Artifact Labs, a Web3 company dedicated to preserving historical records on the blockchain, has successfully closed a $3.25 million funding round. The NFT issuer began operating independently after spinning from its parent company last year.
Hong Kong-based hedge fund manager Blue Pool Capital led the funding round, with significant participation from the renowned Web3 investment firm Animoca Ventures. Blue Pool Capital primarily invests the wealth of Alibaba founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai.
Investing in Growth and Development
The company plans to utilize the newly-acquired funds to expand operations and increase its team of developers. Artifact Labs first recognized the long-term potential of tokenizing historical artifacts after an NFT series commemorating the handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China generated $260,000 in sales. This initiative made these artifacts immutable and accessible to the public.
Origin and Notable Collaborations
Artifact Labs originated from the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Hong Kong’s leading English newspaper, acquired by Alibaba for $262 million in 2015. The company’s initial project involved creating non-fungible token versions of SCMP’s front pages from 1997, the year of Hong Kong’s handover.
The rarity level of each item was determined by the significance of that day’s events. Since then, Artifact Labs has collaborated on notable NFT projects with prominent cultural organizations such as RMS Titanic Inc and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
RMS Titanic Inc., the organization responsible for showcasing the sunken ship’s artifacts, joined forces with Artifact Labs in February. The partnership aims to create NFTs of the ship’s relics on the blockchain.
In collaboration with RMS Titanic Inc., Artifact Labs will initiate the Titanic DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) as part of their joint venture. This will enable NFT collectors and members to contribute to upcoming projects.
Mission to Preserve and Connect History
As an independent Web3 and NFT company, Artifact Labs focuses on building blockchain strategies, products, and platforms to serve organizations with historical, intellectual property.
Committed to the mission of “Preserving and Connecting History” through blockchain, Artifact Labs empowers historical custodians to enhance the significance of their prized assets by transforming them into “ARTIFACTs” using tokenization.
