Tether Invests in KAIO's $8M Funding Round to Tokenize Emirati Funds

KAIO, a tokenization firm based in Abu Dhabi, has secured $8 million in strategic funding from investors including Tether, with the goal of creating infrastructure to transition traditional funds to blockchain. This investment brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new investors such as Systemic Ventures and returning investors like Further Ventures and Laser Digital. Existing backers, including Brevan Howard Digital, also participated in the round. KAIO's platform enables asset managers to distribute funds on the blockchain, having already tokenized products from prominent firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane. The company plans to expand its offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds, and has announced plans to launch an on-chain fund in collaboration with Mubadala Capital, an Emirati private equity firm with $385 billion in assets under management. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO aims to lower the barriers to entry for investors, with minimum investments starting at $100 for eligible users. Tether's participation in the funding round highlights the potential for stablecoin flows to be channeled into regulated investment products. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, KAIO's approach 'unlocks new pathways for capital formation and investment by bringing institutional-grade assets on-chain and making them more broadly accessible.' KAIO's platform prioritizes compliance, 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.