A16z Backs PIP Labs with $80M Investment, Valuing at $2.25B

PIP Labs, the developer behind Story Protocol, has raised $80 million in a Series B funding round led by a16z Crypto.

According to an announcement published by a16z Managing Partner Chris Dixon, the funding will be used to further develop Story Protocol, a blockchain platform designed to help creators protect and monetize their intellectual property in an evolving digital landscape.

Today we’re announcing that @a16zcrypto is leading an $80M Series B financing of PIP Labs, developer of @storyprotocol. We want to help Story become the infrastructure for AI systems and creative people to happily co-exist.

For decades, the internet has operated on an implicit… pic.twitter.com/WUZQhCk0vW

— cdixon.eth (@cdixon) August 21, 2024

a16z Leads Series B Funding Round

Other participants in the funding round include Polychain Capital, Stability AI Vice President Scott Trowbridge, K11 Founder Adrian Cheng, and digital art collector Cozomo de’ Medici.

A Bloomberg report stated that according to people familiar with the matter, the latest funding would bring the company’s valuation to $2.25 billion.

The goal is to ensure that original content creators receive compensation regardless of how their work is used or distributed while also making the licensing process smoother and more standardized to promote broader sharing and collaboration.

Protecting Creators in the Generative AI Age

With generative AI increasingly creating content without crediting original creators, the IP project seeks to address the challenges posed by the widespread use of original sources in training artificial intelligence.

“We hope for a future in which AI systems and creative people can happily co-exist. For this to work, creators need a modern way to ensure they get compensated for their work,” the statement reads.

“We are building the programmable intellectual property layer for the age of generative AI,” said PIP Labs co-founder and CEO Seung Yoon Lee. “Every single IP is a massive asset class. It can be your voice, characters, music pieces, it can be anything that’s represented as creative, outdoor intellectual output that can be an IP.”

The company’s total funding has also increased to $140 million with this latest Series B.