Pluto uses AI to unlock liquidity and borrow against private assets with $8.6M

The booming private markets—venture capital, private equity, and alternatives—are notoriously illiquid, forcing investors to lock up capital for years or sell at steep discounts. A new platform, Pluto Financial Technologies, is attempting to solve this friction point using artificial intelligence to allow high-net-worth clients to borrow against private assets instantly.

Pluto announced $8.6 million in seed funding, drawing major institutional backing from Motive Ventures, Portage, Apollo Global Management, and Hamilton Lane. The core pitch is speed: Pluto connects directly to private portfolios, using AI to underwrite complex assets that traditionally require months of manual review, transforming illiquid holdings into on-demand credit.

This move signals a significant technological push into the opaque world of private wealth management. Historically, borrowing against these assets was slow, costly, and reserved only for the ultra-wealthy. Pluto’s platform aims to democratize this access for a broader base of financial advisors and their clients.

The WELOC Solution

Pluto’s flagship product, the Wealth Equity Line of Credit (WELOC), is designed to let investors access capital at competitive rates, with repayment structured around future fund distributions rather than requiring monthly interest payments. This allows investors to keep their capital working while accessing immediate liquidity.

The company has already secured hundreds of millions in lending capacity and partnered with major distribution platforms like Allocate and Moonfare, which collectively manage over $6 billion in alternative assets. By embedding liquidity solutions directly into advisor platforms, Pluto is removing a critical barrier that has limited broader participation in private markets.