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Figure Technology Solutions Achieves Industry First with S&P AAA Ratings for Blockchain Assets

Figure Technology Solutions Achieves Industry First with S&P AAA Ratings for Blockchain Assets

Business Wire12-06-2025
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Figure Technology Solutions ('Figure'), a technology platform powering an efficient, liquid, blockchain-based marketplace for financial products, today announced its latest securitization of mortgage assets totaling $355 million. This transaction, FIGRE 2025-HE3, is a landmark achievement as the first of its kind to receive ratings from S&P Global Ratings across all six bond classes, ranging from AAA to B-.
'This milestone is a significant validation of both our asset quality and the blockchain-backed ecosystem we are building,' said Todd Stevens, Chief Capital Officer of Figure. 'Securing AAA ratings from S&P reflects the growing confidence in blockchain infrastructure as a foundation for secure, efficient, and transparent financial products.'
Key Highlights of the Transaction:
Investor Participation: More than 30 unique investors participated in the transaction, with large AAA investor participation. Participants included insurance companies, money managers, and credit funds.
Oversubscription: All bond classes were oversubscribed during the sale process, reflecting strong market demand.
Figure Connect: All of the collateral in the transaction was contributed by participants on Figure Connect – underscoring growing acceptance of our blockchain-based marketplace. Figure itself contributed no collateral into the deal.
'Our goal is for the market to see us as predictable on the credit side as well as the issuance side. We're confident that we can be relied on as a steady, consistent, transparent issuer, which helps drive our appeal with our diverse investor base,' Stevens added.
The underlying loans in this transaction leverage the Provenance Blockchain to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the underwriting process.
FIGRE 2025-HE3 represents Figure's fourth HELOC securitization in 2025, underscoring the company's continued momentum in the market.
Since the launch of Figure Connect in June 2024, investor participation has increased due to the platform's efficiency and yield advantages over traditional non-QM offerings. The recent joint venture with Sixth Street, committing over $2 billion in liquidity, further strengthens Figure's capacity to bridge traditional finance with innovative blockchain solutions. Figure continues to lead the market in blockchain-based securitizations with its end-to-end digital infrastructure driving faster execution and reduced costs, offering enhanced transparency for both issuers and investors.
About Figure Technology Solutions
Founded in 2018, Figure Technology Solutions ('Figure') is a blockchain–based technology platform built to enhance efficiency and transparency in financial services. Figure Connect is powered by the Provenance Blockchain, which onboards all of Figure's loans, and is the world's largest originator of Real World Assets. Its subsidiary, Figure Lending LLC, is the largest non-bank provider of home equity lines of credit; its software has been used to originate more than $15B of home equity. Figure's technology is embedded across a broad network of loan originators and capital markets buyers and is used directly as well by homeowners in all 50 states and Washington, DC. With Figure, homeowners can receive approval for a HELOC in as fast as five minutes and receive funding in as few as five days.
To date, Figure has embedded its HELOC in more than 150 partners, including Rate (formerly Guaranteed Rate), CrossCountry Mortgage, Movement Mortgage, Goodleap, and many other fintechs, depositories, and independent mortgage banks. For more information, visit https://figure.com or follow Figure on LinkedIn.
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The Week In AI: Cheap House Robots and Pricey Manhattan Projects
The Week In AI: Cheap House Robots and Pricey Manhattan Projects

Yahoo

time3 days ago

  • Yahoo

The Week In AI: Cheap House Robots and Pricey Manhattan Projects

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Brad Stevens said new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm still upbeat despite painful finish to season
Brad Stevens said new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm still upbeat despite painful finish to season

Boston Globe

time12-07-2025

  • Boston Globe

Brad Stevens said new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm still upbeat despite painful finish to season

When Chisholm agreed to purchase the team in March, the near-term outlook was bright. Boston was favored to win its second consecutive NBA title, with a core in place that included superstar forward Jayson Tatum. Tatum then ruptured his Achilles' tendon during the conference semifinals against the Knicks, and Boston went on to lose the series. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In recent weeks, the urgency to get below the salary cap's second apron and avoid severe roster-building restrictions led to the departures of Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet, and Al Horford's exit is imminent. Advertisement But Stevens said Chisholm has remained upbeat and has been a supportive voice during this challenging stretch. 'Wyc is obviously still the governor and has been obviously very, very active,' Stevens said. 'But I think Bill has been in pretty much every meeting or Zoom that we've had with the governors and ownership and everything else. So, he's been great. I'm a big fan and he's got a great way about him. I think he's very smart. He loves the Celtics. Advertisement 'He didn't take over at the easiest of times when you talk about the second apron issues that we talked about the other day, and Tatum's injury, and everything else. But he's so level-headed and he's got such a good way about him. I'm really excited to have him around.' ▪ Stevens acknowledged that there were mistakes in the Celtics' summer league win over the Grizzlies Friday, but he was pleased that none were related to the team's level of effort. First-round pick Hugo Gonzalez made 4 of 12 shots and had 12 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds, but afterward he lamented going 1 for 5 from the free-throw line. 'I think he really wants to be good,' Stevens said. 'You can tell he's got a good work ethic, a good compete level. There's a care factor there and, you know, he's just learning. His head was spinning in the first half. There were a couple times he was looking one way and the guy was three steps behind him cutting the other way. 'So, he had a good day, but he can do a lot of things better. He'll get that quick.' Stevens pointed out that Gonzalez could also use a break. He helped Real Madrid to the Spanish League title on the same night he was drafted last month. The Celtics initially told him to take about four days to recharge before coming to Boston, but he arrived after just two. Stevens said Gonzalez will sit out one of the Celtics' next two games in Las Vegas. Advertisement ▪ Last week, Stevens hinted that the Celtics would use summer league to experiment with new concepts and approaches that might be useful next season, in the wake of extensive personnel changes. He expanded on that possibility Saturday. 'I don't know if it's necessarily experimenting just for the sake of experimenting,' he said. 'I think it's more this is the team you have, you play to the strengths of your team and you figure that out. You're not afraid to try things, obviously, but we'll see who's available, and when you do you figure out how to play to give yourselves the best chance to win.' Still, Stevens acknowledged that tactical approaches in summer league don't always translate, because defensive coverages are fairly simple due to the lack of practice time and familiarity among players. ▪ Veteran big man Charles Bassey was a late addition to Boston's summer squad but had an impressive debut, registering 14 points and 11 rebounds in just 18 minutes. Bassey, who battled injuries while playing for the 76ers and Spurs over the last four seasons, said he is now healthy and eager for another shot. 'He's a guy that's probably playing for what's next,' Stevens said. 'I just think he's a guy we've paid attention to from afar for a long time. We're watching all these guys all the time, and I thought he did a really good job yesterday. He probably was the biggest reason we won the game, I thought.' Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at

Figure AI founder Brett Adcock says there will soon be as many humanoid robots as humans
Figure AI founder Brett Adcock says there will soon be as many humanoid robots as humans

Business Insider

time11-07-2025

  • Business Insider

Figure AI founder Brett Adcock says there will soon be as many humanoid robots as humans

"The home is coming," Brett Adcock, the founder of robotics company Figure AI, says. "The home is like single-digit years away" from being a place where humanoid robots can do "useful work," he said this week on Around the Prompt, a tech podcast. That is, first and foremost, thanks to advances in hardware, which have become significantly more reliable in the past decade. "You can't get this done on like mediocre hardware," Adcock said. Neural networks, the computational models that mimic the networks in the brain, meanwhile, have evolved to make humanoids a near-term reality, he said. Adcock referenced an update the company released last week for its humanoid robot, Helix, allowing it to complete an hour of "uninterrupted logistics work." The robot managed packages on a conveyor belt. Adcock said the latest development shows that its neural nets are "approaching human speed and performance." Watch Helix's neural network do 60 minutes of uninterrupted logistics work Helix now incorporates touch and short-term memory and it's performance continuously improves over time — Figure (@Figure_robot) June 7, 2025 Investors, too, see promise in a future populated by humanoid robots. Figure, founded in 2022, has raised $2.34 billion, with $1.5 billion coming from its latest Series C round in February led by SaxeCap, 1802 Ventures, and Vegvisir Capital. The company is now valued at $2.6 billion, according to PitchBook. The company has also raised money from companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, Nvidia, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. But Adcock — who previously founded electric aircraft company Archer and AI talent marketplace Vettery — said he put in a bulk of the initial capital. In the last seven years, the "climate towards deep tech has really flipped," Adcock said. "There are fully dedicated funds for this. People realize now that probably some of these deep tech companies might be the biggest businesses in the world or starting to become the biggest business." Other major players in the humanoid robot space include Tesla, which has Optimus, a 5-foot-8 humanoid robot that can dance, clean, and take out the trash. The company is working to deploy its first fleet in its factories by the year's end. Boston Dynamics has Atlas, which can run, crawl, break dance, and do cartwheels. Agility Robotics has Digit, which Amazon once tested in its warehouses, though the e-commerce giant now uses its own set of in-house, non-humanoid robots designed by Amazon Robotics. Many of these humanoid machines move with fluidity, exhibiting a suite of motor skills that allow them to augment the human labor force. Figure says its mission is to "develop general-purpose humanoids that make a positive impact on humanity and create a better life for future generations," especially ones that can "eliminate the need for unsafe and undesirable jobs — ultimately allowing us to live happier, more purposeful lives." The company already has robots mingling with humans at its offices, asking employees if they want water or coffee, or simply patrolling the premises, he said. So, it's not hard to imagine a time when "you'll see as many humanoid robots as you see humans," he said. "It's literally going to feel like a sci-fi movie." The real draw, though, is that "the humanoid robots will be the ultimate deployment vector for AGI," he said. Humanoids aren't the only type of robots in development. In 2024, investors put $6.1 billion in VC dollars behind the general category of robotics, up 19% from 2023, according to PitchBook. That includes companies collecting data, building AI models for robots, and creating robotic fleet management software, PitchBook said. "There's a whole ecosystem that's been kickstarted in the last three years," Srini Ananth, managing director at Intel Capital, told PitchBook. Some experts in the field question whether the human form is really the best vehicle for machines. "My hypothesis is that the requirements of different tasks are so vast that having very few form or sticking with one form is energy inefficient," Fei-Fei Li, cofounder and CEO of World Labs, said on the No Priors podcast. "Just an extreme and trivial example, if we put robots underwater, they should not be the shape of humans. They better be in the shape of fish. Just think about energy efficiency. The same with flying."

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