By
Andy Watson
April 26th, 2024
According to Ben Gore, Christie’s COO, the launch of the fund will open more opportunities for exploring Web3 as well as provide another advantage over competitors.
World-leading art and luxury business Christie’s has announced the launch of a new investment fund that will focus on emerging technologies, such as Web3 and art-related financial products. Named Christie’s Ventures, the fund will provide the financial backup and expert support to companies creating solutions with art market relevancy.
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
Christie’s Ventures
According to the press release, the first company to experience collaboration with Christie’s Ventures is LayerZero Labs. This startup has been known for its omnichain interoperability protocol that allows dApps to build across multiple blockchains in a trustless, efficient manner. Christie’s Ventures has already completed its first investment into the startup.
The fund will be led by Devang Thakkar, builder of teams and technology at Microsoft, Artsy, and Better.com, as well as an advisor at Christie’s.
Devang Thakkar said:
“We will focus on products and services which can solve real business challenges, improve client experiences, and expand growth opportunities, both across the art market directly and for interactions with it.”
Thakkar further added:
“Our leadership has provided us with an excellent vantage point thus far and the launch of Christie’s Ventures will allow us to develop further and faster with entrepreneurs who have a strong track record of building great products and companies.”
According to Ben Gore, Christie’s COO, the launch of the fund will open more opportunities for exploring Web3 as well as provide another advantage over competitors.
The news follows Christie’s last week’s report of $4.1 billion in global sales for the first quarter of 2022. Notably, it is the highest number since 2015.
Christie’s Foray into Crypto Space
Christie’s marked its entrance into the crypto industry in 2020. At that time, the company auctioned its first piece of a non-fungible token (NFT), a Bitcoin (BTC) inspired artwork by Robert Alice. Called “Portraits of a Mind”, the collection represented a global art project decentralizing the founding code behind Bitcoin into 40 fragments.
In December 2021, Christie’s partnered with NFT marketplace OpenSea to curate its first on-chain NFT auction.
Further, in March 2021, Christie’s auctioned the art piece created by the digital artist Beeple, at approximately $69 million. as we reported, the sale ranked as the most expensive NFT ever sold at an auction.
This July, Christie’s is also planning an auction of the University of Pennsylvania’s first-ever NFT. Named “Vaccines for a New Era,” the NFT is a one-minute 3D animation that represents the scientific imaging of biological mechanics as jewel-toned art.
Now, with more NFT-related events, seems that Christie’s wants to get deeper into Web3 to “enable seamless consumption of art.”