KAIO, a tokenization firm regulated by Abu Dhabi, has announced the successful completion of an $8 million strategic funding round, with notable investors including Tether and several prominent crypto and institutional entities. This investment brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new participants such as Systemic Ventures and returning investors like Further Ventures and Laser Digital joining alongside earlier backers, including Brevan Howard Digital.
KAIO's primary focus is on creating infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute funds on the blockchain. The company has successfully tokenized 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 offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds. A notable collaboration is the planned launch of an on-chain fund with Mubadala Capital, a private equity firm from the UAE with $385 billion in assets under management. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO aims to significantly lower the barriers to entry for investors, with minimum investment requirements starting at $100 for eligible users, substantially below the typical thresholds for institutional funds. Tether's involvement in this initiative is expected to leverage the stablecoin's vast liquidity, with USDT being the most widely used stablecoin, boasting a supply of $185 billion, often utilized for cross-border transactions, especially in emerging markets.
KAIO seeks to channel this liquidity into regulated investment products. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, 'KAIO's unique approach opens up new avenues for capital formation and investment by bringing institutional-grade assets on-chain and making them more accessible, thus expanding participation in global financial markets.' KAIO's platform is designed with compliance in mind, supporting regulated distribution frameworks in jurisdictions such as Abu Dhabi, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore. The company has tokenized approximately $100 million in assets and has processed transactions exceeding $500 million.