KAIO said it has raised $8 million in a strategic funding round backed by Tether, Systemic Ventures, Further Ventures, and Laser Digital.
The company said the new capital brings its total funding to $19 million and will support the expansion of its onchain fund distribution infrastructure across more asset classes.
The company said it is building infrastructure that brings institutional funds onchain and gives eligible investors access to products tied to traditional financial assets.
KAIO said it was incubated by Laser Digital, which is Nomura’s digital assets arm, and WebN Group. It added that its backers also include Brevan Howard Digital, Lyrik Ventures, Karatage, and Shorooq Partners.
KAIO said the fresh capital will help it widen distribution and grow beyond its current set of products. The firm said its platform already supports access to funds from asset managers such as BlackRock, Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane, and Laser Digital, with a launch from Mubadala Capital also in the pipeline.
The fundraise adds to the flow of capital into tokenized real-world asset platforms. KAIO described its role as giving users a way to access institutional-grade products onchain rather than through traditional distribution channels alone.
Tether backs fund access
Tether’s participation places the stablecoin issuer inside another part of the real-world asset market. KAIO said the investment reflects direct strategic alignment because USDT already serves as a major settlement layer for cross-border value transfers, while KAIO aims to build access to regulated yield products on top of that base.
In KAIO’s statement, Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said, “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.”
He added that this level of adoption can support wider access to financial products delivered onchain.
“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,” Ardoino noted.
His comments tied Tether’s role in dollar-based digital payments to KAIO’s plan to distribute tokenized fund exposure to a wider set of users.
The deal comes as Tether keeps expanding beyond stablecoin issuance into infrastructure, investments, and distribution channels tied to digital finance. KAIO’s model fits that push because it sits between digital dollar settlement and regulated investment products.
KAIO says platform has processed over $500 million
KAIO said it currently manages about $100 million in assets and has processed more than $500 million in cumulative fund transactions since launch. The company also said it is working to lower entry points for eligible investors, targeting minimums from $100 for access to institutional funds.
The firm said its product lineup includes exposure to funds from major asset managers. KAIO opened a waitlist in February for Kash, a yield-bearing token that gives holders exposure to a diversified basket of “bluechip funds” sourced from global asset managers.
“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 KAIO chief executive Shrey Rastogi.
Moreover, the company said it operates from Abu Dhabi Global Market and embeds compliance into its infrastructure. It said this framework supports regulated fund distribution across regimes such as CIMA and MAS as it grows its product set and regional reach.
RWA competition grows as firms target tokenized fund distribution
The latest round lands at a time when tokenized real-world assets keep drawing interest from crypto firms and traditional finance groups. These platforms aim to put assets such as funds, credit products, and money-market strategies on blockchain rails while keeping access tied to regulated structures.
KAIO’s pitch centers on distribution rather than only token creation. The company is trying to package familiar institutional products in a format that can move onchain and reach users at smaller ticket sizes than those often required in traditional private markets.
That model also places KAIO in a growing part of the digital asset market where stablecoins, fund tokenization, and regulated infrastructure meet.
Tether’s participation gives the round added weight because USDT remains the largest stablecoin by market position and is widely used in cross-border crypto flows.
KAIO has not announced a public token launch tied to the funding round itself. Instead, the company said the new money will be used to expand infrastructure, widen asset class coverage, and support the distribution of institutional-grade products onchain.