KAIO raises $8m from Tether to expand tokenised investment platform

By Aarav Garg

KAIO has raised $8 million in a strategic funding round backed by Tether and a group of crypto and institutional investors, as the Abu Dhabi-based firm expands efforts to bring traditional investment products onto blockchain rails.

The latest raise brings KAIO’s total funding to $19 million. New investor Systemic Ventures joined the round, while existing backers including Further Ventures, Laser Digital and Brevan Howard Digital also participated.

KAIO develops infrastructure that enables asset managers to tokenise and distribute institutional funds through blockchain-based systems. The company said it has packaged products from firms including BlackRock, Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane, with minimum investment sizes starting from $100.

“KAIO has proven institutional funds work onchain. This raise accelerates our distribution capabilities and expansion into other onchain capital markets instruments across structured products, credit and ETFs.” said Shrey Rastogi, CEO of KAIO.

The model aims to lower entry barriers that have traditionally limited access to institutional funds, where minimum commitments are often significantly higher.

KAIO said the fresh capital will be used to expand into credit products, structured investments and exchange-traded funds. The company also plans to launch an onchain fund with Mubadala Capital.

Tether’s participation links the strategy to growing stablecoin liquidity. KAIO said it intends to channel USDT flows into regulated investment products.

The firm added that its platform embeds compliance controls and supports regulated distribution frameworks in Abu Dhabi, the Cayman Islands and Singapore. KAIO said it has tokenised around $100 million in assets and processed more than $500 million in transactions.