Cari raises $32.5 million in bank-led funding to scale tokenized deposit network. September 2, 2026 Cari, a bank-governed digital money network, has raised $32.5 million in the first tranche of its initial external funding round, with the investment coming entirely from banks. The funding represents growing support from financial institutions for Cari's approach to building shared infrastructure for tokenized deposits and on-chain banking. The financing comes as Cari prepares to move toward production and expand its network, which is designed to allow banks to bring money on-chain while maintaining regulated financial institutions at the center of customer relationships. Banks back Cari's Digital money infrastructure. Cari's latest funding round includes investments from all six of its Design Partner Banks: First Horizon Bank, Huntington Bank, KeyBank, M&T Bank, Old National Bank, and SouthState Bank. Other banking institutions also participated, including Glacier Bank, highlighting increasing interest among regional and community banks in bank-led digital money infrastructure. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel company, served as financial advisor to Cari for the transaction. Gene Ludwig, founder and CEO of Cari, said the fact that the company's first external capital came entirely from banks demonstrates their confidence in the network. "There is no stronger endorsement of what we are building than having the banks we are building it with choose to invest alongside us." According to Ludwig, Cari's objective is to ensure that banks have an active role in shaping the future of digital money rather than simply adapting to infrastructure developed without their participation. Cari Network focuses on tokenized deposits. Cari is developing shared infrastructure that enables banks to bring deposits on-chain and provide financial services that are faster, programmable and available 24/7/365. Unlike digital money systems designed outside traditional banking infrastructure, Cari is focused on keeping regulated banks at the center of the ecosystem. The network uses a permissioned Layer-2 blockchain anchored to Ethereum. Its goal is to combine blockchain-based settlement and programmability with the established safeguards, relationships and infrastructure of the banking system. At the center of the platform is the concept of tokenized deposits - commercial bank deposits represented in digital form on a shared ledger. Cari says its platform enables participating banks to complete the full mint, transfer and burn cycle for tokenized deposits. From MVP to full product platform. Cari has rapidly expanded its technology since beginning its collaboration with its Design Partner Banks. The company launched its first minimum viable product (MVP) on March 31, followed by delivery of its full product suite on July 31. The platform now includes several components intended to support participating banks, including: * Programmatic money capabilities * A front-end wallet interface * An operational portal * Infrastructure for minting tokenized deposits * Token transfer functionality * Token burning capabilities * Support for bank participation in digital asset strategies This development represents a move from experimentation toward a broader production-ready infrastructure for institutional digital money. Cari Network expands to more than 30 banks. Bank participation has also grown significantly. Cari says more than 30 banks have now joined the Network, while more than 40 additional institutions are in active discussions about joining. Collectively, the institutions represented across Cari's existing network and pipeline have more than $10 trillion in combined assets. The scale of the participating institutions could become important as tokenized deposits move from pilot projects toward real-world applications in payments, treasury management and institutional financial services. New funding to accelerate network expansion. Cari plans to use the new $32.5 million investment to accelerate its transition toward production and expand the Network. Key areas of investment include: * Bank onboarding and integration Cari plans to bring more financial institutions onto its shared infrastructure. * Programmable money use cases The company intends to expand the products and financial applications available through tokenized deposits. * Digital asset infrastructure Additional capabilities will support banks developing and implementing digital asset strategies. * Network scalability Funding will help Cari strengthen the technology and operational infrastructure needed to support a growing number of participating banks. Why banks are investing in tokenized deposits. The involvement of banks is particularly significant because tokenized deposits are positioned as a way to bring some of the benefits of blockchain technology into the existing banking system. Traditional bank deposits already operate within a highly regulated framework. Tokenization can potentially add capabilities such as: * Faster settlement * 24/7 transaction availability * Programmable payments * Automated financial workflows * Improved interoperability * Digital asset integration For banks, shared infrastructure could also reduce the cost and complexity of developing these capabilities independently. Bryan Jordan, Chairman, President and CEO of First Horizon Bank, said shared infrastructure could give banks access to capabilities that would otherwise be difficult and expensive to develop independently, while allowing them to continue competing through customer relationships and service. Design Partner Banks help shape the Network. Cari's relationship with its six Design Partner Banks began in September 2025. Since then, the banks have worked with Cari on the development of the Network, contributing to areas including: * Technology * Operations * Governance * Product development * Digital money use cases The partnership is designed around the idea that banks should participate in shaping the infrastructure rather than simply becoming users of a system built by third parties. KeyBank's Eric Girard said shared infrastructure can allow banks to adopt emerging technology while keeping money within the regulated banking system and maintaining the protections customers depend on. M&T Bank's Matt McAfee similarly described Cari as a potential practical path for banks to deliver the benefits of tokenized deposits through infrastructure designed for broad bank participation. Regional and community banks join the digital money push. The participation of institutions such as Glacier Bank is another important development for Cari. Digital asset infrastructure has often been associated with large financial institutions and technology companies. Cari is instead attempting to create a network that can accommodate regional, mid-size and community banks. Randy Chesler, President and CEO of Glacier Bancorp, said the Cari Network could help Main Street businesses and consumers participate in the next generation of digital money movement while continuing to rely on traditional bank deposits. This bank-focused model could help smaller financial institutions access digital money capabilities without having to build an entire blockchain-based infrastructure stack independently. Cari's Vision for the Future of Banking. Cari's broader objective is to create an interoperable payment rail that combines the speed and programmability of blockchain technology with the trust and scale of regulated banking. The company describes its Network as a tokenized deposit network connecting chartered banks through a shared ledger. By keeping the system within the regulatory perimeter, Cari aims to preserve the role of banks in holding deposits, serving customers and managing financial relationships while adding blockchain-enabled functionality. The approach could become increasingly relevant as banks explore tokenization, stablecoins, digital assets and programmable financial infrastructure. What the $32.5 million funding means for Cari. The latest funding gives Cari additional capital to move beyond its development and pilot phase and toward broader commercial deployment. More importantly, the fact that the funding came entirely from banks gives the company a distinctive signal of market validation. Its investors are not simply financial backers - they are also potential users and participants in the network. With more than 30 banks already participating and more than 40 additional institutions reportedly in discussions, Cari is positioning itself as a potential shared infrastructure layer for the emerging bank-led digital money ecosystem. As tokenized deposits continue to develop, the ability to provide instant settlement, programmable money and always-on financial services while retaining the existing banking relationship could become an increasingly important part of the financial infrastructure landscape. Key takeaways. * Cari has raised $32.5 million in the first tranche of its initial external funding round. * The investment came entirely from banks. * All six of Cari's Design Partner Banks participated. * More than 30 banks have joined the Network. * More than 40 additional institutions are in active discussions. * The institutions represented across the network and pipeline have more than $10 trillion in combined assets. * Cari is focused on tokenized deposits, programmable money and 24/7/365 settlement. * Its permissioned Layer-2 blockchain is anchored to Ethereum. * The new funding will support production, bank onboarding, integrations and expansion of digital money use cases. * Cari's strategy centers on keeping regulated banks at the heart of digital money infrastructure.