Onward FX signals that venture is flowing beyond the coasts as Arkansas emerges as a destination for entrepreneurship; applications open nationwide through Sept. 15

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Sept. 2, 2025 — A state long known for big-box retail and agriculture is now drawing the attention of Silicon Valley and Wall Street. On Oct. 30, 24 venture capital firms representing $4 billion in assets under management will converge in Little Rock, Ark., for Onward FX, the Heartland’s premier founder-funder exchange. Qualified startups nationwide are invited to apply by Sept. 15.

The move marks the first statewide expansion of Onward FX, a Bentonville-born program that has already facilitated more than 500 curated startup-investor meetings. Unlike a typical demo day, the model is built for outcomes: one in four startups in past cycles secured a term sheet, with dozens more advancing into diligence.

“Onward FX gives founders direct access to investors who can change the trajectory of their company,” said Serafina Lalany, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Council’s entrepreneurship program. “These are high-value conversations with decision-makers who understand your business and are ready to explore real opportunities.”

The statewide expansion comes at a pivotal moment. Nearly one-third of all early-stage venture deals in the United States are now happening in the Heartland, evidence that capital is flowing beyond traditional hubs like Silicon Valley and New York. Concurrently, industrial tech startups are transforming legacy industries that form the backbone of Arkansas’ economy, from manufacturing and logistics to agriculture and retail.

The Oct. 30 convening will host funds from Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Miami, Houston, Salt Lake City, Madison and beyond. Firms include Alpha Edison, Blumberg Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, Mercury Fund, Signal Peak Ventures, TMV, Flyover Capital, Lightship Capital, Tech Square Ventures and corporate venture arms such as Tyson Ventures.

For many venture capitalists, it will be their first trip to Arkansas. For founders, whether based in Little Rock, Kansas City, Los Angeles or New York, it will be a rare chance to connect directly with decision-makers in an environment built for real dealmaking.

The high-touch approach taken by Onward FX, launched last year as VC Immersions, has demonstrated results:

• $4 billion in combined assets under management represented by participating VC firms
• More than 500 curated founder–investor meetings facilitated since launch
• More than 200 participating companies across prior events
• One in four startups in a previous cycle received term sheets, with dozens more advancing conversations with investors

“Our team has invested in two startups we met through previous cycles,” said Matt Hickman, Principal at Plains Ventures, whose firm has already invested in two startups discovered through earlier Onward FX events. “Onward FX delivers meaningful outcomes for both founders and investors, and we look forward to continuing to find exceptional companies in Arkansas.”

Onward FX is a partnership between Northwest Arkansas Council and Arkansas Economic Development Commission. The program builds on earlier events supported by the Walton Family Foundation focused on delivering education and resources for startups while raising the region’s profile as an entrepreneurial destination. Together, the partners are betting that a curated exchange of capital and ideas can help advance Arkansas as a destination for founders and funders alike.

“Arkansas is proving to be a place where founders can build, scale and thrive,” said Esperanza Massana Crane, director of AEDC’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development Division. “The new statewide Onward FX initiative will create opportunities for our entrepreneurs to connect directly with top-tier investors while also showcasing Arkansas’ growing innovation economy. This partnership highlights our commitment to supporting startups at every stage and ensuring they have the capital, mentorship and resources needed to succeed.”

How to apply and attend
Founders can apply at onward.nwacouncil.org/fx by Sept. 15. Applications are open to startups nationwide, and companies do not need to be based in Arkansas to participate. While the highly-coveted private meeting spots are limited, Onward FX also features networking opportunities for a broader set of participants to engage in meaningful conversations and catalyze powerful relationships. Review and register for consideration at luma.com/onwardfx.

About Onward FX
Onward FX is the Heartland’s premier founder-funder exchange, designed to accelerate venture capital activity outside traditional coastal hubs. Since its launch in 2024, the program has facilitated over 500 curated investor-founder meetings and helped secure millions in early-stage financings for startups nationwide.

About the Arkansas Economic Development Commission
At AEDC, we know economic advancement does not happen by accident. We work strategically with businesses and communities to create strong economic opportunities, making Arkansas the natural choice for success. AEDC is a division of the Arkansas Department of Commerce. To learn more, visit ArkansasEDC.com.

About the Northwest Arkansas Council
Founded in 1990 by Sam Walton, J.B. Hunt, Don Tyson and other business leaders, the Northwest Arkansas Council serves as a regional convener for economic and community initiatives. The Council works to advance quality of life, attract talent, improve the workforce, create job opportunities and upgrade infrastructure across the region. Learn more at nwacouncil.org.

Contacts:
Nate Green, Communications Director
Northwest Arkansas Council
[email protected]
501-650-4653

Amanda Horn, Communications
Northwest Arkansas Council
[email protected]
775.636.2567

Link to logos

SOURCE Northwest Arkansas Council

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 2, 2025 — EQT Life Sciences is pleased to announce that the EQT Health Economics strategy has invested in Cyted Health, a leading gastrointestinal (GI) molecular diagnostics company. The USD 44 million Series B financing round was led by EQT Life Sciences and co-led by Advent Life Sciences and British Business Bank (formerly British Patient Capital), with continued support from existing investors Morningside and BGF. The financing includes a non-dilutive contribution from a strategic partnership with HCA Healthcare.

The financing will be used to accelerate the commercial expansion of Cyted’s diagnostics platform in the US, consolidate existing commercial success across the UK, and expand its portfolio of advanced diagnostic tests. Cyted’s existing platform consists of EndoSign®, an FDA 510(k)-cleared device enabling minimally invasive collection of esophageal cells, and advanced biomarker molecular testing for the detection of esophageal conditions.

Cyted’s technology has already demonstrated significant success across the UK’s National Health Service, completing over 35,000 tests and building a robust portfolio of peer-reviewed publications proving unmatched patient acceptability and real-world clinical impact.

“This Series B financing marks a defining moment for Cyted as we continue to deepen our commitment to detecting esophageal diseases earlier,” said Marcel Gehrung, CEO and Co-founder of Cyted Health. “This investment will help us consolidate our leading position in the market by expanding our US presence and adding new life-saving innovations to our advanced diagnostics portfolio.”

Bruno Holthof, Partner at EQT Life Sciences, commented: “Cyted is strongly positioned to redefine the standard of care in upper GI diagnostics worldwide. Its minimally invasive diagnostics platform is the standout innovation to capture this significant market opportunity, and we’re delighted to add the company to our portfolio.”

Founded by leading experts at the University of Cambridge, Cyted is pioneering the development of minimally invasive cell collection coupled with proprietary biomarker discovery to transform the detection of pre-cancerous, cancerous, and inflammatory esophageal conditions.

Cyted’s Series B financing round follows the recent expansion of its advisory panel to establish a Clinical Advisory Board. The Board comprises leading clinicians and researchers in gastroenterology and oncology who will provide strategic guidance as Cyted builds its advanced diagnostics portfolio and widens its footprint in the US.

Contact
EQT Press Office, [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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The Fund aims for a final close of $225 million by June 2026

SINGAPORE, Sept. 2, 2025 — Venturi Partners, a leading consumer growth fund announced the first close of its second fund at $150 million. This milestone, supported by existing and new investors marks strong momentum towards Venturi’s overall target of $225 million.

Building on the success of Fund I, Fund II will back disruptive, purpose-driven brands across India and Southeast Asia that are positioned to benefit from structural tailwinds including rising consumer spending and favourable demographics. Fund II will make initial investments of $15-40 million in 10 companies across high growth consumer sectors. Alongside the main fund, investors will also be able to co-invest on a 1-1 ratio.

This investment strategy is reinforced by Venturi’s distinct value creation approach that lies in its close collaboration with founders and active board level participation by leveraging the team’s deep sector operating expertise.  

Nicholas Cator, Founder & Managing Partner of Venturi Partners, commented: “We are grateful for the continued trust and confidence of our existing investors and welcome our new partners. This strong response validates our investment thesis and the strength of our unique team that we have built over the last five years.”

Rishika Chandan, Managing Partner of Venturi Partners, commented: “Amidst global volatility, India continues to emerge as a strong growth market, creating a compelling long-term investment opportunity that aligns well with our strategy. With our hands-on operating expertise, we are confident we will deliver strong returns.”

Track Record from Fund I

In June 2022, Venturi Partners closed its debut fund at $180 million, backed by prominent families in Europe and Asia including Frédéric de Mévius (AB InBev family) and Ackermans & van Haaren, a listed Belgian investment company. Fund I’s portfolio includes Livspace, Country Delight, Believe, Pickup Coffee, Dali, K-12 Techno Services and JQR, with an upcoming eight investment to conclude it.

About Venturi Partners: 

Venturi Partners is a consumer-focused growth equity platform investing in Series B-D stage companies across India and Southeast Asia. Founded in 2020, Venturi backs consumer-centric and purpose-driven brands by combining strategic capital with operational excellence to help them scale sustainably and profitably.

For more information, visit www.venturi.partners

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HONG KONG, Aug. 31, 2025 — Obita, an enterprise-level cross-border payment and digital financial network, announced the completion of its angel round financing exceeding US$10 million. The round was co-led by Vision Plus Capital and Mirana Ventures, with participation from Legend Capital, HashKey Capital, Web3.com Ventures, and other prominent institutions and individual investors. The funds will be allocated to system R&D, compliance infrastructure development, and global market expansion, accelerating the deployment of its stablecoin-based cross-border payment network.

Amid a global wave of stablecoin legislation and compliance advancements, cross-border payments are undergoing a revolutionary transformation.

With compliant stablecoins at its foundation, Obita is building a blockchain-native payment network under its Obita Mesh framework, empowering global enterprises to experience low-cost, real-time settlement with regulatory-compliant solutions. Addressing industry pain points such as high foreign exchange costs, delayed settlements, and insufficient fund flow transparency, Obita integrates enterprise-grade compliance systems, cross-border clearing networks, and unified treasury management tools to redefine the ways capital flows for cross-border trade, e-commerce, and supply chain platforms. The company has an initial focus on high-growth markets in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

“Cross-border payments are at a tipping point driven by stablecoin innovation,” said Dayong ZHANG, Co-founder and CEO of Obita. “We aim to integrate blockchain technology’s revolutionary potential into real-world global capital flows through our enterprise-grade, end-to-end, compliant, secure, and high-quality integrated services.”

“Cross-border B2B payment is a crucial infrastructure for global trade. Obita’s stablecoin-centred solution significantly improves cost efficiency,” said Yiran LIU, Managing Partner at Vision Plus Capital. “We have full confidence in Obita team’s accumulated experience in global fintech and diverse cross-sector backgrounds. Vision Plus Capital has a broad cross-border fintech portfolio and looks forward to exploring more use cases for stablecoins in the payment sector.”

Obita’s management team brings together top talent from fintech, cross-border payments, and the digital asset industries, possessing deep technical expertise and forward-looking vision. The team has extensive experience in global payment network development, compliance operations, and financial payment product design, having consistently led innovation and iteration in the cross-border digital payment industry.

Dayong ZHANG, the Co-founder and CEO of Obita, is a renowned leader in fintech, global payments, and the digital-asset industry. Previously serving as CCO of HashKey Group, CEO of HashKey Onchain BG, and Executive Director at RD Technologies, he spearheaded the development of fiat products for HashKey’s trading platform, led HashKey Chain to become Hong Kong’s preferred compliant blockchain for Real World Assets (RWA) projects, and facilitated the entry of HKDR—a stablecoin initiated by RD Technologies—into the HKMA’s stablecoin issuer sandbox. During his tenure as Ant Group’s Regional Head for South Asia and Southeast Asia, he led the creation of multiple market-leading unicorn digital wallet products and significantly expanded Ant’s global payment network.

Vincent YANG, Co-founder and CBO of Obita, is a seasoned entrepreneur who successfully founded abComo and anyStarr, and is a former co-founder of Longbridge Securities. As a key member of AliExpress and Ant Financial’s international business development team, he led multiple cross-border payment and digital financial projects in Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America. He has deep understanding and execution capabilities in global market operations, strategic partnerships, and business scaling from 0 to 1.

David Toh, Managing Partner of Mirana Ventures, said “By embedding compliant stablecoin settlement into global trade, Obita is catalysing industry-wide upgrades.”

“Bridging Web2 and Web3 worlds represents the biggest opportunity in today’s fintech landscape,” said Tony WANG, Managing Director of Legend Capital. “Obita’s team, with deep expertise across both domains, is uniquely positioned to lead this trend.”

Chao DENG, CEO of HashKey Capital also added that “Obita’s solution aligns perfectly with HashKey’s strategic focus on digital assets, compliance, and infrastructure development. Together, we will accelerate industry-wide transformation.”

With a clear mission to reshape global financial infrastructure through compliant, blockchain-native solutions, Obita is positioned at the forefront of the stablecoin-powered digital finance revolution. Backed by a world-class team and a strong network of strategic investors, the company is accelerating its efforts to drive real-world adoption across high-growth markets and redefine the future of cross-border financial connectivity.

About Obita
Obita is a global B2B financial infrastructure and digital finance network enabling stablecoin-driven transactions for enterprises, merchants, and fintechs. Learn more at https://www.obita.xyz

SOURCE Obita

NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2025 — Credit Coop, the protocol transforming credit markets by turning business cash flows into programmable collateral, today announced the close of a $4.5 million seed funding round led by Maven 11 and Lightspeed Faction, with additional participation from Coinbase Ventures, Signature Ventures, Veris Ventures, TRGC, and dlab.

This funding round will be leveraged to increase headcount through engineering and business development hires, rapidly expanding Credit Coop’s operations. The company’s platform delivers real-time settlement, automated loan servicing, and transparent credit monitoring, providing institutional lenders direct access to uncorrelated yield backed by verifiable cash flows. Credit Coop’s “mix and match” approach allows businesses to leverage both traditional assets and future cash flows to secure credit, unlocking unprecedented capital efficiency to help businesses with their working capital needs.

Christopher Walker, Founder and CEO of Credit Coop, commented on today’s news: “We’re eliminating the friction that has kept credit markets stuck in the 20th century. With strong traction and growing demand, this funding round accelerates our mission to serve every business that’s been told to wait 30 days for the capital they need today. We’re making credit work for the 21st century—instant, transparent, and always on.”

At the core of Credit Coop is its innovative Secured Line of Credit, powered by the Spigot smart contract. This groundbreaking technology allows businesses to collateralize their future revenues, creating a novel form of programmatic recourse that enhances capital efficiency for borrowers while providing unparalleled security for lenders. With its onchain execution, all lending activities are transparent, efficient, and programmable, changing the standard by which lending services operate.

“Credit Coop represents a fundamental shift in how credit markets operate. By giving lenders direct control over repayment flows, they have eliminated counterparty risk, enabling undercollateralized lending. Under Christopher’s leadership, we see Credit Coop as a sharper, cleaner and more composable credit stack. This represents a major step forward for capital efficiency, providing better infrastructure not just for DeFi and cryptonative projects, but for the global financial system that is progressively moving onchain.”- Alexander Essle, investor at Maven 11.

To date, Credit Coop’s platform has handled $150 million in total volume, with over $8.5 million in active loans. Trusted partners include Rain, Coinflow, Tulipa Capital, Re7 Capital, and Valinor among others. Through Credit Coop’s collaboration with Visa, the platform is enabling card issuers to leverage card receivables as programmable collateral, detailed in an upcoming case study.

For more information on Credit Coop, please visit: https://www.creditcoop.xyz/

About Credit Coop
Credit Coop is transforming credit markets with blockchain-powered infrastructure that turns business cash flows into programmable collateral. Our platform delivers real-time settlement, automated loan servicing, and transparent credit monitoring. Credit Coop provides institutional lenders direct access to uncorrelated yield backed by verifiable cash flows. By replacing courts with code and intermediaries with smart contracts, Credit Coop is building the foundation for a new generation of credit markets that are transparent, programmable, and settle around the clock.

Media Contact
[email protected]

SOURCE Credit Coop

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 28, 2025 — Colorado ONE Fund, a regionally focused venture arm of ONE Funds, which backs critical technologies that advance Colorado’s innovation economy, has announced a strategic investment in Okika Devices, a leading developer of Field Programmable Analog Array (FPAA) integrated circuits. This investment follows Okika’s recent relocation of its headquarters to Catalyst Campus in downtown Colorado Springs, a hub for aerospace, defense, and advanced technology collaboration.

Led by a team of semiconductor industry veterans, Okika Devices develops reconfigurable analog chips and hardware development platforms that enable real-time signal processing. Its FPAA technology bridges the gap between digital and analog computing, delivering low-latency, low-power solutions for a broad range of defense, industrial, and sensing applications.

“We are committed to accelerating innovation that strengthens our national security and technological edge. Our investment in Okika Devices represents that mission in action,” said Kevin O’Neil, CEO of ONE Funds. “Okika’s breakthrough work in analog integrated circuits is exactly the kind of critical capability we need to support, and we are proud to help power their growth here in Colorado Springs.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with ONE Funds at this pivotal stage,” said William Staunton, CEO of Okika Devices. “With our new headquarters at Catalyst Campus, we’re building a world-class team in Colorado Springs to advance FPAA technology. Just as FPGAs reshaped digital design, FPAAs are set to redefine analog, delivering faster development, lower costs, and greater energy efficiency. The future of intelligent electronics is analog, and it starts here.”

About Okika Devices
Okika Devices is a pioneering company in the field of analog signal processing, specializing in the development of Field Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAAs). These innovative integrated circuits allow for the dynamic configuration of analog functions, enabling engineers to design and reconfigure analog circuits through software, similar to how FPGAs are used in digital circuit design. This flexibility significantly reduces development time and cost, making it easier to prototype and deploy complex analog systems. Learn more at www.okikadevices.com.

About ONE Funds
Founded in 2023, ONE Funds focuses on impact investing in the defense sector. With a unique ecosystem, ONE Funds connects defense technology innovators with government leadership, applying a strategic consortium model to grow small businesses. Boasting 250 years of cumulative defense experience, ONE Funds invests in aerospace and national defense technologies to deliver strong returns while advancing critical security innovations. As part of ONE Funds, Colorado ONE Fund partners with the Colorado Venture Capital Authority (VCA) to back early-stage, high-impact technologies supporting national defense. Learn more at www.onefunds.com.

German Nunez (ONE Funds)
Managing Director 
[email protected]

SOURCE ONE Funds

MIAMI, Aug. 28, 2025 — The World Jai-Alai League (WJAL) returns Tuesday, Sept. 9 with the start of its Battle Court Fall 2025 season — a 12-week sprint of high-speed action and the final season at the Magic City Fronton, the venue where the league’s innovative approach sparked a modern revival of the centuries-old sport and drew in a new generation of fans. Live matches are presented every Friday at 7 p.m. through Dec. 12 at the Magic City Fronton, where six teams will compete for the coveted Battle Court title, currently held by the Renegades.

“Every season is a fresh serve — new matchups, new rivalries, and a shot at the top of the leaderboard,” said Scott Savin, chief operating officer of the World Jai-Alai League. “We’re gearing up to make this final season at the Magic City Fronton one to remember — packed with big plays, big personalities, and that fast-paced action fans have come to love.”

With free parking and free admission, Friday nights at the Magic City fronton deliver a one-of-a-kind South Florida experience — and the only professional jai-alai showcase in North America.

Battle Court Jai-Alai is a modern, faster-paced version of the traditional sport, played in a glass-walled court designed for maximum visibility and fan engagement. Each Battle Court team supports a benefitting non-profit or mission-aligned organization. This season’s partners include the Udonis Haslem Foundation, SLAM Foundation, Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Debris Free Oceans, Earthbound Academy and Baila con Micho School.

The World Jai-Alai League employs nearly 40 full-time athletes and stages more than 500 matches annually. Games are broadcast live on ESPN3 and available for wagering via DraftKings Sportsbook, BetRivers (Rush Street Interactive), and FanDuel.

For more information, visit www.jaialaiworld.com.

The World Jai-Alai League is dedicated to revitalizing the world’s fastest ball sport by modernizing gameplay, capitalizing on the exploding international sports wagering market, and delivering the sport through social media to a new generation of fans across the globe. For more information, go to www.battlecourtjaialai.com. The WJAL plays at the Magic City Fronton in Miami located at 450 N.W. 37th Ave.

MEDIA CONTACT
Sandra Rodriguez
305-753-3787
[email protected]

SOURCE World Jai-Alai League

Rain has experienced 10x growth in 2025 and now powers service to 1.5B+ people through a single integration

NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2025 — Rain, the enterprise-grade infrastructure for stablecoin-powered payments, today announced a $58 million Series B funding round led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Dragonfly, Galaxy Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, Samsung Next, Lightspeed, and Norwest. The raise brings Rain’s total funding to $88.5M and comes just five months after the company’s Series A — cementing Rain’s role as the single integration global fintechs, banks, and marketplaces use to launch compliant stablecoin-powered cards, wallets, and payment programs.

Enterprise interest in stablecoins has surged following the GENIUS Act in the U.S. and the MiCA framework in Europe, which have created a clear regulatory path for adoption. Rain’s vertically integrated platform enables partners to embed stablecoins into products and operations — covering money-in, storage, spending, and money-out — all through one API. Partners can compliantly launch programs to over 1.5 billion people today, with expansion underway into Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

Rain has pioneered making stablecoins instantly usable anywhere Visa is accepted through its physical and virtual card programs, processing millions of transactions across 150+ countries. The company’s transaction volume has grown 10x since January 2025, with portfolio partners — including Nuvei, Avalanche, Dakota, and Nomad — using Rain’s infrastructure for merchant payouts, everyday consumer purchases, B2B spend, and cross-border payroll.

“Stablecoins are shifting to the backbone of global commerce,” said Farooq Malik, CEO and Co-founder of Rain. “In its earliest form, money moved instantly. We’ve spent centuries slowing it down. Rain is bringing that simplicity back to billions of people, but now it works across any border, any platform, and any currency.”

Rain is a Visa Principal Member and uniquely settles 100% of card payment volume directly in stablecoins on the Visa network. The platform is built natively for stablecoins, not retrofitted from fiat rails, and meets enterprise compliance standards including PCI DSS, SOC 2, and audited smart contracts.

“Stablecoins have scaled to hundreds of billions in circulation, but until now, they couldn’t be easily spent. Rain is working to fix that by connecting stablecoins to Visa’s global network, turning them into money you can actually use for everyday commerce. We’re proud to partner with Farooq, Charles, and the Rain team as they redefine the future of payments,” said Jai Das, President and Partner at Sapphire Ventures, as well as Rain’s newest Board Director.

The new funding will be used to expand Rain’s platform and services to give global institutions the most flexible, modular, and compliant stablecoin infrastructure available. The company is also investing in hiring across engineering, commercial, and compliance teams; helping existing partners scale programs; and entering into new markets where enterprises are embracing stablecoin-based payment workflows.

About Rain: Rain is the global stablecoin infrastructure platform for enterprises, neobanks, platforms, and developers. Our technology allows partners to move, store, and use stablecoins instantly and compliantly through global payment cards, on/off-ramps, wallets, and cross-border rails. As a Visa Principal Member, Rain issues cards that work anywhere Visa is accepted, powering millions of purchases in over 150 countries. Built natively for stablecoins and trusted by more than 100 organizations worldwide, Rain delivers secure, scalable infrastructure that makes money move freely and instantly around the world. Learn more at https://www.rain.xyz/.

About Sapphire Ventures: Sapphire is a global software venture capital firm with over $11 billion in AUM and team members across Austin, London, Menlo Park and San Francisco. For more than two decades, Sapphire has partnered with visionary management teams and venture funds to back companies of consequence. Since its founding, Sapphire has invested in more than 170 companies globally resulting in more than 30 Public Listings and 45 acquisitions. The firm’s investment strategies — Sapphire Ventures, Sapphire Partners and Sapphire Sport — are focused on scaling companies and venture funds, elevating them to become category leaders. Sapphire’s Portfolio Growth team of experienced operators delivers a strategic blend of value-add services, tools and resources designed to support portfolio company leaders as they scale.

Media Contact:
Lucas Piazza
Marketing Lead, Rain
[email protected] 

SOURCE Rain

HONG KONG, Aug. 28, 2025 — FinChain, a Web3 brand incubated by Fosun Wealth Holdings, officially launched and announced that it has signed agreements with a group of investors in connection with its first round of external financing, for an investment of several million U.S. dollars. On the same day, Fosun Wealth Holdings and FinChain also partnered with seven leading Web3 institutions to create a new ecosystem for crypto finance. These milestones not only underscore FinChain’s active role in developing Web3.0 infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region but also mark a significant expansion of Fosun Wealth Holdings’ strategic footprint in the Real World Asset (RWA) sector.

On the same day, “Stablecoin & RWA Innovation Forum” was held in Hong Kong, co-hosted by FinChain, Vaulta (formerly EOS Network), a globally renowned Web3 public blockchain, and Feixiaohao, a prominent blockchain rating agency. The event brought together over 200 financial executives, scholars, and entrepreneurs from organizations including Fosun Wealth Holdings, Solana, OSL, CipherBC, Matrixport, Animoca Brands, RD Technologies, Standard Chartered, Circle, BOCOM International, BNY Mellon, Bank of China (Hong Kong), SoftBank Asia, ICBC Asia, BITFUFU, and other major crypto infrastructure institutions.

Building a Blockchain Compliance Layer to Enhance Asset Liquidity

FinChain positions itself as a financial infrastructure platform that enables compliant on-chain circulation of real world assets. It is dedicated to improving the efficiency of on-chain and off-chain investment and financing, as well as asset transparency, by establishing a blockchain compliance layer and trust mechanisms. FinChain will also enhance global liquidity for compliant digital assets, serving as the “first stop for customer acquisition” for compliant assets like stablecoins. Compliant users can benefit from a seamless “one-time KYC, accessibility” service. FinChain prioritizes compliance requirements at the technical level to deliver efficient and secure services for users.

Cheng Kang, CEO of Fosun Wealth Holdings and Chairman of FinChain, said, “Fosun Wealth Holdings is fully committed to building an AI-driven, one-stop global Web5 (“Web2+Web3″) wealth management platform, creating a seamless ecosystem that integrates digital assets with real-world value. As a pioneer in this vision, FinChain is designed to develop a physical finance blockchain ecosystem for global users, focused on constructing on-chain compliant financial infrastructure. Our goal is to enhance the flow of assets and capital between on-chain and off-chain systems, drive a paradigm shift in investment and financing models, and co-build an open, interconnected, and trusted Web5 ecosystem with the global community.” Zhao Chen, CEO of FinChain, said, “FinChain’s mission is to create a global blockchain compliance layer, fostering a compliant blockchain ecosystem that brings real-world assets into DeFi, unlocking their immense value potential.”

On the same day, FinChain announced that it has signed agreements with a group of investors in connection with its first round of external financing, for an investment of several million U.S. dollars. The strategic investors include the Solana Foundation, Vaulta Foundation, Sonic Labs, Animoca Brands, Unified Ventures, and Tengyun Capital, among other leading Web3 companies and renowned venture capital firms. The funds will support FinChain’s global strategic expansion and business development through technological collaboration and ecosystem partnerships.

Partnering with Seven Leading Institutions to Build a New Crypto Finance Ecosystem

During the forum, Fosun Wealth Holdings and FinChain signed strategic cooperation agreements with Feixiaohao, Animoca Brands, Matrixport, CipherBC, FomoGroup, MetaComp, and Vaulta. Feixiaohao is a key Asian media platform; Animoca Brands is a top-tier investment firm; Matrixport is a leading crypto asset management group; CipherBC is a technology-driven crypto security provider; FomoGroup is one of the largest fintech groups in the Asia-Pacific; MetaComp is a licensed compliant exchange in Singapore; and Vaulta (formerly EOS Network) is the first on-chain bank providing full-chain services. These strategic partnerships will integrate efforts across brand building, asset management, technological infrastructure, and Asian payment channels, creating a new ecosystem for crypto finance that supports real-world assets within a compliant framework.

Vaulta, one of the forum’s co-organizers, also announced its deep collaboration with FinChain in the RWA and stablecoin sectors, marking a milestone in introducing traditional financial tools to blockchain infrastructure. Vaulta’s CBO, Sistine, highlighted at the forum that Vaulta aims to provide a one-stop solution for wealth management, trading, and payment services under a unified account, realizing the vision of a true Web3 bank. Feixiaohao, another co-organizer and a leading blockchain rating agency, released the “Asia RWA Rankings” and announced its global compliance strategy.

About FinChain

FinChain is a Web3 brand incubated by Fosun Wealth Holdings, dedicated to building a global real world asset (RWA) financial blockchain network for users. At its core, FinChain is developing a compliant layer for the blockchain ecosystem offering users a unified on chain identity system, and a developer-friendly hub for compliant resource distribution. This infrastructure empowers builders to rapidly launch and scale in both the DeFi space and traditional finance sectors.

SOURCE Finchain Hong Kong Limited