Figure Announces Strategic Partnership with Agora Data to Bring AI-Driven Auto Finance to Figure Connect Marketplace
NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Figure Technology Solutions ("Figure") (NASDAQ:FIGR) today announced a strategic partnership with Agora Data, a leading AI-powered auto fintech platform, to bring auto finance assets onto the Figure Connect Marketplace and into Democratized Prime, Figure's decentralized lending marketplace. This partnership marks Figure's entry into auto lending, expanding our blockchain-native marketplace into one of the largest consumer credit asset classes beyond housing finance, while leveraging our existing infrastructure without the need for meaningful incremental platform build.
The partnership represents one of the most powerful evolutions of Figure's model: the ability to bring externally originated assets onto its blockchain-powered capital markets rails.
"By pairing AI-driven origination with blockchain-native capital markets infrastructure, this partnership represents the future of auto finance, one that's paved on-chain," said Michael Tannenbaum, Figure CEO. "Our marketplace is becoming a true capital markets highway — capable of accepting assets from multiple on-ramps and delivering standardized, transparent liquidity at scale. As more assets flow on-chain, the marketplace becomes more powerful for originators and investors alike."
Through the partnership, Figure expects to bring tens of millions of dollars in auto finance assets to Democratized Prime and Connect in the coming months, expanding distribution in a capital-light, scalable manner that leverages Figure's blockchain-based capital market without building a new loan origination system.
How it works
Agora will access Democratized Prime's DeFi-native warehouse liquidity through the Figure Connect Marketplace, alongside efficient capital markets execution through whole loan sales and Figure's market leading securitization program.
Under the partnership:
- Agora continues originating auto loans through its existing systems and underwriting framework.
- Figure performs AI-enabled quality control to ensure compliance with underwriting guidelines.
- Loan data is ingested into Figure's system and tokenized on the Provenance Blockchain.
- Once on-chain, the loans gain access to the full capabilities of the Figure Connect Marketplace, including Democratized Prime warehouse funding, DART, whole loan sales, and securitization.
By integrating with third-party originators like Agora, Figure expands asset supply without owning the front-end customer experience or powering the loan origination system. What matters is that the loan ultimately flows into a standardized marketplace with transparent underwriting, a blockchain registry preventing double pledging, and access to both institutional and DeFi-native liquidity.
"We're impressed with the Figure marketplace's ability to provide competitive financing — but in a blockchain-native, standardized, and capital-efficient structure," said Steve Burke, Agora CEO. "With this partnership, we'll maintain control of origination, servicing, and underwriting, while Figure delivers scalable warehouse financing and accelerated velocity through capital markets execution enabling Agora to accelerate growth and provide more capital to car dealerships."
About Figure Technology Solutions
Figure Technology Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIGR) is a blockchain-native capital marketplace that seamlessly connects origination, funding, and secondary market activity. More than 250 partners use its loan origination system and capital marketplace. Collectively, Figure and its partners have originated over $22 billion of home equity to date, among other products, making Figure's ecosystem the largest non-bank provider of home equity financing. The fastest growing components are Figure Connect, its consumer credit marketplace, and Democratized Prime, Figure's on-chain lend-borrow marketplace. Figure's ecosystem also includes DART (Digital Asset Registry Technology) for asset custody and lien perfection, and $YLDS, an SEC-registered yield-bearing stablecoin that is issued by a tokenized face-amount certificate company, which is a type of registered investment company.
Figure is the market leader in real world asset (RWA) tokenization and its most recent securitization received a AAA rating from S&P and Moody's, the first of its kind for blockchain finance. For more information, visit https://figure.com or follow Figure on LinkedIn.
About Agora Data, Inc.
Agora Data, Inc. is a leading non-prime auto fintech innovator transforming access to capital across the automotive finance ecosystem. Through advanced AI-driven analytics, credit modeling, and capital markets expertise, Agora empowers loan originators to improve portfolio performance, unlock capital, and scale responsibly. Backed by deep automotive roots, Agora has delivered multiple industry firsts, including the industry's first asset-pooled non-prime auto securitization in 2020, and continues to pioneer innovative structured finance and funding solutions for auto dealers, financial institutions, and investors through embedded finance products. Agora drives greater efficiency, transparency, and long-term performance in non-prime auto finance. For more information, visit www.agoradata.com or call 1-877-592-4672.
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