MS&AD Ventures Participates in Interchange's Seed Round
Interchange, a financial infrastructure company, has completed two significant operational milestones: a $17 million seed funding round, and the receipt of comprehensive regulatory approvals for its wholly-owned subsidiary, Interchange Clearing LLC.
The dual announcement positions Interchange as a formidable new entrant in the securities clearing space, a sector historically dominated by legacy institutions. By combining capital injection with regulatory clearance, the company intends to launch a modern correspondent clearing firm and developer platform designed to overhaul how FinTechs and financial institutions connect to U.S. markets.
Regulatory Breakthroughs
While capital raises are common in FinTech, Interchange’s regulatory progress is particularly notable. The company confirmed that its subsidiary, Interchange Clearing LLC, has secured all necessary membership approvals to operate as a full clearing member. These approvals include:
- Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
- The Depository Trust Company (DTC)
- National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC)
- Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (NQX)
These memberships grant Interchange direct connectivity to U.S. financial markets, allowing them to bypass intermediaries that often slow down trade execution and settlement for modern applications.
Investor Syndicate
The $17 million seed round includes a mix of institutional venture capital and strategic operator-angels. Participation comes from MS&AD Ventures, BoxGroup, Plug and Play Ventures, and Liquid2.
Additionally, the round attracted support from family offices and a roster of founders and executives from prominent fintech unicorns, including leadership from Ramp, Mercury, AngelList, Titan, and Carry.
Strategic Focus
Interchange aims to solve a long-standing bottleneck in the financial industry: the lack of programmable, developer-friendly infrastructure for securities-based products. The company is positioning itself as a "purpose-built" solution for the next generation of financial products, targeting a client base of:
- Broker-dealers
- Investment advisers (RIAs)
- Banks and Trust companies
- FinTechs (both domestic and international)
In a statement regarding the launch, the Interchange team emphasized the gap between current market needs and available infrastructure:
"We have a simple goal at Interchange: build the world-class product our industry has always needed but has never had. We believe a world-class product should help you launch faster, run smoother, operate at the frontier of innovation, and increase your revenue."
The company is now actively partnering with institutions seeking to upgrade their investing experiences through Interchange's direct-connectivity platform.
Norbert Gehrke
