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Augustus raises $180M to build clearing bank for stablecoins
Augustus raises $180M at $1B valuation to build an AI-native clearing bank for stablecoins and instant payments, with OCC national bank charter pending.
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Augustus, a startup building a federally chartered clearing bank for fintechs and financial institutions, said it raised $180 million to expand its dollar payment infrastructure as stablecoins reshape global finance.
The fundraising valued the company at $1 billion. Tiger Global led the round with participation from Hummingbird, QED and the founders of Nubank, Ramp, Circle and Deel, the company said in a Tuesday press release.
The investment comes as banks, fintechs and crypto firms race to modernize cross-border payments. While stablecoin issuers grab headlines, Augustus is targeting a less visible piece: correspondent banking.
“We think distribution breaks at the clearing bank layer,” CEO Ferdinand Dabitz told CoinDesk. Legacy clearing systems are “slow, unavailable, take two days to settle and close on the weekends.”
The firm is building what Dabitz called an “AI-native” clearing bank designed around stablecoins, programmable money and always-on settlement. Augustus does not plan to issue its own stablecoin. Instead, it wants to provide the banking infrastructure that lets institutions move money across traditional payment systems and blockchain networks.
The company already handles euro clearing through a regulated entity in Finland and says it processes billions of euros annually. Its customers include global financial institutions, international fintechs, banks and crypto exchanges such as Kraken.