Alternative investment managers, including Apollo Global Management, have backed an artificial intelligence-powered lending platform for private markets developed by Pluto Financial Technologies.

Pluto said it has raised $8.6m (£6.4m) in seed funding from Apollo, Motive Ventures, Portage and Hamilton Lane to build the credit infrastructure and has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in lending capacity.

The New York-headquartered firm said its platform will allow financial advisers and their high-net-worth clients to borrow against private equity, venture capital and other alternative assets without having to sell them.

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“Pluto is the bridge between alternative asset ownership and everyday financial freedom,” said Neel Ganu, chief executive and co-founder of Pluto. “Our mission is simple: make liquidity accessible to all investors, without forcing early exits.”

Pluto’s product, the Wealth Equity Line of Credit (WELOC), will allow investors to borrow against private market assets at competitive rates and access credit on demand, without selling positions or waiting for intermediaries, the firm said.

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According to the firm, through two distribution partners, Allocate and Moonfare, Pluto will provide access to thousands of investors managing $6bn in alternative assets.

“Liquidity constraints have limited wealth advisor participation in private markets,” said Samir Kaji, chief executive of Allocate. “Our partnership with Pluto allows us to offer flexible liquidity solutions in real-time through our platform, removing a critical barrier for advisors and their clients.”

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