Loading organizations...
§ Private Profile · San Francisco, CA, USA
BaaS platform providing banking infrastructure for fintechs and institutions, focused on secure money movement with U.S. Treasury bills.
Jiko, based in Wadena, Minnesota, provides resilient banking infrastructure that securely stores and moves money by replacing traditional deposits with U.S. Treasury bills for enhanced safety and real-time liquidity. The platform offers direct access to T-bills, enables instant transfers, and supports real-time settlement primarily for institutional clients and fintechs, powering banking-as-a-service (BaaS) without intermediaries. Jiko became the first fintech to acquire a national bank charter by purchasing Mid-Central Federal Savings Bank in 2020, subsequently pivoting to accelerate its B2B BaaS strategy. The organization reported 23 employees at the time of the bank acquisition. Co-founder and CEO Stephane Lintner, an ex-Goldman Sachs trader, leads the company. Jiko was founded in 2016 by Stephane Lintner and his team. Its business model centers on banking-as-a-service platform providing infrastructure to fintechs and institutions, generates revenue through interchange fees passed as cash-back rewards and services for corporate cash management.
Jiko has raised $124.7M across 5 funding rounds.
Jiko has raised $124.7M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Jiko is a San Francisco-based financial technology company that operates a national bank, broker-dealer, and digital platform, enabling direct investment in U.S. Treasury bills (T-bills) with bank-like liquidity and safety. It serves institutional clients like crypto exchanges (e.g., Coinbase, Bitso, Crypto.com), handling corporate cash management, real-time settlements, and payments across sectors such as digital assets, M&A, real estate, aviation, shipping, and energy. Jiko solves liquidity and counterparty risks in traditional banking by eliminating intermediaries, investing 100% of balances in T-bills for yield, security, and 24/7 instant transfers via its JikoNet platform—managing over $10 billion in T-bills traded, 130k+ accounts, and sub-second Visa card spends.[1][2][3][4]
Growth momentum includes $69M in total funding, with a $40M Series B in 2023 led by Red River West, plus partnerships with majors like BNY Mellon for custody and rapid onboarding (11 days from sandbox to production).[2][5][6]
Jiko's founding team, comprising ex-bankers, engineers, and Goldman Sachs veterans, coalesced in 2016 after experiencing the 2008 financial crisis's liquidity failures—Wall Street's issues in the U.S. and Iceland's bank collapses firsthand.[1][3][6] CEO Stephane Lintner, a former Goldman Sachs trader, envisioned a resilient infrastructure free from traditional banking risks, allowing cash to be held directly in T-bills with checking-account usability.[5][6]
Pivotal moments included acquiring an OCC-chartered national bank, registering as a FINRA broker-dealer, and building a proprietary platform over years. Early traction came from institutional trust, evolving into a mission for scalable cash safeguarding amid crises like 2023 banking turmoil.[1][4]
Jiko rides the trend toward tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and stablecoin infrastructure, where T-bills underpin USD liquidity for crypto, DeFi, and beyond amid rising demand for yield-bearing, risk-free rails post-2023 bank failures.[1][2] Timing aligns with regulatory clarity on digital assets and Basel III's liquidity emphasis, favoring direct Treasury exposure over deposits vulnerable to runs.[1][4]
Market forces like high interest rates boost T-bill yields (making them attractive vs. 0% bank cash), while 24/7 global trade demands non-stop settlement—Jiko influences fintech by enabling crypto firms' U.S. compliance and real-time M&A/energy payments, reducing systemic risks and inspiring "T-bill native" banking.[2][5] It humanizes finance by democratizing access to "source of money" for institutions, countering legacy banks' opacity.[1][6]
Jiko is positioned to dominate institutional T-bill liquidity as RWAs and on-chain finance explode, potentially expanding to retail via partners like Public and national loans.[2][4][6] Trends like Fed rate normalization, tokenized Treasuries (e.g., BlackRock's BUIDL), and 24/7 CBDC pilots will amplify demand; Jiko's bank-fintech hybrid could capture share from SVB-like failures.
Influence may evolve into a "stable network" backbone for global USD rails, with growth via acquisitions or crypto treasury tools—watch for $100B+ AUM as safety-first innovation redefines cash in volatile markets, fulfilling its crisis-born mission to safeguard futures at scale.[1][2]
Jiko has raised $124.7M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Jiko's investors include Prefix Capital, Upfront Ventures, Red River West, Slow Ventures.
Jiko has raised $124.7M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $29.0M Series C in December 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2024 | $29M Series C | — | Prefix Capital, Upfront Ventures | Announced |
| Oct 1, 2022 | $40M Series B | RED River West | Prefix Capital, Slow Ventures, Upfront Ventures | Announced |
| Oct 1, 2020 | $40M Series A | — | Prefix Capital, Upfront Ventures | Announced |
| Oct 24, 2017 | $7.7M Series A | — | — | Announced |
| Oct 1, 2017 | $8M Seed | — | Prefix Capital, Upfront Ventures | Announced |