE:
“Today’s crypto markets are fragmented and inefficient, preventing institutions and everyday users alike from accessing the full promise of global, permissionless finance. Theo solves this by delivering robust, scalable infrastructure that seamlessly connects large traditional players and retail participants on-chain—unlocking new levels of capital efficiency.”
Abhi Pingle, co-founder of Theo
