In a strategic funding round, KAIO has raised $8 million with the support of Tether and other prominent investors in the crypto and institutional spaces. This investment brings the company's total funding to $19 million, with new participants including Systemic Ventures and returning investors such as Further Ventures and Laser Digital. KAIO's mission is to create infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute their funds on the blockchain.
The company has successfully tokenized products from renowned firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane, making these assets accessible through blockchain-based systems. With this new funding, KAIO plans to expand its offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds, including the launch of an on-chain fund in collaboration with Mubadala Capital, a private equity firm managing $385 billion in assets. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO aims to reduce the barriers to entry for investors, with minimum investments as low as $100 for eligible users.
The involvement of Tether, the issuer of the widely used stablecoin USDT, is expected to leverage the vast liquidity of stablecoin flows, channeling it into regulated investment products. According to Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, KAIO's innovative approach opens up new avenues for capital formation and investment by making institutional-grade assets more accessible on the blockchain.
KAIO's platform is designed with compliance in mind, supporting regulated distribution frameworks in several key jurisdictions, including 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.