OpenFX
Building real-time cross-border payment infrastructure for the AI economy
💼 What does it do?
OpenFX operates a real-time, transparent FX settlement network that replaces outdated international payment systems.
They've built multi-layer liquidity architecture that connects traditional banking rails with digital-native systems, enabling near-instant cross-border FX settlements. Rather than being another player in the crowded remittance space, they're building the underlying infrastructure that other fintechs, remittance companies, neobanks, and payment processors use to power their own services.
Think of them as the "AWS of global finance" – providing the critical backend infrastructure that makes modern cross-border payments possible.
🧑🚀 About the founder(s)
ABOUT THEM
• Prabhakar Reddy (Founder & CEO): Serial entrepreneur who founded 4 startups including $8 billion crypto firm FalconX. Electronics engineer with Harvard Business School MBA. Previously worked as investor at Accel Partners focusing on blockchain, B2B, and enterprise SaaS investments. Successfully exited his second startup to BookMyShow (India's largest entertainment platform) before joining Accel. His background spans both enterprise AI/security and crypto/fintech infrastructure, giving him unique insight into both traditional finance pain points and cutting-edge solutions.
THE BACKSTORY
Having built and scaled FalconX into an $8 billion crypto prime brokerage, Prabhakar Reddy saw firsthand how blockchain technology could revolutionise financial infrastructure.
After exiting FalconX, he spent time at Accel as an investor, giving him deep insight into what financial services companies truly need. The timing convergence of maturing blockchain technology, emerging stablecoin regulations, and massive demand for better cross-border payment infrastructure created the perfect moment to build OpenFX.
The company launched in stealth mode in early 2024 and has been quietly building and scaling before their public emergence.
📊 Pricing and business model
B2B infrastructure provider serving payment service providers, remittance companies, neobanks, brokerages, and global payroll companies through API connections. Revenue likely comes from transaction fees and spreads on FX conversions, though specific pricing isn't publicly disclosed.
🚀 About this space
THE PROBLEM
• The $200 trillion annual FX market still runs on infrastructure designed in the 1970s, trapping approximately $4 trillion in working capital and extracting hundreds of billions in unnecessary fees annually.
• Cross-border payments remain painfully slow (2-7 days), expensive (high correspondent banking fees), and constrained by banking hours, weekends, and holidays.
• Traditional FX providers require massive balance sheets and complex correspondent banking relationships.
THE OPPORTUNITY
• The global cross-border payments market processes trillions annually, with businesses desperate for faster, cheaper alternatives to legacy banking infrastructure.
• Stablecoin transaction volume reached $625 billion in February 2025, up 21% from the same month in 2024, with $6.3 trillion in stablecoin payments settled in the 12 months to February 2025.
• Regulatory clarity emerging in 2025 (MiCA in Europe, expected US legislation) is creating massive tailwinds for stablecoin adoption in cross-border payments.
ℹ️ Growthbuddy insights
INSIGHT #1
Perfect Timing with Regulatory Tailwinds: 2025 is shaping up to be the year of regulatory clarity for stablecoins. Europe's MiCA framework is now live, the UK is finalising regulations for end-2025, and the US is pushing legislation under the Trump administration. This regulatory clarity is removing the biggest barrier to enterprise stablecoin adoption. OpenFX positioned themselves perfectly – they've built and proven their infrastructure during the uncertain period and are now poised to scale rapidly as regulatory clarity drives mainstream adoption.
INSIGHT #2
Infrastructure Play in a Platform Market: Most fintech companies are competing at the application layer (building another money transfer app). OpenFX is playing a different game entirely – they're building the infrastructure layer that enables all those applications to work better. Accel partner Shekhar Kirani described them as potentially becoming "the AWS of global finance." This infrastructure strategy means they can capture value from the entire ecosystem's growth rather than competing for end-user market share.
INSIGHT #3
Stablecoin-Native Architecture: While not explicitly marketing themselves as a "crypto company," OpenFX appears to be built around stablecoin infrastructure, evidenced by their crypto-focused investors (Castle Island Ventures, Hash3) and founder's background. This gives them architectural advantages over traditional payment companies trying to bolt on blockchain capabilities. They can offer true 24/7 operations, instant settlement, and programmable money features that legacy providers simply can't match.
💛 Their culture
• The team includes talent from JP Morgan, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Standard Chartered, Bank of America, Nium, and Microsoft, along with executives from PayPal, Slack, Affirm, and Kraken. This suggests a blend of traditional finance expertise and modern fintech/tech company experience.
• Given their 24/7 operations and global team across US, UK, UAE, and India, expect a culture that values execution speed, technical excellence, and global collaboration. The fact they grew from $0 to $10 billion in transaction volume in 12 months while in stealth mode indicates an intensely execution-focused environment.
• Based on founder background and investor pedigree, likely values analytical thinking, first-principles problem solving, and moving fast while maintaining enterprise-grade reliability.
ℹ️ Career intel
GREEN FLAGS
• Exceptional founder-market fit: Reddy's combination of crypto/blockchain expertise and traditional finance knowledge is rare
• Proven traction: $0 to $10B in transaction volume in 12 months while in stealth is extraordinary
• Top-tier investors: Accel leading with crypto-native funds participating shows confidence from both traditional VCs and crypto specialists
• Strong team pedigree: Mix of traditional finance (Goldman, JP Morgan) and modern tech (Microsoft, Slack) creates perfect blend for fintech infrastructure
• Capital efficient growth: Achieving massive transaction volumes without massive balance sheet requirements
• Regulatory positioning: Building compliant infrastructure as regulations become favourable rather than playing catch-up
• B2B focus: Serving other businesses rather than competing in consumer space with massive CAC requirements
POTENTIAL CONCERNS
• Early stage scaling challenges: Growing from 42 to potentially hundreds of employees while maintaining culture and execution quality
• Regulatory compliance burden: Operating across multiple jurisdictions (US, UK, UAE, India) means navigating complex, evolving regulatory landscape
• Competition from incumbents: If successful, expect major banks and payment processors to either compete directly or attempt acquisition
• Technology complexity: Real-time settlement across multiple currencies and payment rails is technically challenging at scale
• Stablecoin dependency: Business model appears closely tied to stablecoin adoption, which could face regulatory or technical setbacks
• Customer concentration risk: B2B model means losing major customers could significantly impact revenue
WHY NOW
• Stablecoins are having their moment – 86% of enterprises report infrastructure readiness, regulation is becoming a tailwind rather than a barrier, and cross-border payment demand is surging.
• You'd be joining during the transition from "experimental technology" to "critical infrastructure." The team is still small enough that individual contributors can have massive impact, but large enough to offer meaningful learning opportunities.
• OpenFX is positioned at the intersection of several massive trends: stablecoin adoption, regulatory clarity, and demand for better cross-border payment infrastructure.
📝 Interview guidance
Demonstrate understanding of the space: Show you grasp the difference between consumer fintech apps and B2B infrastructure. Research current cross-border payment pain points and how blockchain/stablecoins address them.
Questions to ask them:
• "How do you see the competitive landscape evolving as traditional players add blockchain capabilities?"
• "What's your strategy for navigating the different regulatory frameworks across your operating jurisdictions?"
• "How are you thinking about scaling the technical infrastructure to handle 10x-100x current transaction volumes?"
• "What's the biggest technical challenge in your settlement architecture right now?" Bonus points: Understanding of both traditional finance and blockchain technology, experience with B2B sales or partnerships, knowledge of regulatory compliance in financial services
⚡️ Fast facts
FUNDING
$23 million (Series A, May 2025)
INVESTORS
Accel (lead), NFX, Lightspeed Faction, Castle Island Ventures, Flybridge, Hash3, plus strategic fintech investors
THE NUMBERS
• $0 to $10 billion in annualised transaction volume in under 12 months
• 90% of transactions settle in under 60 minutes vs 2-7 days industry standard
• 99% faster and up to 90% cheaper than traditional FX methods
• 26 countries and 7 FX pairs currently, expanding to 15 G20 FX pairs and 40 countries by end-2025
• 24/7/365 operations with no downtime
• 8-10x growth in quarter-over-quarter volumes for early customers
🔎 Overview
WEBSITE
FOUNDING YEAR
2024
INDUSTRY TAGS
B2B, Fintech, Payments, Financial Services, API
HEADQUARTERS
New York, USA (with global teams across US, UK, UAE, and India)
TEAM SIZE
0 - 50
COMPANY MISSION
To build the critical settlement infrastructure needed for the AI-driven economy, where money moves as freely as data—unrestricted by time zones, banking hours, or legacy systems