New Zealand-born AI-based registry and fund administration platform Caruso has raised $9.3 million in a Series A raise at an $80 million valuation.
The round was led by Kiwi VCs Icehouse Ventures and GD1, who first invested in 2023’s $3 million Seed round, with participation from private credit fund manager Balmain, a Caruso customer who backed another $3.2m raise in late 2024.
Founded in 2023, the capital is for product development, expanded AI agent capabilities, and increasing the headcount to 80+ across its offices in Sydney, Auckland, and Dallas, with the Australian site doubling to around 40.
Caruso was built for real estate, private credit, and private equity funds, to replace fragmented systems and manual processes. More than 80 fund managers running 900 funds with more than $80 billion in assets, use the platform.
Cofounder and CEO Mark Hurley said the goal is to remove admin from fund administration.
“For the first time, our customers have a single source of truth for their investor and fund data across
CRM, registry, compliance, capital raising, and the investor portal,” he said.
“Integrated with that system of record, we give them a system of action: people and AI agents working together to do the work faster and more accurately than ever before.”
Icehouse Ventures partner Jack McQuire said the fund administration industry touches almost every aspect of
people’s lives, from infrastructure like roads and housing to retirement savings.
“Despite this, the industry still runs on decades-old software,” he said.
“Caruso’s rapid growth to date is just the beginning of what their AI-native platform can unlock for this industry.”
