Lyte, a robotics and AI startup founded by former Apple Face ID engineers, has raised approximately $165 million in new funding, valuing the company at $1.6 billion. This represents more than triple its previous valuation. Maverick Silicon led the funding round, announced on Wednesday, with participation from existing investors including Fidelity Management & Research, Atreides Management, Key1 Capital and Ora Global. Fidelity had led the company's previous Series B round. Since its founding in 2021, Lyte has raised a total of $272 million. The startup develops technology to enhance robots' visual capabilities.

Circle has raised $440 million in what the company calls the largest crypto funding round in history. The financing ranks among the top 10 private fintech investments and will support Circle's growth, organisational development, and market expansion. Investors include Fidelity Management and Research Company, Marshall Wace, Willett Advisors, Digital Currency Group, FTX, Breyer Capital, and others. Circle provides payments and treasury infrastructure for internet businesses, enabling them to use stablecoins and public blockchains. The company's platform has processed over 100 million transactions for more than 10 million retail customers and 1,000 businesses. Circle co-develops USD Coin (USDC) with Coinbase. USDC has reached $22 billion in circulation and supported over $615 billion in transactions over the past year, growing 436% in 2021.

BofA, Citi, Goldman Sachs among 21 institutions planning stablecoin launch. The planned venture will initially focus on a US dollar stablecoin before expanding to other G7 currencies, with a euro-denominated offering next. A group of 21 major financial institutions plans to establish a new company to develop and issue stablecoins, offering another sign of traditional finance's push into digital dollars as regulatory frameworks take shape. The consortium, announced Tuesday, includes Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Santander, MUFG and Fidelity Investments. It plans to launch a US dollar-denominated stablecoin in the first half of 2027, subject to the company's formation and other conditions. According to the announcement, the group ultimately plans to expand into stablecoins denominated in other G7 currencies, with a euro offering identified as its next priority. The consortium said its stablecoin will target wholesale, institutional and retail markets, including use cases such as cross-border payments and digital asset settlement. The initiative is intended to comply with both the US GENIUS Act and the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), where applicable. The venture builds on an initiative announced last October, when an initial group of 10 banks said they were exploring a 1:1 reserve-backed form of digital money available on public blockchains. The consortium has since more than doubled in size, bringing together financial institutions across North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Banks deepen push into stablecoins. The move comes as stablecoins have grown considerably in recent years, with the passage of the GENIUS Act and MiCA creating clearer regulatory pathways for adoption. Elsewhere, Singapore is considering allowing jointly issued cross-border stablecoins into its regulatory regime, according to a Tuesday announcement, revisiting its earlier decision to restrict the framework to domestic issuance. Institutional interest was already taking shape in early 2025, when a Fireblocks survey of 295 executives found that 90% of respondents were using or planning to use stablecoins. Since then, major financial institutions have expanded their presence in the sector. Societe Generale's crypto subsidiary has issued euro- and dollar-denominated stablecoins, while Fidelity recently launched its US dollar-pegged FIDD stablecoin. SocGens crypto subsidiary has issued euro- and dollar-denominated stablecoins, as has Fidelity, with its FIDD US dollar-denominated entry. Last month, Standard Chartered backed a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin venture.