Story Protocol, a decentralized platform focused on the management and ownership of intellectual property (IP), has successfully raised over $54 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z crypto.
The funding round saw a wide range of investors, including Endeavor, Samsung Next, Hashed, and many other venture capital firms and individual investors.
According to an official press release from the firm, Story Protocol is purposed towards the creation of an open infrastructure to revolutionize IP management. Story Protocol will offer a framework that encompasses the entire lifecycle of IP creation and ownership. This includes provenance tracking, frictionless licensing, and revenue sharing, designed for creators across multiple media such as prose, gaming, images, and audio.
Co-Founder Seung Yoon Lee stated that the platform aims to introduce transparent tracking mechanisms and fair attribution through blockchain technology. Story Protocol intends to provide existing IP holders and new creators with an entirely different way of engaging audiences and advancing their intellectual property.
Open and Modular Architecture
The architecture of Story Protocol is open and modular, allowing for third-party applications to easily integrate their services. This includes a variety of features from crowdfunding and capital formation to IP discovery and community growth. The decentralized nature of the platform is expected to reduce platform risks for ecosystem builders.
Among the participants in the funding round were influential names in the entertainment and tech industries. These included David S. Goyer, best known for his screenwriting roles in the "Blade" and "The Dark Knight" trilogies, who will serve as an advisor to the project.
Enhancing Human Creativity
Ben Enowitz, SVP of Corporate Development & Talent Ventures at Endeavor, emphasized the role of technology in enhancing, rather than replacing, human creativity. In this aspect, Story Protocol aims to facilitate platforms where artists and fans can actively participate in the creative process, expanding how intellectual property is developed and shared globally.
The Story Protocol team consists of experts with varied backgrounds, ranging from entertainment and artificial intelligence to Web3 infrastructure. Co-founders include Seung Yoon Lee, previously the founder of mobile serial fiction platform Radish, and Jason Levy, who led content at Episode. Other team members have served in significant roles at Google’s Deepmind, Dapper Labs, and Harmony Protocol, among others.
This funding aims to accelerate the development of Story Protocol’s platform, which plans to enable a new way of dealing with intellectual property in the blockchain-powered internet age that's also now being propelled by artificial intelligence. In this sense, the protocol's focus is the mass democratization of IP creation (as a process), making it accessible and manageable on a global scale.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
