The Venture Codex

Led · Series A · Aug 2022

NFT Genius builds experiences and marketplace technology for NFTs, including Gaia, a secondary market for sports, entertainment, art, and culturally relevant digital collectibles. The company has created global NFT collections such as Ballerz and partnered with athletes and artists including Shareef and Shaquille O’Neal, golfer Bryson DeChambeau, WNBA’s Kelsey Plum, and Duncan Robinson. Founded by Jeremy Born, Kurt Braget, and Karl Meier, the company is based in Los Angeles, CA. NFT Genius closed a $10.5M Series A at a $150M valuation. The company intends to use the funds to expand beyond sports into broader entertainment and culture deals and to scale the Gaia marketplace to support thousands of companies and brands reaching mainstream consumers. Anuke Ganegoda of Dapper Labs will join as a board observer, and past seed investors include Mark Cuban, Anthony Pompliano, Sound Ventures, and HOF Capital. NFT Genius is developing a music-focused NFT marketplace and immersive-experience platform built on Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain. The marketplace is still under production; the company says it will create a verticalized destination for interactive fan experiences and meaningful virtual connections. While primarily focused on music, NFT Genius expects to expand NFTs into sports, gaming and comedy. The company released a Bitcoin-themed NFT collection in fall 2020 that included a cross-platform treasure hunt for a 1 BTC prize. NFT Genius raised $4 million in a seed round and is betting on immersive, collectible NFT experiences despite a recent market cooldown. The team positions NFTs as a way to restore collectibility and deepen artist-fan storytelling.