Tether Leads $8M Funding Round for UAE-Based Tokenization Firm KAIO to Bridge Traditional Funds and Blockchain

KAIO, a tokenization firm regulated by Abu Dhabi, has secured $8 million in funding from a strategic investment round backed by Tether and other prominent crypto and institutional investors. This move is part of KAIO's efforts to build infrastructure that enables the transition of traditional funds to blockchain-based systems. The funding round brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new investors such as Systemic Ventures joining, and existing investors like Further Ventures and Laser Digital participating again alongside earlier backers, including Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO is focused on creating infrastructure that allows asset managers to distribute their funds on the blockchain. The firm has successfully tokenized products from major companies like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane, making them accessible through blockchain-based platforms. With this investment, KAIO plans to expand its offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds. The firm is also set to launch an on-chain fund in collaboration with Mubadala Capital, a private equity firm from the UAE with $385 billion in assets under management. 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 the typical thresholds for institutional funds. Tether's involvement in this initiative highlights the potential for stablecoin flows to be integrated into the model. As the most widely used stablecoin with a supply of $185 billion, USDT is often utilized for cross-border transactions, particularly in emerging markets. KAIO seeks to direct this liquidity into regulated investment products. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, "KAIO's unique position unlocks new pathways for capital formation and investment by bringing institutional-grade assets on-chain and making them more broadly accessible, which helps expand participation in global financial markets." KAIO's platform is designed with compliance in mind, embedding it into its system and supporting regulated distribution frameworks in various jurisdictions, including Abu Dhabi, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore. The company has tokenized approximately $100 million in assets and processed over $500 million in transactions.