Aufort
Aufort is a Tallinn-based digital gold investment platform operating under SMI Group OÜ. It enables retail investors and SMBs to buy, sell, send, and withdraw LBMA-certified physical gold through a self-serve e-commerce platform with blockchain-backed ownership verification.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersTallinn, Estonia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Aufort does
Aufort is a Tallinn-based digital gold investment platform operating under Estonian entity SMI Group OÜ. The company enables retail investors, gift buyers, and small businesses to buy, sell, send, and withdraw physical investment gold (999.9 purity, LBMA-certified) through a self-serve e-commerce platform, with balances represented digitally as AufortGold. The platform also offers physical gold bars (1g-100g and 1oz) and silver products, gift boxes, an Autoinvest subscription service, and an email-based peer-to-peer gold transfer feature. Operations span Estonia and Germany in Europe, with regional presence in Kenya, Ukraine, the UAE, and Türkiye, backed by vault storage in Vienna and Dubai through partner GVS Bullion Group and supply from LBMA-certified refineries including Argor-Heraeus, Heraeus, Valcambi, and Perth Mint.
The underlying technology stack combines an Obyte DAG-based distributed ledger for transparent gold ownership verification (chosen over traditional PoW blockchains for energy efficiency) with an AI-based identity verification system for KYC/AML compliance, Google Authenticator-based 2FA, and bi-annual third-party vault audits. Customer payments are accepted via bank link, SEPA, debit/credit cards, and a broad set of cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash) through the Swapin integration. The platform is accessible in English, Estonian, Russian, German, and Ukrainian, with localized service fees (2% in Europe/Ukraine; 2.5% in Kenya, UAE, Türkiye) and free account opening and management.
Aufort's revenue model is primarily transaction-based: a 2-2.5% service fee on buy/sell orders, a usage-based monthly storage fee of 0.02% of the world market value of gold held (minimum 0.03 grams), and additional production/shipping/insurance fees for physical gold withdrawals (starting from 1 gram). The company runs a lean operation (1-10 employees), self-describes as the first company in the world to offer physical gold purchase in digital format through an e-commerce platform, and is positioning for further geographic and product expansion (including a planned "Spend gold" payment solution). Customer count is in the thousands, with cumulative platform volume of approximately 245,734 grams of gold and silver and currently held balances of 8,534 grams (~€971,658).
Aufort firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Aufort
- Legal name
- SMI Group OÜ
- Website
- https://aufort.gold
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Aufort is a Tallinn-based digital gold investment platform operating under SMI Group OÜ. It enables retail investors and SMBs to buy, sell, send, and withdraw LBMA-certified physical gold through a self-serve e-commerce platform with blockchain-backed ownership verification.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Aufort industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Gold Investment
- NAICS
- Jewelry, Watch, Precious Stone, and Precious Metal Merchant Wholesalers (42394)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Art, Collectibles & Luxury RWA Tokenization (FSADAEAK)
Keywords
Where Aufort is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tallinn
- HQ country
- Estonia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices5 records
Markets served
Aufort business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Service Fees (Buy/Sell Transactions): Aufort charges a service fee of 2% (Europe/Ukraine) or 2.5% (Kenya, UAE, Türkiye) of the transaction value, with minimum fees per product. This is the primary revenue stream from facilitating gold and silver purchases and sales.
- Storage Fees: Monthly storage fee of 0.02% of the world market value of gold held, or minimum 0.03 grams of gold per month. Covers vault storage, insurance, auditing, and network transaction fees for gold transfers. Revenue is recurring as long as customers hold gold.
- Gold Withdrawal Fees: Production fees and service charges when customers withdraw physical gold bullion (starting from 1 gram). Includes manufacturing and transportation costs based on customer location.
- Shipping & Insurance Fees: Delivery fees for physical gold/silver products and withdrawals, with shipping insurance at 0.5% of order value. Only applicable when customers request physical delivery.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard service fee for buy/sell orders |
| Usage-based | Monthly | Monthly storage fee for gold holdings |
| Freemium | Monthly | Free account services |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Gold withdrawal as physical bullion |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Aufort product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Aufort operates a digital gold investment platform that allows customers to buy, sell, send, and withdraw physical investment gold (LBMA-certified 999.9 purity) stored in secure vaults in Vienna and Tallinn. The platform tokenizes physical gold (AufortGold) using Obyte distributed ledger technology for transparent ownership verification, enabling fractional ownership starting from 0.5 grams and instant global transfers via email. Customers can convert digital gold into physical bullion bars (1g to 100g), set up automated recurring purchases via the Autoinvest subscription, and pay using bank link, SEPA, debit/credit cards, or cryptocurrency.
Product overview
Aufort is a digital gold investment platform offering a unified product portfolio centered on AufortGold—a tokenized physical gold product backed by LBMA-certified bullion stored in audited vaults in Vienna and Tallinn. The core platform (Gold Account) enables users to buy, sell, send, and withdraw digital gold with real-time LBMA world market pricing. Supporting products include physical gold bars (1g–100g, 1oz) and silver products from LBMA-certified refineries, gift packages, the Autoinvest subscription service for recurring purchases, and a Send Gold feature for instant peer-to-peer transfers. The platform differentiates through blockchain-backed ownership verification (Obyte DAG), AI-powered KYC/fraud detection, and full insurance coverage. The affiliate program provides hybrid monetization for partners.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- AufortGold Physical investment gold (999.9 purity) in digital token form stored in LBMA-certified vaults in Vienna and Tallinn, allowing users to buy, sell, send, and withdraw gold starting from 0.5 grams with full insurance and distributed ledger-backed ownership verification.
- Gold Account Digital gold account platform providing access to AufortGold trading, storage, sending, and withdrawal services with real-time world market pricing, free account opening and management, and LBMA-backed bullion custody.
- Gold Bars LBMA-certified 999.9 pure gold bars available in sizes from 1g to 100g and 1oz, produced by refineries including Argor-Heraeus, Heraeus, Austrian Mint, Perth Mint, Valcambi, Umicore, UBS, PAMP, and IGR.
- Silver Products LBMA-certified 999.9 pure silver bars and coins available for purchase as investment instruments from the same set of certified refineries that supply gold products.
- Autoinvest (Subscription Order) Automated recurring investment service allowing users to schedule gold purchases over 2-36 month periods with automatic monthly order processing and email notifications, designed for systematic savings conversion into gold.
- Gold Withdrawal Physical gold bar withdrawal service allowing AufortGold conversion to tangible bullion starting from 1 gram, with delivery options including pickup, parcel machine, or courier, plus production fees.
- Gold Gifts Sturdy gift boxes containing gold or silver ingots or coins, marketed as beautiful and special occasion gifts with exchange value, available alongside the Send Gold email-based transfer feature.
Quantifiable outcome
- Gold and silver purchased through platform: 245,733.56 grams (245+ kg)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Aufort
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Aufort technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
Aufort partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Ecommerce EuropeminorNon-profit organization dedicated to protecting consumers in cross-border e-commerce. Aufort official member since 2022, enhancing credibility through compliance with unified European e-commerce rules.
- GVS Bullion GroupcoreStrategic storage partner operating state-of-the-art vaults in Austria (Vienna) and UAE (Dubai). High-security facilities with 24/7 monitoring, fully insured, partnering with world-renowned LBMA-certified refineries. Provides comprehensive vault reporting and coordinates third-party audits.
- Argor-HeraeuscoreSwiss precious metal refinery and key supplier of gold bars and products. One of several LBMA-certified refineries providing investment gold and silver for Aufort's inventory.
- HeraeuscoreGerman precious metal refinery (part of global Heraeus Group). Certified by LBMA for gold and silver production. Supplier of investment-grade bars and coins.
- SPS Steuerberatungsges.m.b.HminorThird-party accounting/tax firm conducting bi-annual independent vault audits for Aufort and GVS. Ensures transparency and trust through external verification of gold holdings.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Aufort competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Goldmoney: Digital gold and silver investment platform allowing users to buy, sell and store allocated precious metals in vaults worldwide. Closely matches Aufort's core buy/sell/store model with a more established global footprint and higher AUM.
- Glint: Digital gold account that lets users hold and spend gold via a Mastercard. Highly comparable to Aufort's 'spend gold' roadmap and gold-as-money positioning, though with a stronger payments focus.
- BullionVault: Online marketplace for allocated gold, silver, platinum and palladium stored in professional vaults. Comparable on vaulted precious-metals investing with much larger AUM and trading volume.
- Kinesis: Blockchain-based monetary system built on tokenized gold and silver (KAU/KAG) with yield and payment functionality. Closely matches Aufort's tokenized-bullion-plus-payments model and is a key direct competitor.
- Vaultoro: Exchange and vaulting service combining physical gold with Bitcoin trading. Comparable to Aufort's gold-plus-crypto-payments approach with a more trading-oriented product mix.
- OneGold: Digital precious-metals platform backed by APMEX and Sprott, offering tokenized gold and silver with vault storage. Directly comparable as a tokenized-RWA precious-metals retailer.
- Bitgild: Dutch online retailer of investment gold and silver with crypto payment options. Similar niche position to Aufort as a European digital gold storefront accepting cryptocurrency.
- JM Bullion: Large US online precious-metals dealer selling LBMA gold, silver, platinum and palladium with storage options. Comparable retail-side business model to Aufort's physical-bars-and-coins offering, though US-focused.
Broad incumbents
- Perth Mint: Australian government-owned precious-metals refinery and dealer with its own GoldPass digital gold product. Comparable as a regulated, government-backed supplier and digital gold issuer with much greater scale.
- APMEX: One of the largest US online precious-metals retailers and parent of OneGold. Comparable to Aufort on LBMA-sourced product range and digital vaulting ambitions, but at vastly greater scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Aufort social profiles
Digital presenceAufort compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Aufort financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Aufort leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Aufort subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Aufort funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Aufort M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Aufort
What does Aufort do?
Aufort operates a digital gold investment platform that allows customers to buy, sell, send, and withdraw physical investment gold (LBMA-certified 999.9 purity) stored in secure vaults in Vienna and Tallinn. The platform tokenizes physical gold (AufortGold) using Obyte distributed ledger technology for transparent ownership verification, enabling fractional ownership starting from 0.5 grams and instant global transfers via email. Customers can convert digital gold into physical bullion bars (1g to 100g), set up automated recurring purchases via the Autoinvest subscription, and pay using bank link, SEPA, debit/credit cards, or cryptocurrency.
Is Aufort a public or private company?
Aufort is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Aufort founded?
Aufort was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Aufort based?
Aufort is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, in the Europe region.
How does Aufort make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Service Fees (Buy/Sell Transactions) is the primary driver. The others are storage Fees, gold Withdrawal Fees and shipping & Insurance Fees.
Who are Aufort's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Goldmoney, Glint, BullionVault, Kinesis, Vaultoro, OneGold, Bitgild and JM Bullion. Broad incumbents are Perth Mint and APMEX.
Does Aufort have an API?
No public API is recorded for Aufort.
What industry is Aufort in?
Aufort's product category is Digital Gold Investment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADAEAK, Art, Collectibles & Luxury RWA Tokenization. Its NAICS code is 42394 and its SIC code is 6200.