On Monday, KAIO announced that it had successfully raised $8 million in a strategic funding round, with key investors including Tether and several prominent crypto and institutional entities. This investment brings the company's total funding to $19 million, with new participants such as Systemic Ventures and returning investors like Further Ventures and Laser Digital. Existing backers, including Brevan Howard Digital, also contributed to the round.
KAIO is focused on creating infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute their funds on blockchain rails, having already tokenized products from notable firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane. These tokens are then made accessible through blockchain-based systems. The company plans to utilize the investment to expand its offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds, with a forthcoming on-chain fund launch in collaboration with Mubadala Capital, an Emirati private equity firm managing $385 billion in assets. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO aims to lower the barriers to entry for investors, with minimum investment requirements starting at $100 for eligible users, significantly lower than typical thresholds.
Tether's involvement in the funding round is expected to leverage the stablecoin's vast liquidity, with USDT boasting a $185 billion supply, to channel funds into regulated investment products. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, KAIO's unique position in the market 'unlocks new pathways for capital formation and investment by bringing institutional-grade assets on-chain and making them more broadly accessible, helping expand participation in global financial markets.' The company's platform is designed with compliance in mind, supporting regulated distribution frameworks in key jurisdictions such as Abu Dhabi, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore. To date, KAIO has tokenized approximately $100 million in assets and processed over $500 million in transactions.