Pixel Vault raises $100M for NFT development platform

Operator-led venture capital firms Velvet Sea Ventures and 01 Advisors invested $100 million into Pixel Vault, a large nonfungible token collection of superheroes, to jointly launch the rebranded multi-franchise NFT entertainment company, Pixel Vault Inc. 

According to Pixel Vault, the aim of the new venture is to leverage NFTs and intellectual property to tell the stories of crypto-native communities across a variety of mediums, including television, movies and video games. Pixel Vault owns 100% of the IP, assets and operations of PUNKS Comic, MetaHero, and all future franchises.

Pixel Vault's founder and CEO Sean Gearin, also known as GFunk, launched the company in May 2021. In a statement, he said that at the center of all Pixel Vault projects is community empowerment, decentralized governance and true digital ownership, believing that the "fans are the owner and the builder.”

The backers of Pixel Vault are also token-carrying community members. 01 Advisors, or 01A, is led by former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and former Twitter COO Adam Bain. 01A and Velvet Sea Ventures co-led a $25M Series A investment in Tom Brady's NFT marketplace Autograph last summer.

Michael Lazerow, co-founder and managing partner at Velvet Sea Ventures, published a LinkedIn post chronicling the Pixel Vault origin story and explaining the long-term vision for the new company.

"The story of Pixel Vault and the story of digital ownership are intertwined and will be written over the next few years. The best thing about Web3 stories are that they can now involve you. If you have been a part of the Pixel Vault community, it has been an epic prologue."

As part of the fundraise, Lazerow will join Pixel Vault's board of directors alongside GFunk and General Counsel Jacob Wittman, while 01A's Adam Bain will join the company as a board observer and adviser. The only Pixel Vault shareholders are GFunk, his team and the new investors.

Related: Dune Analytics raises near-$70M in Series B funding round

Pixel Vault was one of the leaders in a collaborative project between PUNKS Comic, Bored Ape Yacht Club, GMoney and Adidas Originals that launched in December 2021.