Agio Ratings, a digital asset risk intelligence firm, closed a $6 million funding round led by AlbionVC. The round included participation from Portage Ventures and MS&AD, bringing the company's total capital raised to over $11 million. The funding will support expansion of Agio's research and engineering teams as it broadens its risk ratings coverage and works with major financial institutions entering cryptocurrency markets.
Founded in 2022, the company fills a gap in cryptocurrency risk assessment by quantifying the default probability of exchanges, custodians, and lenders. This data helps trading firms, insurance companies, and banks make better-informed decisions about their digital asset exposure.
Agio Ratings takes a different approach than traditional credit rating agencies. The firm uses quantitative methodologies designed to capture how a company's default risk changes as market conditions shift. Their data-driven models can identify risk signals that markets often overlook or underweight.
The track record speaks for itself. Agio's models flagged FTX's high probability of default four months before the exchange collapsed into bankruptcy. More recently, the firm correctly determined that Bybit had sufficient financial resilience to weather its $1.5 billion security breach.
"Growing institutional participation is transforming crypto markets and creating a greater need for credible, independent risk intelligence," said Alain Passini, Head of Risk at Wintermute. "Agio Ratings provides a clear, data-driven view of the probability of default for exchanges and other institutions, and their alerts deliver a valuable independent signal alongside our own monitoring by flagging anomalous transaction patterns."
In early 2025, Agio Ratings partnered with Relm Insurance to power their crypto exchange default product. The company is now in discussions with some of the largest banks in the US and Europe as these institutions prepare to offer crypto trading, lending, and stablecoin services.
The new capital will help Agio scale operations to meet this institutional demand. The firm plans to expand its team of specialized researchers and engineers while deepening partnerships with major financial institutions that need independent risk assessments before entering digital asset markets.
The company was created in response to a fundamental problem: the cryptocurrency market lacked the quality data needed to power standard risk assessment models. Traditional approaches don't work well in a market that operates 24/7, moves quickly, and includes players with limited regulatory oversight.
Agio's team of PhDs developed advanced models that account for the unique risk factors in digital assets. The firm's ratings are now used by some of the most sophisticated risk teams in the industry, including Wintermute, Ledn, and Relm Insurance.
"We're thrilled to have such strong backing from leading investors who understand the massive opportunity in managing crypto risk," said Ana De Sousa, CEO of Agio Ratings. "This funding allows us to expand our team of world-class researchers and engineers while deepening our partnerships with major financial institutions. The interest we're seeing from top-tier banks shows that they need our independent risk insights to participate safely."
AlbionVC, which led the round, sees digital asset risk management as an increasingly important category as institutional players enter the market. The venture firm was founded in 1996 and was among the first to back companies like Booking.com, Egress, Quantexa, and Oviva.
"As the digital asset market continues to mature, it urgently needs independent, institutional-grade risk management. Agio Ratings has proven they can deliver exactly that," said Kibriya Rahman, Investor at AlbionVC. "Their ability to predict major market events like FTX's collapse while others missed the warning signs demonstrates the sophistication of their approach. We're excited to back Ana and her team as they scale to meet the demand from banks, funds, and insurance companies, and become the global category leader in the space."
With £1 billion in assets under management and over 100 successful exits, AlbionVC brings both capital and operational expertise to help Agio scale. The firm is the technology investment arm of Albion Capital Group, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
