Gauntlet, a Leader in DeFi Risk Management, Secures $125 Million Series C Investment from SBI Holdings

On July 9, 2026, Gauntlet, a core platform for decentralized finance (DeFi) risk management, successfully closed a $125 million Series C funding round. This investment saw the Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings participate as the sole investor, marking a symbolic event where traditional financial capital is entering the core infrastructure of the decentralized ecosystem on a large scale.

With the funds secured, Gauntlet plans to expand its business scope beyond existing risk modeling services into the tokenization and automated yield vault markets. Gauntlet CEO Tarun Chitra emphasized that this investment is more than just a capital injection; it will serve as an opportunity to establish risk management standards required by institutional investors.

This Series C round is considered an unusual case in the venture capital industry, as a single investor injected a large sum of over $100 million. Gauntlet, led by CEO Tarun Chitra, has been recognized for its unrivaled technological prowess in the field of risk modeling, and through this fundraising, it has laid the groundwork to further solidify its capital structure and strengthen its market dominance.

SBI Holdings is solidifying its position as a 'financial innovator' leading the integration of the digital asset ecosystem, going beyond being a simple financial investor.

In 2026, SBI Holdings has been pursuing a very aggressive expansion strategy in the digital asset sector. On June 28, 2026, it acquired bitbank, a major domestic exchange, for $289 million, and on July 7, it led a $76 million Series C round for EDX Markets, showing a focus on building institutional-grade infrastructure. These moves by SBI aim to secure a powerful influence across the entire digital asset market.

Evolution from Risk Modeling to DeFi Vaults

Gauntlet is shifting its product focus beyond traditional risk management services to 'vault curation.' This aligns exactly with the demand from institutional investors seeking automated risk-adjusted returns and is expected to serve as a core technology supporting expansion into the tokenized Real World Asset (RWA) market.

• Strengthening scalability and expanding market adoption of tokenization and vault products
• Providing advanced automated risk management tools for institutional investors
• Integrating RWA-based DeFi ecosystems and accelerating liquidity

The M&A and investment landscape of the cryptocurrency market in 2026 is buzzing with moves by companies looking to build regulated digital asset businesses. According to data from Architect Partners, a total of 144 deals worth $11.8 billion have been recorded so far this year, suggesting that the market is reorganizing around high-quality, infrastructure-focused companies like Gauntlet.

Gauntlet's growth trajectory is even more evident when compared to its $23.8 million Series B round in 2022. Gauntlet, which joined the ranks of unicorn companies through an investment led by Ribbit Capital at the time, has firmly established itself as more than just a startup, but as industry-standard infrastructure through this $125 million Series C.

SBI Holdings' investment carries significant strategic implications for the institutional DeFi ecosystem. SBI's strong capital and global network are expected to serve as an important bridge for Gauntlet's entry into the Japanese and global traditional financial markets, which has the potential to accelerate the adoption of tokenized assets.

Future Outlook: Integration and Global Expansion

Going forward, Gauntlet plans to expand its vault product line and further advance its risk modeling technology based on the secured funds. In particular, how Gauntlet's risk management technology will be integrated with SBI Holdings' subsidiaries, such as Bitbank or SBI VC Trade, is expected to be a key point of interest for the market in the future.