In a strategic funding round valued at $8 million, UAE-based tokenization firm KAIO has received backing from Tether and several prominent crypto and institutional investors. This investment brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new participants including Systemic Ventures and returning investors such as Further Ventures, Laser Digital, and Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO specializes in creating infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute funds on the blockchain, having already tokenized products from notable firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane.
The company plans to utilize this investment to expand its offerings into credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds, including the launch of an on-chain fund in collaboration with Mubadala Capital, an Emirati private equity firm managing $385 billion in assets. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO seeks to lower the barriers to entry for investors, with minimum investments starting at $100 for eligible users, significantly lower than traditional thresholds. The involvement of Tether, the issuer of the widely-used stablecoin USDT, is expected to facilitate the channeling of stablecoin liquidity into regulated investment products.
"KAIO's innovative approach unlocks new avenues for capital formation and investment by making institutional-grade assets more accessible on the blockchain, thereby expanding participation in global financial markets," stated Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. KAIO's platform is designed with compliance in mind, supporting regulated distribution frameworks in jurisdictions such as 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.