KAIO Secures $8 Million in Funding from Tether to Tokenize Emirati Assets

KAIO, a regulated tokenization firm in Abu Dhabi, announced on Monday that it has successfully raised $8 million in a strategic funding round, led by Tether and supported by several prominent crypto and institutional investors. This investment brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new investors including Systemic Ventures and returning investors such as Further Ventures, Laser Digital, and Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO is dedicated to developing infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute their funds on blockchain rails. The company has created tokens for products from renowned firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane, making them accessible through blockchain-based systems. With this new investment, KAIO plans to expand its product 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 in the UAE 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, significantly lower than the typical thresholds for institutional funds. Tether's involvement in this funding round highlights the potential for stablecoin flows to be channeled into regulated investment products, given USDT's widespread use in moving money across borders, especially in emerging markets. 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 to embed compliance into its system, 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.