News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Tech in Asia, Special, an AI-powered M&A firm co-founded by Nate Cavanaugh and Justin Fox—both former staff members of the U.S. government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—has announced a funding round of undisclosed amount, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Investors include Antonio Gracias, founder of Valor Equity Partners; Anthony Armstrong, former CFO of xAI; Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase Global; and Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir Technologies. Special plans to acquire service-based businesses by automating workflows with AI to reduce costs, and has already reached an agreement to acquire a Texas-based healthcare company, which will be integrated into Figure Health—the company’s business line focused on aging populations.
Bernstein has reiterated its "Outperform" rating on Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR) and maintained a price target of $67, implying approximately 72% upside from the current share price of $38.97.Figure posted strong Q1 2026 results: loan origination volume reached $2.9 billion, up 113% year-over-year; adjusted revenue was $167 million, surpassing market expectations by 6% and up 92% year-over-year; adjusted EBITDA was $82.7 million, with a margin of approximately 50%, slightly above market consensus. However, GAAP diluted EPS was $0.18, missing expectations by about 9%, primarily impacted by $26 million in stock-based compensation expenses.Bernstein analysts believe this performance should reshape market perception of Figure, viewing it not as a traditional credit company, but as a "tokenization-driven capital markets platform." Core profitability stems from network fees and operational leverage from scaling, and the valuation framework remains based on 25x 2027 EBITDA. Additionally, the tokenization ecosystem continues to expand: the yield-bearing security token YLDS reached $598 million (up 80% quarter-over-quarter); the stock lending product balance stood at $368 million (up 79%); and the small business loan segment contributed $60 million in revenue.Figure's current share price remains not far from its 2025 IPO offering price of $36, but still significantly below its all-time high of $78. (The Block)
Coinbase announced a “seven-figure” strategic investment in Centrifuge and selected it as the primary asset tokenization partner for its public blockchain, Base. Under the partnership, Centrifuge will serve as the core infrastructure for issuing tokenized assets on Base, enabling the onchain issuance and trading of real-world assets (RWAs), including ETFs, credit funds, and structured products. The two parties have previously collaborated—for instance, launching the first compliant onchain S&P 500 index fund on Base.