KAIO, a tokenization firm regulated by Abu Dhabi, announced on Monday that it has secured $8 million in a strategic funding round led by Tether and other prominent crypto and institutional investors. This investment brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new investors such as Systemic Ventures and returning investors including Further Ventures and Laser Digital, alongside earlier backers like Brevan Howard Digital. KAIO specializes in 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. The firm is also set to launch an on-chain fund in collaboration with Mubadala Capital, a private equity firm from the UAE with $385 billion in assets under management. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO aims to lower 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 this project connects the model to stablecoin flows, with the goal of channeling liquidity into regulated investment products. As the most widely used stablecoin, USDT boasts a $185 billion supply and is often utilized for cross-border transactions, particularly in emerging markets.

"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, thus expanding participation in global financial markets," stated Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. KAIO's platform incorporates compliance into its system and supports 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.