In a strategic funding round, KAIO, a regulated tokenization firm in Abu Dhabi, has successfully raised $8 million with the support of Tether and other prominent crypto and institutional investors. This investment brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new investors such as Systemic Ventures joining the round, alongside returning investors Further Ventures, Laser Digital, and earlier backers like Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO is focused on creating infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute funds on blockchain rails. The company has already tokenized products from leading firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane, making them accessible through blockchain-based systems.

With this new investment, KAIO aims to expand its offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds. The firm is also planning to launch an on-chain fund in collaboration with Mubadala Capital, a private equity firm based in the UAE with $385 billion in assets under management.

By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO seeks to lower the barriers to entry for investors, with minimum investment requirements 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.

As the most widely used stablecoin with a supply of $185 billion, USDT is often utilized for cross-border transactions, particularly in emerging markets. KAIO aims to leverage this liquidity to facilitate access to 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 to embed compliance into its system and support regulated distribution frameworks, including those in 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.