BlockTower, Centrifuge, and J.P. Morgan executives raise from Blockchain Capital, Janus Henderson, and Apollo to transform the process of loan creation and distribution

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2026 — Tare announced today the completion of $13.25 million in seed financing to launch a unified system for originating, managing, and financing credit assets.

The financing was led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Strobe Ventures, Janus Henderson, Apollo Global Management, The Venture Dept, Neoclassic Capital, and the Avalanche Foundation. Additional support came from Stani Kulechov, CEO of Aave; Phil Potter, co-founder of Tether; Henri Stern, CEO of Privy; Nik Milanovic, CEO of This Week in Fintech and Stablecon; and Mark Phillips, co-founder of Steakhouse Financial, among others.

Asset Backed Finance (ABF) is a pillar of private credit portfolios, with the U.S. TAM (total addressable market) alone estimated at between $6 to $8 trillion dollars. Investors rely on timely and accurate data to manage risk, yet recent AIMA studies found that 69% of asset managers lack sufficient data management capabilities. The result is slower execution and higher operating costs, limiting how efficiently capital can move through the credit market.

Tare connects asset originators and investors through a shared asset ledger, enabling buyers and sellers to source opportunities and transact with greater control and trust. Built on Avalanche, the Tare network is managed through three vertically-integrated applications:

• Loan Origination System, a modern decisioning engine that writes standardized loan data into the shared asset registry
• Loan Management System, an end-to-end servicing and securitization engine to allocate and settle funds on an ongoing basis, and
• Digital Investor Hub, a first-of-its-kind platform for investors to source, analyze, purchase, monitor, and sell credit assets

“Credit is one of the largest markets in the world, yet the infrastructure supporting it remains fragmented and inefficient,” said Kevin Miao, CEO of Tare. “Tare closes that gap by bringing origination, servicing, and capital markets into one unified system. Credit can move faster and with less friction when lenders and investors work from the same information, reducing the layers between the asset and the capital financing it.”

Designed to be a developer-friendly, self-serve experience for capital markets participants, Tare’s platform aims to drive operational efficiencies that lower costs and fees for borrowers. Tare is also putting the platform to work in its own business: Tare Credit LLC, a licensed consumer lending subsidiary that will begin originating unsecured personal loans to U.S. borrowers this month.

“Private credit has grown enormously, but the data and settlement infrastructure behind it hasn’t kept up,” said Nick Cherney, Head of Innovation at Janus Henderson. “Currently, investors are paying the price in terms of complexity, lack of transparency, and lower yields. We invested in Tare because the team deeply understands the problems in the existing markets, how to solve those problems with superior technology, and has a track record of execution from global financial institutions to cutting-edge blockchain innovation. We believe Tare can finally implement the promise of blockchains to drive better outcomes for all borrowers, originators, and investors”

Tare was founded by Kevin Miao, Keerthi Moudgal, and Lucas Vogelsang, who bring experience across private credit, financial infrastructure, and digital assets. Miao previously ran a $2 billion private credit portfolio at BlockTower, Moudgal led product development at J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys, and Vogelsang founded Centrifuge, the pioneer of tokenized securitizations.

“Tare is going after a generational opportunity to modernize how loan originators and investors connect, automating complex capital markets around a single source of truth,” said Aleks Larsen, General Partner at Blockchain Capital. “With deep experience tackling hard problems both in private credit and onchain finance, the Tare team is uniquely suited for this mission, and we’re thrilled to work closely with them as they drive towards a far more efficient and transparent credit system.”

The new capital will support Tare’s continued product development and hiring, as the company expands the platform to more lenders and institutional investors.

Lenders and investors interested in originating, financing, or managing credit through Tare can contact [email protected].

Open positions are listed at tare.ai/careers.

About Tare
Tare connects loan originators and investors through an end-to-end suite of tokenization applications, dramatically lowering the cost and complexity for credit capital markets operations. Tare’s Loan Origination System, Loan Management System, and Investor Hub connect stakeholders across the entire loan lifecycle. Tare’s infrastructure is being proven in regulated financial markets through its subsidiary, Tare Credit LLC, a licensed U.S. lender that originates unsecured personal loans. Tare’s vision is to build the next-generation credit exchange, returning value to borrowers and investors alike through lower costs and higher risk-adjusted returns.

SOURCE Tare

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 16, 2026 — CGF Holdings announced a strategic investment in MediPro Direct, a nationwide provider of mobile diagnostics services. The partnership brings the Grant family back into the diagnostics services space, an industry in which the family has deep historical roots, and positions MediPro Direct for its next phase of growth.

Founded in 2006, MediPro Direct connects clinical trial sponsors, life insurers, pharmaceutical companies, specialty labs, senior care, and healthcare organizations with a nationwide network of more than 15,000 background-checked, experienced mobile medical providers. Through its proprietary Quality First rating system and innovative case management software, MediPro Direct coordinates specimen collection, health screenings, paramedical examinations, and related services across all 50 states, with a focus on reliability, professionalism, and exceptional patient experience. The company’s stated mission centers on connecting essential medical and genetic services with the most efficient, professional delivery network in the industry, in service of improving outcomes for the millions of patients and organizations it touches.

“We’re excited to be back in the diagnostics services space,” said Joey Grant, Managing Partner of CGF Holdings. “Our family has a long history in this industry, and MediPro Direct’s team, network, technology, and reputation for exceptional quality make it exactly the kind of platform we want to partner with.”

“The CGF team brings operating experience and a strategic understanding of this industry to the table,” said Ryan Janeway, CEO of MediPro Direct. “With the rising demand for home-based services, the mobile market is growing rapidly. This partnership will help MediPro expand its provider network, enhance its technology platform, and pursue new partnerships across the clinical trial, life insurance, specialty lab, senior care, and wellness markets it serves today.”

www.cgfholdingsco.com

Media Contact:
Kendall Thurlow
[email protected]

SOURCE CGF Holdings

Financing supports Lioness’s growth while advancing a commitment to women-led, better-for-you CPG companies

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2026 — JPalmer Collective (JPC), an asset-based lending (ABL) firm focused on women-led and high-growth consumer brands, today announced the closing of a $1 million asset-based line of credit line – expandable up to $5 million – to Lioness, the first functional fruit snack made specifically for women, with functional ingredients designed to support every part of her day. The partnership brings together two women-led companies, and both leaders point to that shared perspective as central to why the deal came together. The facility funds working capital, debt reduction and growth initiatives.

Transaction at a Glance

• Borrower: Lioness
• Lender: JPalmer Collective
• Facility: $1 million asset-based line of credit, expandable up to $5 million
• Use of proceeds: Working capital, debt reduction and growth initiatives
• Sector: Food and beverage
• Strategic focus: Women-led, better-for-you CPG
• Leadership: Jennifer Palmer, founder and CEO of JPalmer Collective, and Nicky Jackson, founder and CEO of Lioness

Now in Target and Sprouts Stores

Lioness was founded by Nicky Jackson, a former senior executive at Kellogg’s and PepsiCo and founder of RangeMe, the platform that transformed how CPG brands are discovered by retailers across the U.S. Lioness launched in June 2026, in more than 1,900 Target locations and online at Target.com, Amazon, and TikTok Shop, and launched in 330 Sprouts stores in August. The single-serve functional fruit snacks include Energy, PickMeUp, and Calm, designed to serve specific moments in a woman’s typical day.

Why JPC Backed Lioness

“Our business is deeply relationship focused. Yes, we look at balance sheets and projections, but just as important, we have to believe in the team and genuinely want to work alongside them. Nicky is a rock star, an experienced entrepreneur who knows how to build a brand, a woman and mom passionate about creating something women need, and a founder who saw a gap in the market and is solving it,” said Jennifer Palmer, founder and CEO of JPalmer Collective. “We got in early with Lioness, right as it was hitting shelves, and we broke a few of our own rules to make it happen. This deal didn’t fit into our traditional box. But when we see something special, we trust our gut and figure out how to make it happen. Having spent years working with female founders and CPG companies, I knew immediately Lioness was one of those moments, and we got creative so we could be the partner that helps Nicky take the brand as far as it can go.”

Why Lioness Chose an Asset-Based Line of Credit

Launching in 1,900+ Target stores and 330 Sprouts locations demonstrates the product’s viability and demand, but it also increases the need for working capital to fulfil orders.

“While the amount of venture capital you can raise can seem tantalizing, there are trade-offs: the time it takes, the control you give up, and even the risk of raising more than you need. I knew I wanted to retain control of Lioness and have access to flexible financing that would support our growth and scale with us,” said Nicky Jackson, founder and CEO. “JPC’s focus on supporting women founders paired with their deep knowledge of the better-for-you CPG space sealed the deal. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jenn and I were connected three separate times by people in our network who all suggested we had similar philosophies and should work together.”

JPC’s Commitment to Women-Led CPG Brands

Since inception, JPC has committed to at least 50% of its portfolio being women-owned and -led businesses. The firm has a specific focus on natural products and CPG companies.

About JPalmer Collective

JPalmer Collective is a specialty asset-based lending (ABL) firm providing customized commercial finance solutions to high-growth companies that fall outside traditional lender criteria. Founded in 2023 by Jennifer Palmer, a commercial finance veteran, former president of the Secured Finance Network (SFNet), and an honoree on Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500 list, JPC delivers white-glove service and a consultative approach to women-led businesses, high-growth consumer brands, and companies focused on conscious consumers, sustainability, and inclusivity. The firm is a leading voice on women’s access to capital and on financing strategies for emerging consumer, food, and beverage brands.

Learn more at jpalmercollective.com.

About Lioness

Lioness™ is the first functional fruit snack made for women, with functional ingredients designed to support every part of her day.

Learn more at dailylioness.com.

SOURCE JPalmer Collective

–A Chinese Startup Enters the Global RSI Race.

BEIJING, Sept. 16, 2026 — Apex Intelligence has completed its angel and angel-plus funding rounds, raising nearly US$50 Million in total. The angel round was co-led by IDG Capital,LinkX Capital and XtalPi, with participation from Decent Capital, SEE Fund, Monad Ventures, and Winsoul Capital. The angel-plus round was co-led by Zhongguancun Science City Fund, SCGC, and Shanghai Engine Fund.

Founded in June 2026, Apex Intelligence is building the next generation of self-evolving foundation models. Self-evolution refers to Recursive Self-Improvement (RSI), or models improving themselves. With a focus on scientific research and discovery, the company aims to move AI from an assistive tool to a co-researcher, and from accelerating what is known to discovering what is unknown.

Apex Intelligence will also visit leading North American universities—including Harvard University, MIT, Yale University, and Boston University—from September 17 to September 23 to meet with students, researchers, and academic research groups for talent recruitment and research collaboration.

AI’s Next Frontier Is Research

Centuries of technological progress have unfolded through successive S-curves opened up by scientific breakthroughs. Each S-curve spans three stages: scientific breakthroughs, research discoveries, and engineering implementation. Most AI today remains focused on engineering and execution, while the scarce breakthroughs in science and research still depend heavily on humans.

Apex Intelligence believes the next technological revolution will center on AI becoming a co-researcher and a native research engine—one that goes beyond accelerating familiar work to actively discovering unexplored directions. Research is the core driving force behind RSI.

Building AI Researchers, Not Just AI Assistants

Apex Intelligence believes that advancing AI’s general intelligence in R&D requires model training. Specifically, through mid-training and post-training, the company guides models to generate creative ideas and autonomously carry out the entire cycle of self-improvement: hypothesis, experimentation, validation, and iteration.

Over the long term, Apex Intelligence aims to build self-evolving foundation models whose collective research capabilities match, and progressively surpass, those of 100,000 top-tier AI scientists spanning disciplines, forming a scalable network of AI researchers. This is a long-term vision and goal, and the company is working toward it step by step. It represents a fundamental shift in the R&D paradigm, rather than an incremental improvement in efficiency. Potential applications span any field where R&D workflows can be structured and outcomes measured, including chip design and simulation, molecular R&D, and quantitative strategy iteration. These fields share three characteristics: high value, intensive demands on human expertise, and costly trial and error.

Apex Intelligence’s Self-Evolving AI System Approaches Capabilities of Leading Human Researchers

Apex Intelligence’s self-evolving AI system has delivered encouraging results in both AI for AI and AI for Math.

AI for AI

The system has autonomously produced research of a standard suitable for acceptance at leading AI conferences, demonstrating capabilities comparable to those of an AI PhD student. It has also autonomously achieved more accurate decisions before training, better strategies during training, and optimizations to the underlying GPU kernels. Across SimpleTES, NanoChat Autoresearch, GPUMode TriMul, and MLS-Bench, it has set new records or approached the best publicly reported results, outperforming solutions developed by or with contributions from Recursive Superintelligence, Tencent Hunyuan, Stanford, NVIDIA, and other organizations.

AI for Math

The AI system has produced a complete proof of the majorization conjecture, which had remained open for more than three decades, and achieved multiple breakthroughs in optimization theory, geometric topology, and other areas.

Apex Intelligence was founded by Yongchao Chen, an assistant professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Artificial Intelligence. His undergraduate and graduate education spans the University of Science and Technology of China and a joint Harvard–MIT training program. He has conducted research at Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and the MIT–IBM Watson AI Lab. The core team comes from leading universities including Tsinghua, Peking University, Harvard, and MIT.

Looking ahead, Apex Intelligence will continue investing in foundation models and compute, advance the training and iteration of recursively self-improving foundation models, build a high-quality research trajectory data infrastructure, and attract top talent from around the world. Guided by its founding mission to “Unlock Undiscovered Discovery,” the company is working to move AI from reproducing existing knowledge to autonomous scientific discovery.

Founder Quotes

“I have always believed that models taught by humans are ultimately limited by humans themselves. When we align them to human preferences, we lock their intelligence ceiling at our own level. No matter how much compute and data we add, we are only making them better at retaining existing knowledge. The limits of true intelligence can only be defined by the objective world. The first generation of large models replaces white-collar workers; embodied AI replaces blue-collar workers; and ASI will replace humanity’s most accomplished scientists. That moment will come sooner or later. Our job is to bring it closer.”

— Yongchao Chen, Founder of Apex Intelligence

About Apex Intelligence

Founded in June 2026, Apex Intelligence is a Beijing, China-based self-evolving foundation model company focused on next-generation industrial intelligence through recursive self-improvement.

For more information, please visit: https://apexin.ai/

SOURCE Apex Intelligence

Transaction Marks RLH’s Second Investment in its Fifth Institutional Fund and Continues a Longstanding Strategy of Partnering with Specialized Services Firms Built Around Leading Technology Platforms

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16, 2026 — RLH Equity Partners announced today its investment in Climb, a Databricks-native data and AI consultancy helping enterprise clients build, migrate and scale data and artificial intelligence solutions on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform.

Founded by technology services entrepreneur JP La Torre, Climb was purpose-built for the rapidly evolving enterprise AI landscape and is focused on the Databricks ecosystem. The company helps enterprise clients establish the modern data foundations required to move AI initiatives from experimentation into production, combining deep Databricks expertise with senior-led delivery teams, vertically oriented intellectual property and an outcome-based approach to client engagements.

Climb serves enterprise clients across a range of industries, including healthcare and life sciences and banking, financial services and insurance. The company’s capabilities span data engineering, Databricks migration and modernization, analytics, and the deployment of production-grade AI solutions.

La Torre previously founded Caylent, a leading cloud-native services firm focused on the AWS ecosystem, and brings significant experience building and scaling high-growth technology services organizations. At Climb, he has assembled an experienced team of data, AI and technology services professionals focused on building a next-generation consultancy for the AI era.

“We built Climb around Databricks because enterprises need a unified foundation for data, governance and AI, along with a partner focused on turning that foundation into business results,” said JP La Torre, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Climb. “RLH understands how to scale pure-play services firms and shares our belief that investing in people is essential to delivering strong client outcomes. With its support, we can build on the progress we have made since launching earlier this year and accelerate our next phase of growth.”

The investment in Climb continues RLH’s multi-decade focus on partnering with founder-led, knowledge-based services firms benefiting from technology-driven change. Over its history, RLH has invested in specialized services businesses working across many of the world’s leading enterprise technology ecosystems, including Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, SAP and Workday. Climb extends this investment strategy into the rapidly growing Databricks ecosystem at a time when enterprises are increasingly seeking to unify their data, analytics and AI infrastructure and translate significant investment in artificial intelligence into measurable business outcomes.

RLH’s relationship with La Torre predates the investment. Over the past year, the RLH team had the opportunity to work closely with him in evaluating other investment opportunities, developing a shared perspective on what it takes to build enduring technology services businesses.

Mark Gartner, Managing Director at RLH Equity Partners, commented on the partnership: “Our partnership with JP was a natural extension of a relationship we had developed over the past year. As a result of the time we spent together, we came to appreciate not only his track record as a technology services entrepreneur, but also his passion for building a differentiated, client-centric firm around one of the most important enterprise technology ecosystems today.”

Gartner continued, “We have also been incredibly impressed by the caliber of the team JP has assembled and by the firm’s ambition to rethink how data and AI services are delivered. We believe Climb has the ingredients to become a defining services firm in the Databricks ecosystem, and we are excited to support JP and the broader Climb team in the journey ahead.”

About RLH Equity Partners

RLH Equity Partners invests behind passionate entrepreneurs in uniquely positioned, high-growth, knowledge-led B2B enterprises driven by macro changes in technology, healthcare, and regulatory environments. The RLH investment team strives to deliver strategic and operational guidance to its portfolio companies in navigating the opportunities and challenges of scale and rapid growth. RLH’s insights and processes to support entrepreneurs in building market-leading enterprises have been honed over RLH’s more than 40-year history of successful investing. RLH currently manages over $1 billion of assets and is actively seeking new portfolio company investments.

Important Disclosures
This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice, a recommendation, or an offer to sell or solicit any security or financial product. Inherent in any investment is the risk of loss.

For more information, please contact:

Jessica Bramwell
Director of Communications
RLH Equity Partners
949-428-2205
[email protected]

SOURCE RLH Equity Partners

Investment supports expansion of in-country clinical research staffing, patient recruitment and hybrid delivery capacity for sponsors and CROs across Latin America.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 16, 2026 — H Clinical today announced a partnership with Emerald Square Ventures (ESV), which made a majority investment in H Clinical, Inc. Mitchell Parrish continues as Chief Executive Officer.

“What we have spent six years building is difficult to build and impossible to shortcut — people in the communities where trials run, their relationships with sites, and the infrastructure behind them,” said Mitchell Parrish, CEO of H Clinical. “This investment puts more of it in front of clients.”

H Clinical has also added two executives to its leadership team. Ben Joers joins as Chief Financial Officer, leading financial strategy, planning and infrastructure. Eddie Hannush joins as Chief Commercial Officer, leading commercial strategy and the growth of client partnerships and service offerings.

“We work with sponsors, CROs, and sites in whatever combination a study needs,” said Eddie Hannush, Chief Commercial Officer. “When staffing, recruitment, home visits and logistics run off one local platform, the study moves faster and the patient has a better experience.”

The investment supports the services clients are asking H Clinical to expand, and the in-country teams behind them:

• Site solutions and project staffing. Clinical research coordinators, nurses and study personnel sourced, trained and managed by H Clinical for sites region-wide — on site, remote or hybrid.
• Community-based patient recruitment. Patient engagement teams working through referring physicians, health centers, patient associations and community events.
• In-home and hybrid trial support. Study visits in patients’ homes, with sample collection, shipments and in-country regulatory work.
• Procurement and logistics. Regional depots, local sourcing, equipment rental and courier networks.

Please reach out to discuss trial support opportunities.

About H Clinical

H Clinical is the leading clinical research operating platform in Latin America, working through its own in-country teams across 22 countries. It supports sponsors, contract research organizations and research sites with clinical research staffing, in-home trial support, community-based patient recruitment, and procurement logistics. H Clinical empowers sponsors to reach patients that usual channels miss. The company operates the largest in-home trial, mobile site, logistics and depot network in the region.

About Emerald Square Ventures

Emerald Square Ventures is an operator-led investment platform that acquires and operates clinical research and life sciences businesses.

Media Contact

Media Relations

[email protected] | 727-201-1153

SOURCE H Clinical

Growth investment will expand Climb’s Databricks partnership, advance healthcare, life sciences and financial services solutions, and accelerate its agentic delivery operations framework.

DALLAS, Sept. 16, 2026 — Climb, a Databricks-native data and AI consultancy, today announced a growth investment from RLH Equity Partners, a Los Angeles-based investment firm focused on founder-led, technology-driven businesses.

Founded in 2026, Climb has already assembled a team of senior data and AI practitioners, begun serving enterprise clients, and introduced solutions built specifically for the Databricks ecosystem.

The capital will support the expansion of Climb’s Databricks partner relationship, continued investment in solutions for healthcare and life sciences and financial services, and the acceleration of its agentic delivery operations framework.

Building the Foundations for Enterprise AI
Climb helps enterprises move AI initiatives from experimentation into production by strengthening the data and governance foundations those systems depend on. Its work brings consistent data definitions, lineage and access controls together on Databricks so clients can deploy AI with greater confidence.

Climb was co-founded by JP La Torre, who previously founded Caylent, a leading cloud-native services firm focused on the AWS ecosystem. He brings experience building and scaling specialized technology services businesses.

“We founded Climb to help enterprises turn data and AI investment into measurable business outcomes,” said JP La Torre, Co-founder and CEO of Climb. “The progress our team has made in our first year gives us a strong foundation to build on. RLH understands how to scale specialized services firms, and its investment will help us deepen our Databricks partnership, advance our industry solutions and accelerate the way we deliver for clients.”

Climb combines senior-led teams with engagements designed around defined business outcomes. Its Basecamps provide fixed-scope engagements built on repeatable patterns, while bespoke engagements address more ambitious programs. Both draw on expertise across data architecture, engineering, AI and governance.

Early Momentum in 2026
Climb’s delivery team already holds more than 50 Databricks certifications. Since launch, the company has begun supporting healthcare and financial services enterprises, modernizing data estates and improving access to clinical and operational data.

Climb Labs has launched its MCP Service for HLS, developed in collaboration with the Databricks Healthcare and Life Sciences team. The service connects research and analysis agents to 10 public biomedical and regulatory data sources. Climb has also published its AI Maturity Framework to help enterprises build and operate AI systems with human oversight and accountability.

Investing in Delivery and Industry Expertise
Climb will accelerate its agentic delivery operations framework, its internal platform of accelerators, evaluation frameworks and implementation patterns. This work is designed to make delivery more repeatable, shorten implementation timelines and strengthen quality.

The company will continue developing data and AI solutions for healthcare and life sciences and financial services, with an emphasis on the governance requirements, sensitive data and specialized workflows of those industries.

Climb will also expand its Databricks practice through certified expertise, joint solution development and co-selling.

A Partnership for Growth
RLH brings more than 40 years of experience investing in specialized, knowledge-led businesses. The partnership will support Climb as it scales its team, capabilities and presence in the Databricks ecosystem.

“We believe Climb has the ingredients to become a defining services firm in the Databricks ecosystem, and we are excited to support JP and the broader Climb team in the journey ahead,” said Mark Gartner, Managing Director at RLH Equity Partners.

About Climb
Climb is a Databricks-native data and AI consultancy headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 2026, the company helps enterprises build modern data foundations and put AI into production through senior-led teams, outcome-based engagements and industry-specific solutions. Its capabilities span data engineering, migration and modernization, analytics, AI and governance. Climb serves organizations across healthcare and life sciences, banking, insurance, capital markets, and Private Equity. Learn more at climb.ai.

SOURCE Climb Group Inc.

Build repeatable AI workflows as “blueprints” that are governed at every step and automatically
distributed to authorized employees

Designed to bring AI automation to higher-stakes enterprise workflows that still require
significant manual execution

The underlying automation engine will remain open source, allowing anyone to contribute,
extend or verify how it works

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2026 — Barndoor AI, the AI Gateway for enterprises, has acquired Diaphora, the startup behind Frags, the open-source engine for building AI workflows. The combined product will allow enterprises to build Blueprints, repeatable AI workflows that connect tools and data through a defined series of steps that can be governed and distributed across authorized teams. By combining Diaphora’s workflow technology with Barndoor’s governance and access controls, enterprises can build AI automations once and securely scale them across the organization.

The acquisition represents a “spin-in” of Diaphora, which began as an independent project developed by Simone Pezzano, with Jay Parisi collaborating on the technology as it evolved. Barndoor CEO Oren Michels later became an advisor to Diaphora and supported its early development. As the technology matured, Barndoor and Diaphora determined the companies were better positioned together, bringing Diaphora’s technology and team into Barndoor. The full Diaphora team will join Barndoor as part of the acquisition.

Traditional automation has largely focused on predictable, rules-based tasks such as routing records, syncing systems and handling routine requests. AI has the potential to automate more complex work, but enterprises still face three major barriers: reliability, access and distribution. AI-generated outputs can be unpredictable, while allowing AI systems to take action across enterprise tools and data requires strict controls over what they can access and do. Diaphora and Barndoor were built to address opposite sides of this challenge: Diaphora focuses on making AI workflows more predictable, while Barndoor governs the access required to deploy them securely across an enterprise.

From AI pilots to enterprise adoption
Enterprises have rapidly introduced AI tools, but turning experimentation into repeatable workflows remains a challenge. Automations built in Diaphora can become governed MCP tools within Barndoor. Barndoor’s role-based access controls determine who can discover and run each automation without requiring a separate provisioning process. Employees can then access the automations approved for their roles, allowing enterprises to securely distribute AI workflows across teams while maintaining centralized governance.

Built to make AI workflows more reliable and predictable
Diaphora is built on Frags, an open-source AI workflow runtime that uses the Frags Modeling Language (FML) to define how AI executes a workflow and constrain where an LLM can act.

“Most AI systems operate from a plan, what you hope is going to happen. A blueprint defines what actually happens,” said Oren Michels, co-founder and CEO of Barndoor. “By combining Diaphora’s workflow technology with Barndoor’s governance, enterprises can make AI automation more predictable, easier to deploy and accessible to employees without requiring them to become experts at directing AI.”

A Blueprint connects tools and data through a defined series of steps to create a repeatable workflow. AI can be used where judgment is required, while the remaining steps execute consistently according to the Blueprint. A salesperson finishing a customer call, for example, may need to log the call, update the customer record, schedule the next step and notify the account team. The Blueprint defines how those steps are executed each time. If it cannot complete a required step, it stops and identifies the issue rather than filling the gap with something plausible.

Governance makes adoption possible
Barndoor governs which tools, data and models AI can access within an enterprise, and Diaphora Blueprints will inherit those controls. Employees only see and run automations authorized for their roles, while enterprises maintain a record of what each automation accessed, changed and cost. This allows a workflow to be built once and securely distributed to authorized users without a separate provisioning process.

“Barndoor is thought of as a governance and security product,” said Michels. “This is where governance starts driving adoption instead of slowing it down. Nobody uses AI they don’t trust, and nobody uses AI they don’t know how to use. This answers both at once.”

“Diaphora exists to make AI workflows predictable rather than leaving their execution to chance,” said Simone Pezzano, co-founder of Diaphora and creator of Frags. “By joining Barndoor, we can pair that reliability with enterprise-grade governance and give teams a practical way to build and deploy AI workflows without having to recreate access controls for every automation.”

The kind of work this opens up
AI that acts, not just drafts. Many AI tools used in the workplace today produce an output that a person must then review and submit. A Blueprint can be designed to complete the action itself, for example, identifying a billing error and posting a corrected invoice rather than simply proposing a correction for someone to approve.

Answers that live across multiple systems. Some workflows require information spread across systems with different owners and access controls. A quarterly customer health review, for example, might require pulling a contract from one system, usage data from another, support history from a third and billing information from a fourth. A Blueprint can carry the appropriate permissions for each step, allowing an authorized employee to run the workflow without requiring direct access to every underlying system.

“We’ve all built AI automations that work great on a laptop, but running them reliably across an enterprise is another story. Building automations at the speed of the agent economy demands fast, distributed and governed workflows, not one-off scripts nobody can scale or oversee,” said Jay Parisi, co-founder and CEO of Diaphora. “That’s why joining Barndoor made sense. Together, we’re bringing automation creation and enterprise governance onto one platform.”

The combination is already resonating with enterprises looking to move AI workflows from experimentation into broader deployment. Syndio, a pay equity and decision intelligence leader and Barndoor customer, sees predictability and visibility as critical to scaling AI across teams.

“Reliability is what turns an AI project into something we can put in front of the whole team. With Barndoor, if we know a workflow will follow the same defined process every time and can see exactly what touched it, we can deploy it far more broadly than anything we run today,” said Nimrod Vered, CTO of Syndio. “The new workflow capabilities Barndoor gains through the Diaphora acquisition open many possibilities. We have issues with nondeterminism in AI today, which limits how far we can scale it across teams. This could be a critical piece of solving the internal hesitation around AI automations.”

Get Started
Enterprises can start building governed, production-ready AI automations today. Visit diaphora.ai to sign up and put your first automation to work.

About Diaphora and Frags
Diaphora is built on Frags, an LLM workflow engine that executes workflows written in FML, the Frags Modeling Language. Frags treats complex workflows, like data retrieval and business processes as controlled actions that the AI cannot alter without authorization. It ensures that the LLM is only working where it’s needed, saving money and lowering risk. Frags and FML will remain open source and supported by the Barndoor team to empower everyone with the tools they need to build trusted, reliable AI workflows.

About Barndoor
Barndoor is the AI Gateway for enterprises. Barndoor gives IT, security, and AI teams the visibility and fine-grained access control they need to govern agents, automations, and models. It secures every AI action, governing which tools and data agents and automations can access via MCP, and keeping LLM spend predictable, while blocking PII and sensitive data leaks before they reach a model or tool. Learn more at barndoor.ai.

SOURCE Barndoor AI

PAPY-USDC earns yield by lending stablecoin deposits against overcollateralized tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and is available today as part of Arc’s public mainnet launch.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 16, 2026 — Bitwise Asset Management, a global crypto asset manager with $9 billion in client assets, today announced the expansion of the Bitwise Premium RWA Vault (PAPY) to the Arc blockchain as part of the network’s public mainnet launch.

The PAPY-USDC vault on Arc accepts USDC to make overcollateralized loans against tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), with a target of 5-6% APY. It arrives two weeks after the launch of the inaugural PAPY-AUSD vault on Ethereum, which has since taken in more than $20 million in deposits (as of September 15, 2026). By lending against real-world credit, PAPY aims to deliver yield that is more durable and less correlated with crypto markets than most onchain lending offers today. 

How PAPY works on Arc. Lenders deposit USDC into the PAPY-USDC vault on the Morpho protocol. Those deposits are then lent to borrowers who post white-listed RWA collateral and pay an algorithmically derived, variable interest rate. For PAPY vaults, Bitwise’s curation involves predetermining the vault’s parameters and precalibrating its models—including acceptable collateral, loan-to-value ratios, and interest-rate configuration—without taking custody of or exercising discretionary management over user assets.

The collateral accepted for PAPY-USDC includes:

• Huma Finance’s PST: Short-duration cross-border payment financing. Loans are made to licensed financial institutions on one- to seven-day terms, with zero historical defaults across $17 billion in transaction volume.
   
• USDai: Loans backed by GPUs powering AI infrastructure. The collateral sits in a bankruptcy-remote SPV with a first-priority lien, is independently monitored, and loans self-liquidate; its value is warranted and reinsured via a Munich Re subsidiary.

Excess liquidity is allocated to lending markets backed by cirBTC.

USDC, the deposit asset. Deposits are made in USDC,¹ a stablecoin issued by regulated entities of Circle, with a market cap of more than $74 billion as of September 15, 2026. USDC is fully backed by cash and short-dated U.S. Treasuries, held in reserve at regulated financial institutions.

Note: All descriptions and figures above are as stated by the provider.

Why Arc? Arc is purpose-built for stablecoin payments, foreign exchange, and tokenized assets. It uses USDC as its native gas token and settles with sub-second finality. For a vault that lends against real-world credit like PAPY-USDC, Arc’s combination of institutional validators, stablecoin-native settlement, and a network designed around tokenized assets presents an optimal growth environment.

Why RWAs? Most onchain yield today comes from two crowded models: commoditized bitcoin-backed lending or crypto-native yield farming. PAPY offers a more durable approach. Loans secured by RWAs tap deeper traditional-finance credit markets, so the interest borrowers pay isn’t tied to crypto cycles or onchain liquidity.

“Our long-term view is that most onchain credit will eventually be backed by real-world assets,” said Jonathan Man, Portfolio Manager at Bitwise. “Getting there means meeting institutional capital where it lives. Arc is purpose-built for stablecoin settlement and tokenized assets, and its validator set is institutional from top to bottom. We’re making vault curation a core part of what Bitwise does, and every PAPY vault brings more real-world credit onchain.”

“We’re excited to have Bitwise curating on Morpho and launching their first vault on Arc,” said Merlin Egalite, Co-Founder of Morpho. “Morpho supports a rich set of RWAs and what Bitwise adds is the expertise to combine them into a single diversified strategy, giving users new curated ways to access real-world yield. This is how the Morpho network expands DeFi into new risk profiles and strategies that weren’t possible before.”

As more of the world’s capital moves onchain, Bitwise expects real-world assets to lead the way — and PAPY is designed to give lenders access to that trend through transparent, programmatic lending infrastructure. It’s the newest way Bitwise is connecting traditional finance and onchain markets, from ETFs and staking to tokenized portfolios and vault curation.

For more information about PAPY-USDC, visit https://onchain.bitwiseinvestments.com/vaults/papy-usdc.

For more information about Arc, visit Arc.io 

About Bitwise 
Bitwise Asset Management is a global crypto-focused asset manager with $9 billion in client assets and a suite of over 70 investment products spanning ETFs, separately managed accounts, private funds, hedge fund strategies, and staking. The firm has a nine-year track record and today serves more than 5,500 private wealth teams, RIAs, family offices, and institutional investors, as well as 21 banks and broker-dealers. The Bitwise team of technology and investment professionals is backed by leading institutional investors and has offices in San Francisco, New York, and London.

About Arc 
Arc is a purpose-built, EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain advancing the frontier of stablecoin finance and tokenization. It features USDC as native gas, deterministic settlement finality, opt-in privacy, and a stable transaction fee architecture. Optimized for stablecoin-native use cases, such as global payments, FX, and capital markets, Arc serves as a foundational settlement layer for programmable money on the internet.

About Morpho
Morpho is an open lending network with $13B+ in deposits connecting lenders and borrowers to the optimal opportunities worldwide. Its modular, open infrastructure enables fintechs, wallets, exchanges, and institutions to embed configurable credit products directly into their platforms, while maintaining full control over the user experience. Leaders like Coinbase, Robinhood, Bitwise, and Société Générale already build on Morpho to deploy secure, scalable onchain credit products. For more information, please visit Morpho.org.

Risks and Important Information
This vault is a technology-mediated lending protocol in which users supply USDC to a lending pool and earn variable interest paid by borrowers. It is not a managed fund, investment product, or common enterprise. Yield is generated from algorithmically determined interest based on borrower demand and protocol utilization — not from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of Bitwise or any other person.

Vault Curation Services for this vault are provided by Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC (“BIM”). BIM is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as an investment adviser. That registration relates to BIM’s separately conducted advisory business. BIM is not acting as an investment adviser, fiduciary, or in any advisory capacity in connection with this vault. The SEC has not approved or endorsed this vault or any vault product. No regulatory protections afforded to BIM’s investment advisory clients extend to vault users. No advisory, fiduciary, trust, or client relationship is created between BIM and any vault user.

Custody of assets deposited into the vault is maintained through user-controlled wallets and the onchain smart contract infrastructure of the Morpho protocol. Bitwise does not custody user assets.

Risk factors
Participation in DeFi lending carries material risks, including the risk of total loss of deposited assets. Risk factors include, but are not limited to:

• Smart-contract risk. This vault relies on smart-contract code that may contain bugs, vulnerabilities, or exploitable weaknesses. A smart-contract exploit could result in partial or total loss of all deposited assets. Smart-contract audits are available at https://docs.morpho.org/get-started/resources/audits.
• Collateral and credit risk. If borrower collateral values decline rapidly, liquidation proceeds may be insufficient to cover outstanding loans, resulting in bad debt allocated to depositors. The quality, liquidity, and volatility of accepted collateral types directly affects the risk profile of this vault.
• RWA-specific risk. Tokenized real-world assets carry credit, structural, and provider-specific risks, including valuation risk, custodial risk, legal and enforcement risk, and redemption risk. The collateral characteristics, default history, insurance arrangements, and structural features described above are as represented by the respective third-party providers; Bitwise has not independently verified this information and makes no representation or warranty regarding its accuracy or completeness.
• Liquidity risk. Withdrawal is subject to available liquidity in the underlying lending pool. If utilization is high, withdrawal may be delayed or temporarily unavailable.
• Oracle risk. The lending protocol relies on price oracles. Oracle failure, manipulation, or stale data could result in improper liquidations or failure to liquidate undercollateralized positions.
• Regulatory risk. The regulatory classification of DeFi lending protocols, vault interests, and digital assets is uncertain and evolving. Regulatory action may restrict, prohibit, or alter the availability or structure of this vault.
• Protocol risk. The underlying Morpho protocol is operated by third parties. Bitwise does not control the operation, security, governance, or solvency of the protocol.
• Variable yield. Yields are variable, not guaranteed, and may be zero.
• No insurance. This vault is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), or any other governmental or private insurance program. You may lose some or all of your deposited assets.

Certain information in this press release, including collateral characteristics, historical performance, default history, insurance arrangements, and structural features, is based on or derived from information provided by independent third-party sources, including the providers of the RWA collateral described above. Bitwise believes these sources are reliable but has not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of such information or the assumptions on which it is based.

Target APY of 5–6% is a current estimate based on prevailing borrower demand and market utilization as of the date of this press release. APY is variable, determined algorithmically by the protocol’s utilization-based interest-rate model, is not fixed, is not guaranteed, and may change at any time without notice. Actual yields may be materially higher or lower than the target, including zero. Past rates are not indicative of future rates.

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or financial instruments in any jurisdiction. Nothing in this press release constitutes investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisors before participating.

Use of this vault is governed by the Bitwise Onchain Terms of Use, including Schedule A: Lending Vault Terms, available at https://onchain.bitwiseinvestments.com/tos.

Disclaimers:
Arc is an open L1 blockchain launched by Arc Network Services LLC (“Arc LLC”) and operated by a permissioned validator set. Arc LLC provides software services only and does not offer regulated financial or advisory services. Arc has not been reviewed or approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services or any other regulatory authority.

The Arc network is provided “as is” and “as available.” Use of Arc involves inherent risks associated with blockchain technology, including smart contract vulnerabilities, network disruptions, and the absence of recourse for transaction errors or losses. The ability to transact on Arc depends on the ability to obtain and use USDC to pay gas fees. Neither Arc LLC nor any permissioned validator is responsible for the content, accuracy, legality, or functionality of third-party applications, protocols, or services built on or integrated with Arc. You are solely responsible for features or services you provide to users, including obtaining any necessary licenses or approvals and otherwise complying with applicable laws.

All Arc features may be modified, delayed, or cancelled at any time without notice. Nothing herein constitutes a commitment, warranty, guarantee or legal, regulatory, tax, or investment advice.

¹ USDC is issued by regulated affiliates of Circle. See Circle’s list of regulatory authorizations.

Stephanie Dressler – [email protected]

SOURCE Bitwise Asset Management