Gauntlet Secures $125 Million Series C from SBI Holdings to Scale DeFi Risk Infrastructure

San Francisco, CA — July 9, 2026 — Gauntlet, the on-chain risk management and protocol optimization platform, has raised $125 million in Series C funding from SBI Holdings, Japan's largest financial services conglomerate, in a sole-investor round. The capital will fund product expansion, international growth, and deeper integrations across the decentralized finance ecosystem as institutional demand for protocol-grade risk management grows.

Gauntlet currently manages risk parameters for protocols controlling more than $50 billion in total value locked, including Aave, Compound, MakerDAO, Balancer, and Curve. The firm's simulation engine models liquidation thresholds, collateral ratios, and interest rate parameters, with governance recommendations routinely adopted by protocol communities. Following $14+ billion in DeFi protocol losses during the 2022–2023 market downturn, demand for independent, quantitative risk management has become a baseline requirement for institutional-grade protocols.

SBI Holdings, which manages more than $200 billion in assets across banking, securities, and insurance, made the investment as a sole participant. The Japanese conglomerate has steadily expanded its digital asset footprint through investments in Ripple, SBI Digital Assets Holdings, and multiple blockchain infrastructure firms. Backing Gauntlet represents a strategic move into DeFi's operational layer, where risk modeling and governance optimization serve as critical infrastructure.

"Risk management is not a feature—it is the foundation that allows DeFi to scale toward institutional adoption," said Tarun Chitra, Founder and CEO of Gauntlet. "This investment accelerates our ability to build the infrastructure that protocols, asset managers, and regulators will require as on-chain finance matures."

The funding arrives as DeFi TVL has recovered from a cycle low near $40 billion to exceed $100 billion, with renewed institutional participation from asset managers, banks, and sovereign wealth funds exploring on-chain yield and liquidity products. Regulatory frameworks across the EU, Japan, and the United States are increasingly signaling that protocol governance and risk controls will face formal scrutiny—a development that strengthens the compliance case for third-party risk management providers.

Gauntlet's previous rounds included a $10 million Series A in 2021 and a $40 million Series B in 2023, backed by Polychain Capital, Sequoia, and Paradigm. The Series C brings total funding to $175 million. The company has not disclosed its current valuation.

Proceeds will be allocated toward expanding Gauntlet's simulation capabilities into derivatives and synthetic asset protocols, building enterprise sales infrastructure for institutional clients, and establishing a presence in Asian markets through SBI's regional network.

About Gauntlet

Founded in 2019 by Tarun Chitra, Gauntlet is an on-chain risk management and economic simulation platform headquartered in San Francisco. The firm provides quantitative risk modeling, parameter optimization, and governance support for decentralized finance protocols. Gauntlet's clients include Aave, Compound, MakerDAO, Balancer, and Curve, collectively representing more than $50 billion in managed TVL. The company operates on a B2B subscription model, with recommendations implemented through on-chain governance processes. For more information, visit gauntlet.network.

About SBI Holdings

SBI Holdings is Japan's largest financial services conglomerate, operating across banking, securities, insurance, and asset management with more than $200 billion in assets under management. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, SBI has maintained an active digital asset strategy since 2016, with investments spanning Ripple, digital asset custody, and blockchain infrastructure. The firm manages SBI Digital Assets Holdings and has established crypto trading and custody services across Asian markets.

Press contact: [Contact information] Forward-looking statements in this release are subject to risks and uncertainties. Past performance of portfolio protocols does not guarantee future results.