In a strategic funding round, KAIO, a regulated tokenization firm headquartered in Abu Dhabi, has secured $8 million in investments from Tether and other prominent crypto and institutional investors. This brings the company's total funding to $19 million, with new investors including Systemic Ventures and returning investors such as Further Ventures, Laser Digital, and Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO is focused on creating infrastructure that allows asset managers to distribute their funds on the blockchain.
The company has already tokenized 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, and is set to launch an on-chain fund in partnership with Mubadala Capital, an Emirati private equity firm with $385 billion in assets under management.
By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO aims to reduce the barriers to entry for investors, with minimum investments starting at $100 for eligible users, significantly lower than the typical thresholds for institutional funds. Tether's involvement in the funding 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 investment in regulated products. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, 'KAIO's innovative approach unlocks new opportunities for capital formation and investment by bringing institutional-grade assets onto the blockchain and making them more widely accessible, thereby expanding participation in global financial markets.' KAIO's platform is designed with compliance in mind, 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.