Summary:
- Story Protocol secured $80 million in a Series B funding round led by A16z Crypto, bringing its total funding to $140 million.
- The platform’s mission is to tokenize intellectual property, safeguarding creators from exploitation by big tech and large language models.
- With over 200 teams and 20 million IPs, Story Protocol supports licensing and automatic royalties through its Proof-of-Creativity protocol.
The Story Protocol Foundation, a leader in blockchain innovation for intellectual property (IP), has secured $80 million in a Series B funding round, spearheaded by A16z Crypto, the digital asset investment branch of Andreessen Horowitz.
This latest infusion of capital brings the company’s total funding to $140 million, following a prior $54 million round, also led by A16z Crypto. The round also drew investments from Polychain Capital and prominent figures like Scott Trowbridge, VP of Stability AI, Adrian Cheng, founder of K11, and renowned digital art collector Cozomo de’ Medici.
Story Protocol, branding itself as “the world’s IP blockchain,” is on a mission to revolutionize the trillion-dollar intellectual property sector through tokenization. The company is determined to tackle the challenges posed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and protect content creators from exploitation by major tech corporations and large language models. Its blockchain technology is central to ensuring that IP rights are managed with fairness and efficiency.
Story Protocol: A Crucial Player in the AI Era
The platform introduces a groundbreaking protocol called Proof-of-Creativity, enabling seamless, permissionless licensing and automatic royalty payments. This innovation empowers creators to exchange IP rights effortlessly and unlocks new revenue streams.
Already, more than 200 teams, overseeing over 20 million IPs, are leveraging this platform across diverse sectors such as IPFi, AI, and consumer markets. Notable projects include ‘Ablo’ by ‘Space Runners’ and Sekai, an AI-driven storytelling platform that fosters collaborative content creation.
However, the platform is also confronting a significant challenge: IP theft, which has escalated with the rise of AI. S.Y. Lee, co-founder and CEO of PIP Labs, has highlighted the growing issue of big tech companies exploiting IP without proper compensation, undermining the creation of original IP.
Chris Dixon, founder and managing partner of A16z Crypto, stressed the importance of Story Protocol’s infrastructure in ensuring creators receive fair compensation in the AI era. With the market projected to soar to over $800 billion by 2030, this is a pivotal moment for protecting and valuing creative work.