Summary
Augustus, a German payments startup building a de novo U.S. bank, has raised $180 million in a Series B round led by Tiger Global, reaching a $1 billion valuation. The company received conditional OCC approval for a U.S. bank charter in May 2026 and is building an AI-powered clearing bank designed to give international fintechs and banks direct access to U.S. dollar rails. The round included participation from Hummingbird, QED Investors, and executives from Nubank, Ramp, Circle, Revolut, and Coinbase.
Key Facts
- Series B: $180M led by Tiger Global; valuation: $1B
- Conditional OCC approval for U.S. bank charter received May 2026
- Founded in 2022 under the name Ivy
- Already holds payments licenses in Europe; processes transactions for Kraken
- AI-powered core banking platform: Marble
- Expanding to Latin America, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa
- Total funding: $210M
- Series B median: $32M size, $184M pre-money valuation (PitchBook)
- "The dollar is the greatest product in the world but its distribution is fundamentally broken" — CEO Ferdinand Dabitz
Why It Matters
Augustus is targeting a structural gap in the global financial system: international banks and fintechs access U.S. dollars through correspondent banking chains that are slow, expensive, and can be cut off at will. By combining a U.S. bank charter with modern technology, Augustus aims to provide a direct, regulated alternative. The participation of executives from prospective clients (Nubank, Ramp, Circle, Revolut, Coinbase) in the funding round signals strong demand. The raise is 5.6x the median Series B size — "continued evidence of how much weight cross-border payments carry right now."