Web 3-Savvy Media Outlet Dirt Raises $1.2M in Seed Round

Entertainment and culture newsletter Dirt said Monday it raised $1.2 million in seed funding to build out its Web 3 infrastructure.

The round was led by crypto investment fund Collab + Currency, with contributions from Offline Adventures, Flamingo DAO, Spice Capital, Unicorn DAO and Matt Hackett.

Dirt sustains its media ecosystem through non-fungible token (NFT) sales, but its network of freelancers doesn't solely cover crypto topics. Even so, Dirt aims to build a Web 3 community through NFTs, its DIRT governance token and DirtDAO, which will oversee access to exclusive content for token holders.

“Web3 creates additional pathways to fandom beyond just purchasing a subscription or a tote bag – it also turns media into a two-way street, where subscribers can make appropriate decisions about the direction of the publication,” said Dirt contributors in a blog post.

Journalists Kyle Chayka and Daisy Alioto co-founded Dirt last year, and in partnership with NFT platform Mirror, began selling content as NFTs. Dirt made $20,000 in NFT sales in its first full day, according to Axios writer Sara Fischer.

Dirt’s NFTs have generated four ETH in trading volume on OpenSea since September.

UPDATE (May 10, 01:50 UTC): Adds co-founder's name.