Today we’re announcing that @a16zcrypto is leading an $80M Series B financing of PIP Labs, developer of @storyprotocol.

Story is a blockchain protocol that allows creators to register their IP so they can track and monitor use, protecting their legal and economic rights. The goal is to create foundational infra that can underpin a new economic covenant between creators and platforms.

The team behind Story has deep tech and creative expertise. CEO/cofounder @s-y-lee has impressed us with big-picture vision and world-class tactical execution. Cofounder @jasonzhao  studied CS at Stanford, dove deeper into AI at DeepMind, and now leads technical development on Story.

For AI systems and creative people to happily co-exist, creators need a modern way to ensure they get compensated for their work. Story takes a proven approach — IP law — and updates it for the age of AI.

We are excited to support the Story team on this important mission.

https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/investing-in-story

Intellectual property is one of the largest and most important markets in the world – but it's also rife with market failures.

Defining ownership over ideas is fundamentally difficult, and this has led to complex and high-friction processes for managing partnering, licensing, and building around IP. The tension has become even greater with the rise of generative AI tools that accelerate IP creation and remixing tremendously, but have struggled with attribution and permissions.

These sorts of IP market design challenges have fascinated me since I first learned about them back in grad school. And in the decade and a half since, I don't think I've ever seen an infrastructure innovation that excites me as much as @storyprotocol.

The programmable IP layer that transforms IPs into networks that transcend mediums and platforms, unleashing global creativity and liquidity
Storyprotocol.xyz

@storyprotocol proposes a programmable IP layer for the Internet, linked to physical-world IP regimes through on-chain contracting and licensing modules – and open to third-party development and innovation. Building IP infrastructure is a perfect use case for the public, decentralized architecture blockchains provide – and I'm hoping it can help take both nascent and established IPs up to 11.

It's been a tremendous honor to collaborate with the Story team through my work at @a16zcrypto, and I'm thrilled that we're leading their Series B round, QED.

We back bold entrepreneurs building the next internet. 
a16zcrypto.com/

@a16zcrypto • Harvard/HBS • 🧩 • QED

@storyprotocol proposes a programmable IP layer for the Internet, linked to physical-world IP regimes through on-chain contracting and licensing modules – and open to third-party development and innovation. Building IP infrastructure is a perfect use case for the public, decentralized architecture blockchains provide – and I'm hoping it can help take both nascent and established IPs up to 11.

It's been a tremendous honor to collaborate with the Story team through my work at @a16zcrypto, and I'm thrilled that we're leading their Series B round, QED.  https://x.com/StoryProtocol/status/1826227872455106967

None of the above should be taken as investment advice or an advertisement for investment services; please see https://a16z.com/disclosures/ for more information.