The $1.7T syndicated mortgage market and the multi-hundred-billion-dollar CLO market have lengthy operated by means of guide, time-consuming processes that create inefficiencies and restrict liquidity for institutional merchants. Regardless of these markets’ large dimension and significance to the monetary system, digital buying and selling has been nearly non-existent, with most transactions nonetheless performed by means of cellphone calls and spreadsheets. Octaura addresses this problem by offering the primary complete digital buying and selling platform for syndicated loans and collateralized mortgage obligations (CLOs), combining real-time buying and selling capabilities with superior knowledge analytics and connectivity options. The platform has demonstrated outstanding development, capturing 4.6% of complete secondary mortgage buying and selling quantity inside simply two years of launch whereas increasing from 3 to 25 sellers and from 34 to 146 buy-side corporations. With the upcoming launch of their CLO buying and selling platform and continued innovation in knowledge analytics, Octaura modernizes these crucial credit score markets utterly.
AlleyWatch sat down with Octaura CEO and Co-Founder Brian Bejile to study extra in regards to the enterprise, its future plans, and up to date $46.5M funding spherical.
Who had been your buyers and the way a lot did you elevate?
Octaura started as an initiative between Financial institution of America and Citi to handle the challenges and limitations inside the syndicated mortgage and CLO markets. The corporate launched in 2022 with the backing of Moody’s Analytics, Citi, Financial institution of America, Credit score Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
We additionally lately introduced $46.5M in a big funding spherical, backed by continued assist from founding buyers plus six new buyers – Barclays, Deutsche Financial institution, BNP Paribas, Apollo and Motive Companions, MassMutual Ventures, and OMERS Ventures.
Inform us in regards to the services or products that Octaura affords.
Octaura is a platform for electronically buying and selling leveraged loans and collateralized mortgage obligations (CLOs). Our know-how brings collectively buying and selling, real-time knowledge and deep analytics, enabling merchants to successfully entry liquidity and obtain greatest execution.
What impressed the beginning of Octaura?
I began my profession at Citi as a CLO dealer doing a variety of guide work. I used to be continuously on the lookout for methods to automate and make my life simpler, and because the leveraged loans and CLO markets turned a lot bigger, I noticed the whole {industry} wanted a special method to do issues.
My group at Citi constructed an e-trading platform on Citi Velocity to automate buyer bid collections on CLO Bids Wished in Competitors (BWIC). Up till this level, most market contributors believed that we may by no means commerce electronically. We dispelled that after which it wasn’t a stretch that an agnostic, multi-dealer platform may exist.
From there, Citi mentioned, “That’s nice – in the event you can create a platform, we’ll assist you”. Then I used to be in a position to get Financial institution of America excited in regards to the thought, which led to conversations with the remainder of the founding buyers, and Challenge Octopus was born.
Octaura in the end launched in April 2022 aspiring to create the primary digital buying and selling platform for syndicated loans and CLOs.
How is Octaura totally different?
Octaura has reimagined the best way the syndicated mortgage and the CLO markets commerce as a result of it launched with assist and platform customers from each the purchase and promote sides since day 1.
It was constructed to resolve an industry-wide problem and handle inefficiencies in these markets which have traditionally been guide and time-consuming. By way of Octaura, merchants can purchase and promote loans and CLOs within the secondary market extra simply – one thing that has by no means been out there earlier than. In consequence, contributors have higher accessibility, fewer errors and a extra streamlined buying and selling course of.
As well as, Octaura improves the supply and use of information and analytics options for the mortgage and structured credit score markets – making a extra clear market broadly.
What market does Octaura goal and the way huge is it?
We work with institutional merchants on each the buyside and sellside and presently function within the U.S.
Our syndicated mortgage platform has gained vital traction since its launch. Between April 2023 to April 2025, we grew our vendor community from 3 to 25 and expanded our buy-side participation from 34 to 146 corporations.
We’re persevering with to develop quick – within the first quarter of 2024, Octaura reached 1% of secondary mortgage buying and selling quantity, and only one yr later, captured 4.6% of complete market quantity, underscoring the platform’s broader affect on the mortgage market. Capturing this share of buying and selling exercise within the mortgage market on our platform so shortly displays our dedication to purchasers and the urge for food for know-how within the house.
What’s what you are promoting mannequin?
Octaura’s mortgage and CLO buying and selling platform is a transaction-based price mannequin. Octaura’s knowledge and analytics product choices are subscription-based.
How are you getting ready for a possible financial slowdown?
In periods of financial uncertainty, Octaura is a superb place for institutional merchants to supply liquidity. We noticed this firsthand throughout April’s interval of heightened volatility because of the tariffs. Octaura was a useful resource for merchants trying to handle threat throughout financial uncertainty and supply liquidity from the market, leading to elevated buying and selling volumes on the platform.
What was the funding course of like?
We had been thrilled to obtain continued backing from our founding buyers and welcome a bunch of latest strategic buyers who consider in Octaura’s imaginative and prescient. This marks an thrilling new chapter for Octaura.
What are the most important challenges that you simply confronted whereas elevating capital?
There’s merely loads to do while you’re elevating capital with over a dozen buyers. Getting everybody aligned, whereas additionally assembly the wants of our purchasers and constructing an awesome product can definitely be difficult, however we now have the group in place to do it.
What elements about what you are promoting led your buyers to put in writing the test?
We’re extraordinarily strategic with our targets and targeted on addressing consumer challenges. Plus, the platform’s confirmed use case inspired buyers to assist our development.
We’re extraordinarily strategic with our targets and targeted on addressing consumer challenges. Plus, the platform’s confirmed use case inspired buyers to assist our development.
What are the milestones you propose to realize within the subsequent six months?
This funding will enable Octaura to digitize the credit score market by means of continued innovation over the following a number of months, together with:
- Proceed to penetrate market share within the leveraged mortgage market
- Launch its CLO buying and selling platform
- Construct modern and significant knowledge and analytic options for the market
What recommendation are you able to supply firms in New York that would not have a recent injection of capital within the financial institution?
Be nimble together with your group and don’t scale too shortly. Since inception, we now have targeted on hiring strategically primarily based on enterprise wants and we really feel fortunate that New York has a deep pool of unimaginable expertise.
New York additionally affords an unimaginable neighborhood of like-minded founders, artistic entrepreneurs, and tech-forward thinkers. Once I’m feeling caught, I wish to faucet into my broader community for some recent perspective and inspiration.
The place do you see the corporate going now over the close to time period?
We’re targeted on launching the platform for our second asset class – CLOs. There are related challenges within the CLO market, so we now have developed an answer that mixes digital execution, superior knowledge, deep analytics and a set of connectivity for sellside and buyside contributors. Having a view of each the mortgage and CLO markets on the platform may be very complementary.
What’s your favourite spring vacation spot in and across the metropolis?
We wish to often assist our native Penn District institutions for enterprise dinners – particularly if there’s an outside patio concerned!
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