Key facts
- Augustus raised $180 million in a Series B funding round.
- The company's valuation reached $1 billion.
- Tiger Global led the investment round.
- Augustus is building an AI-native clearing bank for stablecoin payments.
- The firm has conditional OCC approval for a U.S. national bank charter.
- Augustus aims to bridge traditional and blockchain payment networks.
Augustus, a startup developing an AI-native, federally chartered clearing bank, has secured $180 million in a Series B funding round that values the company at $1 billion. The round was led by Tiger Global, with participation from Hummingbird, QED, and notable investors including founders of Nubank, Ramp, Circle, and Deel, as well as former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan.
The company aims to modernize financial infrastructure for cross-border payments by creating an 'always-on,' programmable settlement system that connects traditional banking rails with blockchain networks. Augustus is not issuing its own stablecoin but rather providing the underlying banking infrastructure for financial institutions to transact using stablecoins. Its platform supports operating and FBO accounts, settling via Swift, ACH, SEPA, and stablecoins, powered by a proprietary core banking system called Marble.
Augustus has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a U.S. national bank charter, positioning its infrastructure as an upgrade for mainstream institutions. The firm already operates regulated euro clearing services in Finland, processing billions of euros annually for clients including international fintechs, banks, and crypto firms like Kraken. CEO Ferdinand Dabitz stated the goal is to improve dollar distribution, which he described as fundamentally broken by legacy systems that are slow and unavailable on weekends.
The company frames its mission partly as a geopolitical strategy to counter challenges to Western currency dominance, such as China's digital yuan and Russia's proposed BRICS Pay. Augustus plans to use the new capital to expand its services into markets in Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, where dollar access is currently limited.