Figure acquires lending platform Kiavi for $717M
What's the deal? FigureDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Technology Solutions, a publicly traded blockchain-native capital marketplace, has agreed to acquire Kiavi, an AI-powered lending platform for residential real estate investors, in a $717M deal. A joint venture between Figure and global investment firm Sixth StreetDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → will buy Kiavi's balance sheet assets, while Figure takes on its technology and operating platform.
Kiavi is the top lender in the residential transition loan market, providing capital for investors who buy, renovate, and rent properties at scale. The acquisition taps into what Figure calls a $200B annual addressable origination opportunity.
Why now? Figure, which went public roughly eight months ago, is pushing aggressively into first-lien lending — a market it says is 25 times larger than second-lien. Its first-lien segment grew about 2.5 times year-over-year in 2025, and adding Kiavi is projected to push first-lien volume to over 40% of Figure's total consumer loan marketplace by 2027.
The deal also feeds Figure's core thesis: moving financial assets onto blockchain rails. The company claims it already accounts for 75% of real-world asset tokenisation. Kiavi is expected to add $7B in annual volume to Figure's Connect marketplace and more than $100M monthly to Democratized Prime, its blockchain-native warehouse platform that matches lenders with institutional investors.
What could go wrong? The residential investment property market is cyclical and rate-sensitive. If the housing market softens or borrowing costs rise, loan volumes could fall short of projections. Integrating Kiavi's operations onto blockchain infrastructure also carries execution risk — tokenisation at this scale remains relatively untested.
Figure's 60% medium-term EBITDA margin target is ambitious. While the company says the combined business will be asset-light and high-margin with an unlevered cash payback in under four years, delivering on that promise while absorbing a $717M acquisition will require disciplined integration.
The signal: This deal reflects two converging trends: the tokenisation of real-world assets and the consolidation of fintech lending platforms. Figure is betting that blockchain rails can strip cost and friction from mortgage markets — a bold thesis it is now backing with real scale.
The acquisition also marks an early deployment of Figure's AI product, Adaptor, which automates onboarding across asset types. Kiavi's loans will be the first use case for fully agentic, agent-to-agent onboarding — a sign that AI is moving from back-office tool to core infrastructure in financial services.
Sources: Kiavi, Figure, GlobeNewswire
