Tether leads $8M round for KAIO to channel USDT into UAE funds

Tether led an $8 million strategic institutional funding round for Abu Dhabi‑regulated tokenization firm KAIO on April 20, 2026. The investment raises KAIO’s total capital to $19 million and targets routing USDT liquidity into regulated tokenized funds in the UAE while expanding the company’s onchain fund distribution infrastructure.

New participant Systemic Ventures joined the round alongside returning investors Further Ventures and Laser Digital and existing backers Brevan Howard Digital, Lyrik Ventures, Karatage and Shorooq Partners. KAIO’s prior seed round in July 2025 raised about $11 million. The company operates under regulatory oversight in Abu Dhabi and holds registrations in the Cayman Islands and Singapore.

KAIO provides application‑chain infrastructure that enables institutional asset managers to issue, redeem and transfer tokenized fund shares across jurisdictions. The platform has tokenized funds for managers including Hamilton Lane, BlackRock, Laser Digital and Brevan Howard and runs products on blockchain networks such as Sei Network and Hedera.

According to rwa.xyz data on April 20, 2026, KAIO has processed more than $500 million in transactions and manages just under $100 million in assets under management.

KAIO said the new capital will be used to expand onchain fund distribution and broaden its product set into credit, structured products and exchange‑traded funds. A major project tied to the funding is an onchain fund being developed with Mubadala Capital, the investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, which manages roughly $385 billion in assets. That partnership was first announced in December 2025.

Tether intends to channel USDT liquidity into KAIO’s regulated investment products with a focus on cross‑border capital flows in the UAE and emerging markets. Tether’s USDT had a market capitalization of about $187.24 billion on April 20, 2026.

KAIO has said one objective is to lower minimum investment thresholds for qualified investors, making some tokenized funds available with entry amounts as low as $100 compared with higher minimums in traditional institutional funds. The company rebranded from Libre Capital in 2025.

Tokenization of real‑world assets has drawn interest from sovereign wealth funds, global asset managers and digital asset firms seeking regulated, yield‑bearing products on public blockchains. KAIO’s platform offers a distribution path for traditional managers to reach qualified investors who hold digital assets but lack access to institutional‑grade fund products through conventional channels.