Metal funding, valuation and investors

Overview

Metal, legally presented on its website as Nexus Networks, Inc., is building a Layer-1 settlement network and full-stack infrastructure for tokenized financial products. Its design combines programmable compliance and privacy, native agent authorization and payment primitives, and access to Airwallex's local payment rails. The company says the network is intended for tokenized bank deposits, money-market funds, Treasury bills, equities, securities and cross-border stablecoin payments.

Why Metal is interesting

The reported nearly $50 million seed size is exceptional for a company launched in 2026. More important than the headline amount is the strategic structure: Airwallex is simultaneously an investor, design partner and prospective route to regulated fiat rails. That could solve a difficult distribution problem for a new settlement network, but it also creates concentration risk and does not yet prove transaction volume, regulatory approval or production adoption.

Product & use cases

Metal is developing a purpose-built settlement network for regulated tokenized assets. The company proposes identity, authorization, attestations, transaction controls, programmable policies and privacy primitives at the protocol layer. Airwallex is its first design partner and is expected to provide access to local payment rails spanning 200 countries and 90 currencies. Metal also plans native support for agent-payment protocols, microtransactions and cross-currency settlement.

• Tokenized bank deposits, money-market funds, Treasury bills, equities and securities.
• Cross-border stablecoin collections, remittance, payroll and payouts.
• Inter-institutional settlement with programmable compliance and privacy.
• Agent authorization, subscriptions and low-cost machine-to-machine payments.
• Embedded tokenized-finance products for banks, fintechs and software platforms.

Key facts

• A September 11 SEC filing listed a US$32.525 million equity offering target and US$26.400 million sold to 25 investors.
• Australian reporting on October 4 said the full target was completed, equivalent to approximately A$49 million.
• Airwallex and Capital49 co-led the seed financing; Airwallex also became Metal's first design partner.
• Metal says Airwallex's network can connect its infrastructure to local payment rails in 200 countries and 90 currencies.
• Co-founders Loong Wang and Catherine Porter previously worked on Ren Protocol and Meta's Libra initiative, respectively.

Funding history (newest first)

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from Metal's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Competitive landscape

Edge: Metal's proposed advantage is vertical integration across the blockchain, programmable compliance and privacy, agent authorization, tokenized-asset primitives and Airwallex-connected fiat rails. Most competitors specialize in one or two layers. The advantage remains prospective until Metal publishes production benchmarks, institutional deployments and regulatory details.

Metal competes with institutional blockchain and tokenization networks such as Canton Network and Partior, as well as infrastructure providers including Fireblocks and stablecoin-payment platforms such as Rain. Metal is earlier than those businesses and has not disclosed live customer volume. Its differentiator is a single full-stack network designed around regulated tokenized assets and autonomous agents, with Airwallex as both capital provider and initial design partner.

• Canton Network direct

  Institutional blockchain network focused on privacy-enabled synchronization and regulated financial assets.

• Partior direct

  Bank-backed blockchain settlement network for cross-border payments and wholesale financial markets.

• Fireblocks adjacent

  Established digital-asset infrastructure for custody, tokenization, treasury and payments; generally infrastructure around multiple networks rather than a new Layer-1.

• Rain adjacent

  Stablecoin payments and card infrastructure serving enterprises through APIs.

• Traditional correspondent banking incumbent

  Regulated global settlement through existing bank networks, with mature compliance and legal recourse but slower and more fragmented operations.

Industries

Market / IPO context

Related funding articles

Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover Metal's financing or category context.

• Metal’s Seed Round Is Reported at $32.5M as Airwallex Backs Tokenized-Finance Rails