Tether Supports UAE-Based KAIO in $8 Million Funding Round to Bring Local Assets onto the Blockchain

KAIO, a tokenization firm based in Abu Dhabi, announced on Monday that it had secured $8 million in funding from a strategic investment round led by Tether and other prominent crypto and institutional investors. This investment brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new investors including Systemic Ventures and repeat investors such as Further Ventures, Laser Digital, and Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO is developing infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute their funds on the blockchain. The company has created tokens for products from firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane, making them accessible through blockchain-based systems. With this new investment, KAIO plans to expand its offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds. The company also intends 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 reduce the barriers to entry for investors. The company offers minimum investments starting at $100 for eligible users, significantly lower than the typical thresholds for institutional funds. Tether's involvement in this investment round connects the model to stablecoin flows, with USDT being the most widely used stablecoin, boasting a $185 billion supply. USDT is often used for cross-border transactions, especially in emerging markets, and KAIO plans to channel this liquidity 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 onto the blockchain and making them more broadly accessible, which helps expand participation in global financial markets." KAIO's platform embeds compliance into its system and supports regulated distribution frameworks in various jurisdictions, including Abu Dhabi, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore. The company has tokenized approximately $100 million in assets and has processed over $500 million in transactions.