Today we’re announcing that @a16zcrypto is leading an $80M Series B financing of PIP Labs, developer of @storyprotocol. We want to help Story become the infrastructure for AI systems and creative people to happily co-exist.
For decades, the internet has operated on an implicit… pic.twitter.com/WUZQhCk0vW
— cdixon.eth (@cdixon) August 21, 2024
PIP Labs has raised $80 million in a Series B funding round for its Story Protocol, a blockchain designed to manage intellectual property through tokenization. The funding was co-led by a16z Crypto and Polychain Capital, with participation from Hashed, Foresight Ventures, Samsung Next, Mirana Ventures, SparkLabs Global, and angel investors. The new investment brings PIP Labs’ total funding to $140 million, with a16z Crypto involved in each stage from seed to Series B.
1/ Announcing $140M in total fundraising to build Story, the World’s IP Blockchain. pic.twitter.com/9M3tqqYcvO
— Story (꧁IP꧂) (@StoryProtocol) August 21, 2024
The funding round has reportedly increased the startup’s valuation to $2.25 billion, although PIP Labs has not confirmed this figure. Story Protocol allows creators to declare sovereignty over their intellectual properties by registering them on the blockchain and setting rules for how they can be used, shared, or modified.
Funding milestone boosts Story Protocol
Gen AI means that businesses, people, and governments urgently need ways to protect and verify their IP, and this emerging use case just got a big boost with Story Protocol's US $80M investment led by A16z.https://t.co/soPPrxjjhV#GenAI #blockchain #verifiablecredentials
— Koleya (@Koleyayyc) August 21, 2024
This offers a way for creators to protect their work and control its usage, particularly as AI solutions gain prominence and require IP as input data for training models. PIP Labs states that over 200 teams and more than 20 million IP assets are currently being built on the platform, spanning sectors such as IP finance (IPFi), AI, and consumer markets. The announcement comes amid a growing Web3 fundraising landscape, with deal volume increasing by 72.9% month-over-month to $1.44 billion, according to data from Messari.
One more Forbes story: the second-only time a16z has led three rounds in a crypto fund.
The first was Coinbase, and now the firm has done it again with Story Protocol: https://t.co/1P8RMiWoxj
Thank you to @ninabambysheva for working on this with me 🙏
— Veronica 💫 (@vronirwin) August 21, 2024
Pantera Capital and Mirana Ventures have led significant early-stage investments during this period, indicating strong investor interest in blockchain technologies and applications. The funding round marks a significant milestone for PIP Labs, positioning Story Protocol as a promising player in the field of blockchain-based IP management. As AI continues to develop and rely on IP for training, solutions like Story Protocol may become increasingly important for ensuring creators are fairly compensated for their work.
