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Hivemind raises $17M from M&G as asset managers test tokenisation

Reported by Thenextweb
Aug 25, 2026· 2 min read
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Key Takeaways
  • • Hivemind Digital Group closed a $17M Series funding round led by M&G Investments, which deployed capital across a strategically assembled investor syndicate rather than maximizing check size.
  • • M&G Investments, managing £371bn in assets as of March 2026, secured board representation through Alex Seddon, head of impact and private equity, signaling major asset managers' serious engagement with tokenization infrastructure.
  • • The investor composition reflects deliberate geographic and sectoral positioning: Hong Kong-domiciled financial institutions (CPIC Investment Management, ZA Bank) and established crypto infrastructure players (FalconX, Sonic Boom Ventures) alongside board members and former executives from Man Group, Apollo Global Management, Coinbase, Citi, and GoldenTree Asset Management.
  • • Hivemind, founded in 2021 by former Citi trading head Matt Zhang, bridges institutional capital allocation and blockchain-based asset infrastructure, with operations spanning New York and London.
  • • The funding round represents a strategic pivot rather than incremental growth, with neither party disclosing valuation or equity stake size.
Summary
Hivemind Digital Group has secured $17M in strategic funding led by M&G Investments, the asset management division of the British savings and investment group that oversaw £371bn in assets as of March 2026. The round marks M&G's entry into the tokenization infrastructure market and reflects growing institutional interest in blockchain-based asset transfer mechanisms.

M&G's involvement extends beyond capital deployment: Alex Seddon, M&G Investments' head of impact and private equity, has joined Hivemind's board as part of the transaction. This represents the first investment between the two organizations. Neither party disclosed the valuation or size of M&G's equity stake, a common approach in early-stage infrastructure deals where strategic positioning matters more than public valuation signals.

The funding syndicate reveals a deliberately constructed investor base assembled around geographic access and existing digital asset expertise rather than pure capital maximization. Participants include CPIC Investment Management (HK), ZA Bank—a licensed Hong Kong virtual bank—and FalconX, an institutional prime broker for cryptocurrency trading. The round also attracted board members and former senior executives from Man Group, Apollo Global Management, Coinbase, Citi, First Citizens Bank, and GoldenTree Asset Management. The heavy tilt toward Hong Kong and established digital asset operators signals investor strategy focused on opening regional doors and leveraging existing infrastructure relationships.

Hivemind, founded in 2021 by Matt Zhang—a former head of trading at Citi—operates from offices in New York and London. The firm's business model sits between traditional fund management and tokenization of real-world assets, allocating institutional capital across digital asset strategies while simultaneously developing the technical infrastructure that enables asset migration onto blockchain rails. Zhang characterized the funding round as a directional shift rather than incremental capital raising, suggesting material operational expansion or strategic repositioning ahead.

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Sources

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AlphaMaven summarised this story from the reporting below. Each link opens the original article.

Thenextweb Hivemind raises $17M from M&G as asset managers test tokenisation