Cari Secures $32.5M in Bank-Backed External Funding for Digital Money Network

Cari, a bank-governed digital money network, has secured $32.5 million in the first tranche of its initial external funding round. The investment, sourced entirely from banking institutions, underscores a strategic shift toward keeping regulated lenders at the center of the evolving digital money ecosystem through shared, programmable infrastructure and tokenized deposits.

What was announced

The $32.5 million funding round was led by Cari’s six Design Partner Banks: First Horizon Bank, Huntington Bank, KeyBank, M&T Bank, Old National Bank, and SouthState Bank. Additional participation came from other regional and community institutions, including Glacier Bank. Keefe, Bruyette & KBW, a Stifel company, acted as the financial advisor for the transaction. This capital injection follows a collaborative period that began in September 2025, during which the Design Partner Banks co-developed the network’s technology, governance, and operational frameworks.

Cari has transitioned from a conceptual framework to a functional end-to-end platform over the past year. Following the launch of a minimum viable product (MVP) on March 31, the company delivered a full product suite on July 31. The current platform provides participating banks with a programmatic interface, a front-end wallet, and an operational portal. These tools allow institutions to manage the full lifecycle of a tokenized deposit, including the mint, transfer, and burn cycles. The network has grown to include more than 30 institutions, with an additional 40 in active discussions. Collectively, this pipeline represents institutions managing more than $10 trillion in combined assets. The new capital is designated to support the transition toward production, accelerate bank onboarding, and expand the range of programmable money use cases available to commercial customers.

"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 companies involved

Cari, also identified as Cari AI, operates as a shared infrastructure provider designed to enable regulated financial institutions to bring money on-chain. The network is governed by its member banks, ensuring that the evolution of digital currency remains within the regulated banking system. The investor group comprises several prominent regional players. First Horizon Bank, led by Chairman, President and CEO Bryan Jordan, and KeyBank, where Eric Girard serves as Head of Embedded Banking & Co-Head of Commercial Product, are among the primary drivers of the network. M&T Bank, represented by Matt McAfee, Head of Enterprise Innovation & Digital Assets, and Old National Bank, where Matt Keen serves as Chief Information Officer, also hold significant roles as Design Partners.

Other key participants include SouthState Bank, with Chris Nichols as President of Institutional Banking, and Huntington Bank. Glacier Bank, a subsidiary of Glacier Bancorp, Inc., led by President and CEO Randy Chesler, represents the growing interest from community-focused institutions. The transaction was facilitated by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a specialist investment bank under the Stifel umbrella that focuses on the financial services sector.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has maintained a consistent focus on the modernization of banking infrastructure and the rise of governed digital systems. We recently covered how OutSystems Launches Governed Agentic Loan Applications to Modernize Banking, highlighting the industry's move toward automated, regulated workflows. Our reporting on the U.S. Faster Payments Council Unveils New Strategy for Cross-Border Interoperability further detailed the systemic push for always-on settlement capabilities. Additionally, the launch of Governed Agentic Systems for Consumer Lending and the news that Citi to Acquire Kard illustrate a broader trend of traditional institutions acquiring or building digital-first capabilities to maintain their competitive edge in a shifting landscape.

What this means

This announcement moves the needle for regional banks that have long been under pressure from both fintech disruptors and Tier 1 global banks with massive R&D budgets. By pooling resources into a shared, bank-governed network, these mid-size institutions are effectively commoditizing the underlying blockchain infrastructure, allowing them to compete on service rather than technical spend. This move directly challenges the dominance of non-bank stablecoin issuers by offering a regulated, FDIC-insured alternative for programmable money. The industry must now ask whether this collaborative model can achieve the liquidity and interoperability required to become a true market standard, or if it will remain a walled garden for its member institutions.