Christie’s, the auction house known for its art and luxury goods sales, has launched an investment fund to support start-ups with technology that enables “seamless art consumption.”
In an announcement Monday, the auction house said the fund, Christie’s Ventures, will financially support Web 3.0 companies, “art-related financial products and solutions” and art-related technology and luxury goods. According to Christie’s, its first investment will be in LayerZero Labs, a company that develops solutions to enable decentralized omnichain applications, allowing for a smoother transfer of assets between blockchain networks.
“We will focus on products and services that can solve real business challenges, improve customer experiences and expand growth opportunities, both in the art market directly and in interactions with it,” has declared the world head of Christie’s Ventures, Devang Thakkar.
Christie’s is launching its own in-house investing firm, Christie’s Ventures. The entity will aim to supply seed funding to young companies whose technologies could ultimately help collectors buy and sell more art, digital or otherwise. https://t.co/rzGlaVRafM
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) July 18, 2022
The move into blockchain-related investments represented another move by Christie’s to support companies in the cryptocurrency space. In 2021, the company hosted an auction of a non-expendable artwork by Mike Winkelmann, aka Beeple, raising more than $69 million. Since then, it has held several high-profile sales for NFT-format artwork and has partnered with online marketplace OpenSea for on-chain auctions.
2022 is shaping up to be a record year for the financing of companies related to Blockchain technology. As Cointelegraph reported, blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused companies raised $14.8 billion in the first quarter of the year, almost half of the 2021 totals. Although activity has slowed due to the bear market, startups focused on Web 3.0 and the metaverse continue to attract significant capital investment.
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