NFT Authenticator ORIGYN Raises $20M at $300M Valuation

ORIGYN Foundation has raised $20 million in strategic funding at a $300 million valuation. Backers included hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s Table Management, Polychain Capital, Coinko, Vectr Ventures and celebrity Paris Hilton.

• Founded in 2020, ORIGYN is a Swiss nonprofit that uses blockchain technology and artificial intelligence to create non-fungible tokens used as digital certificates to authenticate physical and digital goods. The foundation operates across four categories covering fine art, collectibles, luxury items and digital media. The first three categories relate to physical products.
• Funding from the round will help ORIGYN expand and improve its offerings, gain new partners and fund research and development.
• “[The funding is] a sign of support for what ORIGYN is trying to achieve – using technology to solve for identity, authenticity and proof of ownership,” Daniel Haudenschild, CEO of ORIGYN’s operating entity, said in the press release that announced the funding.
• ORIGYN will launch the digital certificates during the first half of 2022. The foundation’s utility token, OGY, will also become publicly tradable next year. The company says the token is necessary to engage with the core services of the platform and is used to create and transact the certificates.