Tether Leads $8 Million Funding Round in UAE Tokenization Firm KAIO to Bring Traditional Funds Onchain

KAIO is an Abu Dhabi-regulated asset-tokenization infrastructure company that helps asset managers including BlackRock, Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane turn traditional funds into products that can be issued and distributed on public blockchains. The model connects regulated investments with crypto-market liquidity, making it an important link in bringing real-world assets (RWAs) onchain.

On April 20, 2026, KAIO announced an $8 million strategic funding round led by stablecoin issuer Tether, bringing its total funding to $19 million. The capital will be used to expand the onchain issuance and distribution of UAE-regulated funds and channel USDT liquidity into tokenized investment products from institutions including BlackRock.