KAIO, a tokenization firm based in Abu Dhabi, has announced the successful completion of an $8 million strategic funding round, led by Tether and supported by various crypto and institutional investors. This investment brings the company'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 focuses on creating infrastructure that enables asset managers to distribute their funds on the blockchain, having already tokenized products from prominent 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, which manages $385 billion in assets. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO seeks to significantly lower the barriers to entry for investors, with minimum investment requirements starting at $100 for eligible users. This move is expected to channel stablecoin liquidity, such as that of USDT, into regulated investment products.
According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, KAIO's approach has the potential to unlock new capital formation pathways and expand global financial market participation by making institutional-grade assets more accessible on-chain. The company's platform is designed with compliance in mind, supporting regulated distribution frameworks in several jurisdictions, including Abu Dhabi, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore.
To date, KAIO has tokenized approximately $100 million in assets and processed over $500 million in transactions.