Blockchain startup Figure has agreed to acquire artificial intelligence-powered real estate lending platform Kiavi in a deal worth $717 million, the companies announced Wednesday.
Kiavi offers short-term residential transition loans and longer-term debt service coverage ratio loans, the company said in a statement.
Kiavi is expected to add $7 billion in annual volume to Figure’s balance sheet immediately after purchase, the companies said. That includes about $100 million in monthly flow on Democratized Prime, Figure’s blockchain-native warehouse marketplace.
“Figure is relentless in our pursuit of moving the capital markets onto blockchain rails, and nine months past our successful [initial public offering], this Kiavi transaction is a further pole vault into tokenization, first-lien diversification and our agentic AI platform,” CEO Michael Tannenbaum said Wednesday in a statement.
With Kiavi, more than 40% of Figure’s consumer loan marketplace volume is expected to be first-lien for 2027, the companies said.
Adding Kiavi’s short- and long-term loans “into our partner network will symbiotically supercharge their growth and the growth of our consumer loan marketplace,” Tannenbaum said.
Investment firm Sixth Street will also be part of a joint venture, along with Figure, that is buying loans off Kiavi’s balance sheet.
Kiavi CEO Arvind Mohan said the transaction “represents a massive leap forward for the asset class.”
“With Kiavi’s industry-leading platform powered by Figure’s innovative blockchain marketplace, we have the opportunity to deliver an entirely new – and unmatched – standard of reach, reliability and execution,” said Mohan, who will become Figure’s chief business officer once the deal closes.
The companies did not project a closing time frame in their statement.
Sixth Street’s head of asset-based finance, Michael Dryden, said the investment firm is “pleased to be contributing our residential mortgage and private credit expertise to support Kiavi’s growth as a leading originator.”
Kiavi reported about $250 million in revenue last year, along with $100 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
The companies see a $200 billion annual addressable origination opportunity, they said.
“Blockchain is a big idea, but the on-chain capital markets are in their infancy,” Mike Cagney, Figure’s co-founder and executive chair, said in a statement Wednesday. “Figure needs to make bold moves to bring entire asset classes on chain.”