Tether Supports UAE-Based KAIO in $8 Million Funding to Integrate Emirati Funds into Blockchain

KAIO, a tokenization firm regulated by Abu Dhabi, has announced that it has secured $8 million in funding from a strategic investment round led by Tether and other prominent crypto and institutional investors. This 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 also participating. The firm aims to create infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute their funds on the blockchain. To achieve this, KAIO has developed tokens for products from notable companies like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane, making them accessible through blockchain-based systems. With this 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 collaboration with Mubadala Capital, an Emirati private equity firm with $385 billion in assets under management. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO seeks 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. The involvement of Tether, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDT, aims to channel the liquidity of stablecoin flows 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, helping expand participation in global financial markets." KAIO's platform is designed with compliance in mind, supporting regulated distribution frameworks in regions such as Abu Dhabi, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore. The company has tokenized approximately $100 million in assets and has processed transactions exceeding $500 million.