KAIO, a tokenization firm regulated in Abu Dhabi, announced on Monday that it has successfully raised $8 million in a strategic funding round, with Tether and several other prominent crypto and institutional investors participating. 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 focused on developing infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute funds on the blockchain. The company has created tokens for products from notable 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, and is set to launch an on-chain fund in partnership with Mubadala Capital, an Emirati private equity firm 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. Tether's involvement in the 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 seeks 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 in various 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.