Tether Supports UAE-Based KAIO in $8 Million Funding Round to Tokenize Emirati Assets

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 and repeat investors including Further Ventures and Laser Digital joining alongside existing backers like Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO is focused on creating infrastructure that enables 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 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 reduce 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 investment highlights the potential for stablecoin flows to be integrated into this 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 intends to channel this liquidity into regulated investment products. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, "KAIO's unique position opens up new avenues for capital formation and investment by bringing institutional-grade assets onto the blockchain and making them more widely accessible, which helps to expand participation in global financial markets." KAIO's platform incorporates compliance into its system and supports regulated distribution frameworks in several jurisdictions, including 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.