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New York, Feb. 03, 2022 (Globe Newswire): Pixel Vault, Inc. announced today a $100M investment by Velvet Sea Ventures and 01A to launch the first multi-franchise NFT development platform that allows artists, creators and collectors to participate in the ownership of digital content. The new company will support the growth of crypto-native communities across a wide variety of mediums – NFTs, television and movies, video games and more.
Since launching in May 2021, Pixel Vault NFTs have generated close to 100,000 in ETH in primary and secondary transactions, making it one of the most popular NFT collectible projects in history behind only Yuga Labs, developer of the Bored Ape Yacht Club franchises, and Larva Labs, creator of the Cryptopunks. The newly launched firm is home to Pixel Vault’s popular NFT franchises PUNKS Comic and MetaHero, which provides collectors the opportunity to buy, sell and trade characters and vote on major developments of the universe.
“Pixel Vault projects are built with the key tenets of Web3 at the center – community empowerment, decentralized governance, and true digital ownership,” said Pixel Vault, Inc. founder and CEO GFunk, a/k/a Sean Gearin. “We do not look at the fan as the customer – our fans are the owner and the builder.”
“I bought 10 PUNKS Comics during the initial public sale and was fascinated by Sean’s unique view at the time that NFTs are the medium, not the product,” said Velvet Sea partner Michael Lazerow, who has joined Pixel Vault board of directors as part of the transaction. ”Intellectual property is the product. And Pixel Vault is building it in close partnership with its engaged community of avid collectors, of which I am a proud token-carrying member.”
2021 will be remembered as the breakthrough year for NFTs as total sales topped $25 billion, according to DappRadar. Pixel Vault was at the forefront of the growth with several important milestones:
- 104,000 unique Pixel Vault NFTs generated close to 100,000 ETH in total transactions
- Pixel Vault launched a first-of-its-kind serialized media property, PUNKS Comic, and successfully sold out all editions
- Pixel Vault’s second project, MintPass, sold 10,000 MintPass NFTs, each one redeemable for a MetaHero hero or villain
- Pixel Vault launched the MetaHero Universe, a metaverse governed by the thousands of fans who purchased membership tokens
- Pixel Vault spearheaded a ground-breaking partnership between PUNKS Comic, Bored Ape Yacht Club, GMoney and Adidas. 30,000 NFTs, valued at $24 million, sold out in less than an hour
- Pixel Vault signed an agency deal with WME to develop Hollywood and brand partnerships
Pixel Vault has agreed to be an initial launch partner on the Coinbase NFT marketplace. “Sean’s progress last year was breathtaking,” says Adam Bain, 01A’s managing partner who has agreed to serve as an advisor and board observer. “No other team in the NFT space is executing better with long-term value creation for collectors in mind. I am honored to help Pixel Vault in this next phase of its growth.”
GFunk adds, “I could have worked with many different firms. I specifically selected Velvet Sea and 01A for two simple reasons. First, they believed in this project from day one and have been active and engaged community members from the beginning. And second, 01A and Velvet Sea have experience funding and building widely recognized global internet brands. I could not have found more fitting partners.”
Pixel Vault is the second recent collaboration between 01A and Velvet Sea. The firms co-led a $25M Series A investment in NFT marketplace Autograph, which announced earlier this month the closing of a Series B funding totaling $170M co-led by a16z and Kleiner Perkins.
About Pixel Vault
Pixel Vault, Inc. is a web3-centric media company focused on the development of narratives and stories that elevate crypto-native assets across a variety of mediums. Through unique on-chain mechanics, decentralization and game theory, Pixel Vault aims to engage collectors with their NFTs and build a robust ecosystem for collections. The Pixel Vault team has expanded the story and lore of some of the most beloved static on-chain assets through PUNKS Comics, an NFT comic that seeks to bring the Cryptopunks NFTs and other on-chain assets to life. Further, Pixel Vault is the creator of the MetaHero Identities, a blockchain-based collection of villains and heroes, and the MetaHero Universe, a social and gaming platform that is governed by the planet token holders.
About Velvet Sea Ventures
Velvet Sea Ventures is an operator-led venture capital firm that goes beyond capital to help entrepreneurs turn their visions into reality. Built by a family of entrepreneurs, VSV couples seed-to-growth stage capital investment with unconditional hands-on strategic support and guidance. Current Velvet Sea Ventures portfolio companies include Scopely, eToro, Liquid Death, LeoLabs, Autograph, Strigo, SuperRare, Elementus and Pixel Vault. A full list of portfolio companies can be found here.
About 01 Advisors
01A is a venture capital firm focused on helping companies grow after they’ve obtained product-market fit. Founded in 2018 by former at-scale operators, Dick Costolo (Former Twitter CEO) and Adam Bain (former Twitter COO), the firm takes a unique CEO coaching and advisory approach making multi-stage investments in Consumer, Fintech, Gaming, Web3, and B2B companies. Learn more at www.01a.com
