KAIO Secures $8M in Funding from Tether to Tokenize Emirati Investments on Blockchain

KAIO, a tokenization firm based in Abu Dhabi, has announced an $8 million strategic funding round led by Tether and other prominent crypto and institutional investors. The investment brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new investors including Systemic Ventures and returning backers such as Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO develops infrastructure for asset managers to distribute funds on blockchain, having created tokens for products from firms like BlackRock and Brevan Howard. The firm plans to expand its offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds, and will launch an on-chain fund with Mubadala Capital. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO aims to lower investment barriers, with minimum investments starting at $100 for eligible users. The firm's partnership with Tether, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDT, will help channel liquidity into regulated investment products. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, KAIO's platform 'unlocks new pathways for capital formation and investment by bringing institutional-grade assets on-chain and making them more broadly accessible.' KAIO's platform embeds compliance and supports regulated distribution frameworks, and has tokenized around $100 million in assets and processed over $500 million in transactions.