UAE KAIO raises a total of $19 million after new investments from Tether, Further Ventures and Laser Digital

UAE based KAIO blockchain operating out of ADGM, has raised a total of $19M after it recently received an addition of $8 million in a strategic round backed by Tether, Systemic Ventures, Further Ventures and Laser Digital.

Prior to this, KAIO was backed by Brevan Howard Digital, Lyrik Ventures, Karatage, and Shorooq Partners.

As per the announcement, the capital will accelerate KAIO’s onchain fund distribution infrastructure and expansion across asset classes. KAIO is developing infrastructure to open access to institutional funds at significantly lower entry points, targeting minimums from $100 for eligible investors.

Incubated by Laser Digital (Nomura) and WebN Group, KAIO curates products from leading asset managers and distributes them onchain, expanding access beyond traditional institutional allocations.

KAIO currently manages approximately $100 million in assets and has processed more than $500 million in cumulative fund transactions since launch. Active products include funds from BlackRock, Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane, Laser Digital along with an upcoming launch from UAE’s Mubadala Capital.

In 2025, Mubadala Capital, a global alternative asset management platform, announced their intention to explore offering tokenized access to its private market investment strategies using KAIO, blockchain protocol.

KAIO provides the next layer which is structured, compliant access to institutional-grade yield for USDT holders.

“USD₮ has become a critical piece of infrastructure for moving value across borders quickly and reliably, with over 550 million people globally using it, especially in markets where access to dollars is limited,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “This level of adoption is what makes it possible to expand access to more sophisticated financial products at a global scale. Building on that foundation, KAIO’s unique position 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 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.