Cari Raises Over $30 Million in First Tranche of Initial Funding Round, Backed Entirely by Banks

All six Design Partner Banks among investors supporting Cari's next phase of growth

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cari, the bank-governed digital money network, today announced it has raised $32.5 million in the first tranche of its initial external funding round, with the investment coming entirely from banks. The funding reflects support from Cari’s Design Partner Banks and other banking institutions as Cari continues to develop and scale the Network. Cari is building shared infrastructure that enables banks to bring money on-chain and offer faster, always-on, and programmable financial services while keeping regulated financial institutions at the center of the customer relationship.

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—as well as other banks, including Glacier Bank. The participation of institutions like Glacier Bank reflects growing confidence among regional and community banks in Cari’s approach to building the next generation of digital money infrastructure. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel Company, served as financial advisor to Cari on the transaction.

The investment marks the latest step in a partnership that began in September 2025, when Cari began working with its six Design Partner Banks around a shared goal of enabling regional, mid-size, and community banks to participate fully in the next generation of digital money infrastructure. The Design Partner Banks have been part of that work ever since, co-developing the Network with Cari and helping shape its technology, operations, governance, and use cases. Their investment now extends that partnership into Cari’s next phase of growth.

“There is no stronger endorsement of what we are building than having the banks we are building it with choose to invest alongside us,” said Gene Ludwig, founder and CEO of Cari. “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.”

Over the past year, Cari has moved from concept to an end-to-end platform, building on its first minimum viable product (MVP) launched on March 31 with a full product suite delivered on July 31. The platform now includes the programmatic capabilities, front-end wallet interface, and operational portal needed to enable banks participating in the pilot to complete the mint, transfer, and burn cycle for a tokenized deposit.

Cari also continues to expand participation. In total, the number of banks joining the Network has grown to more than 30 institutions, with more than 40 in active discussions to join, altogether representing a total network and pipeline of institutions with more than $10 trillion in combined assets.

The new capital will support Cari as it moves toward production and scales the Network, accelerating bank onboarding and integration, expanding the products and programmable money use cases available to participating institutions and their customers, and advancing the capabilities needed to support Participant Banks’ digital asset strategy at scale.

Bryan Jordan, Chairman, President and CEO of First Horizon Bank, comments: “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.”

Eric Girard, Head of Embedded Banking & Co-Head of Commercial Product at KeyBank, comments: "We believe banks should help lead the next chapter of how money moves. We see shared infrastructure as a way to bring emerging technology to clients responsibly — keeping money within the regulated banking system and the protections our customers rely on. It lets us innovate with confidence while staying focused on the relationships and service that define our institution."

Matt McAfee, Head of Enterprise Innovation & Digital Assets, M&T Bank, comments: “At M&T Bank, we believe Cari’s shared infrastructure gives banks a practical path to deliver the benefits of tokenized deposits through a platform purpose-built for broad bank participation. By helping broaden access to this technology through a bank-focused platform, Cari can extend the benefits of a faster, always-on digital currency to more institutions and the customers they serve.”

Matt Keen, Chief Information Officer, Old National Bank, comments: "As a design partner, we work with Cari alongside a number of peer financial institutions to help shape a network for digital money movement that works for banks, clients and the broader financial system. We view tokenization as a potential evolution of financial infrastructure that, if designed thoughtfully, can enhance the value of deposits held at regulated, insured financial institutions. That’s why we remain actively engaged with Cari and our fellow design partners to innovate, while also preserving the trust, safeguards, and relationships at the heart of banking.”

Chris Nichols, President, Institutional Banking, SouthState Bank, N.A., comments: “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.”

Randy Chesler, President and CEO, Glacier Bancorp, Inc., comments: “Main Street businesses and consumers drive the U.S. economy, and community and regional banks like Glacier provide the financing and services that support business expansion, job creation, and homeownership. The best-in-class Cari Network brings those customers into the next era of bank-led digital money movement built on traditional bank deposits in digital form.”

About Cari

The Cari Network is the first tokenized deposit network connecting chartered banks on a shared ledger, delivering instant, 24/7/365 settlement without leaving the regulatory perimeter. Built on a permissioned Layer-2 blockchain anchored to Ethereum, it brings commercial deposits on-chain while preserving the safety and benefits of traditional bank money. The result is an interoperable payment rail that pairs blockchain speed and programmability with the trust and scale of the banking system. Led by banking, financial regulation, and digital asset experts—and co-developed and governed with banks—the Cari Network is powering the next shift of institutional money movement: one that’s instant, trusted, and always-on.

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