Story Protocol maker secures $80m to transfer IP rights onto blockchain
PIP Labs, the core contributor to layer-1 community Story Protocol, has raised $80 million to construct an ecosystem the place creators can “develop their IP within the age of AI.”
Programmable IP Labs, the mastermind behind the blockchain startup Story Protocol, has attracted $80 million in a collection B funding spherical, bringing the whole worth raised to $140 million.
PIP Labs desires to tokenize the “multi-trillion-dollar asset class of mental property” as greater than “200 groups, totaling greater than 20 million addressable IPs, are already constructing on Story throughout varied sectors.”
In an X announcement on Aug. 21, the agency mentioned the funding was led by a16z crypto and took part in by Polychain Capital, Hashed, and Foresight Ventures, amongst others. In line with studies, Story’s valuation soared to $2.25 billion following the newest funding.
“We hope for a future through which AI techniques and artistic individuals can fortunately co-exist. For this to work, creators want a contemporary means to make sure they get compensated for his or her work.”
a16z crypto in a press launch
Story set to launch mainnet in This fall 2024
Though nonetheless in improvement, the funding is predicted to help PIP Labs in guaranteeing a clean launch of Story Protocol’s mainnet, which is anticipated later this yr. It stays unclear, although, if the startup plans to introduce a governance token for venture administration.
Based in 2022, Story makes use of tokenization and a common licensing settlement to onramp IP to the blockchain. Per the venture’s official web site, Story desires to bridge real-world belongings to sensible contracts by leveraging the Programmable IP License, a “license settlement template” that bridges real-world IP with its on-chain tokenization, the agency says. With the template, PIP Labs desires to offer a backstop to the on-chain asset, permitting it to onramp mental property to the blockchain.
In 2023, Story raised $25 million in a collection A spherical backed by a16z crypto, Insignia Ventures Companions, DeFi Alliance, LLC, Foresight Ventures Investments, and Endeavor Group Holdings, amongst others, per information from Crunchbase.
