KAIO, a tokenization firm based in Abu Dhabi, has announced 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 investors including Systemic Ventures and repeat investors such as Further Ventures and Laser Digital.
KAIO's platform enables asset managers to distribute funds on blockchain rails, having already created tokens for products from prominent firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane. The firm plans to utilize the investment to expand its offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds, as well as launch an on-chain fund in collaboration with Mubadala Capital, an Emirati private equity firm managing $385 billion in assets. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO aims to lower the minimum investment threshold to $100 for eligible users, significantly reducing the traditional barriers to entry. The involvement of Tether, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDT, is expected to facilitate the flow of stablecoin liquidity into regulated investment products.
According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, KAIO's innovative approach '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 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.