Apollo Global Management Inc. will collaborate with blockchain lending startup Figure Technologies Inc. on a series of initiatives as the alternative asset manager sharpens its focus on innovation in financial technology.

Apollo will work with Figure to apply its affiliated blockchain, Provenance, to projects like an on-chain fund listing, asset securitization and digital marketplaces, the firms said on Wednesday. San Francisco-based Figure, which applied for a bank charter in November, has already used blockchain for loan origination, equity management, private fund services and payments.

Figure was founded in 2018 by Mike Cagney, the former chief executive officer of Social Finance Inc., and was valued at US$3.2 billion in May. In the next year, the firm is focused on building out Provenance, standardizing a blockchain securitization platform, increasing use of stablecoin payments and creating a competing marketplace for private and public securities, Cagney said.

“Our expectations are that we’ll work with Apollo across all four of these initiatives,” Cagney said in an email.

The agreement is the latest sign that New York-based Apollo is committed to staying on top of the rapidly changing technological space. Earlier this month, the company said it would acquire a stake as large as 24.9 per cent in Motive Partners, a smaller private equity firm specializing in fintech.

“We’re highly focused on integrating technologies throughout our platform that can make us better and more efficient across all parts of the investment lifecycle -- from capital raising and marketing to investment origination and value creation,” John Zito, deputy chief investment officer of credit at Apollo, said in a statement.