Tether Invests in KAIO, a UAE-Based Tokenization Platform, in $8M Funding Round

KAIO, a tokenization firm regulated by Abu Dhabi, announced on Monday that it has secured $8 million in funding from a strategic investment round led by Tether and other prominent crypto and institutional investors. This investment brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new investors such as Systemic Ventures joining the round, alongside existing backers like Further Ventures, Laser Digital, and Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO is focused on developing infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute funds on blockchain rails. The company has created tokens for products from major firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane, making them accessible through blockchain-based systems. With this new 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 just $100 for eligible users. This is significantly lower than the typical thresholds for institutional funds. Tether's involvement in the investment round highlights the potential for stablecoin flows to be channeled into regulated investment products. 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 leverage this liquidity to facilitate access to 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, which helps expand participation in global financial markets.' KAIO's platform is designed with compliance in mind, embedding regulatory requirements into its system and supporting regulated distribution frameworks in jurisdictions such as Abu Dhabi, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore. To date, the company has tokenized approximately $100 million in assets and processed over $500 million in transactions.