KAIO, a tokenization firm regulated in Abu Dhabi, announced on Monday that it has secured $8 million in a strategic funding round, with Tether and several other institutional and crypto investors participating. This investment brings the company's total funding to $19 million, with new investors such as Systemic Ventures joining, and Further Ventures and Laser Digital continuing their support alongside earlier backers like Brevan Howard Digital.
KAIO specializes in developing infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute their funds on blockchain networks. The company has created tokens for products from prominent firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane, making them accessible through blockchain-based platforms. 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 investments starting at $100 for eligible users, significantly lower than the typical thresholds for institutional funds. The involvement of Tether, with its stablecoin USDT boasting a $185 billion supply, is expected to facilitate the flow of capital into regulated investment products, especially in emerging markets. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, "KAIO's innovative approach opens up new avenues for capital formation and investment, making institutional-grade assets more accessible on-chain and thus 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.