a16z Crypto Leads $80M Series B for Story Protocol to Protect Creator Rights

a16z
crypto,
a
well-known
venture
capital
fund,
has
announced
an
$80
million
Series
B
financing
round
for
PIP
Labs,
the
developer
of
Story
Protocol,
according
to

a16z
crypto.
Established
in
2013,
a16z
crypto
has
been
investing
in
various
stages
of
crypto
and
web3
startups.

Breaking
the
Traditional
Covenant

For
decades,
the
internet
has
operated
on
an
implicit
economic
covenant
between
creators
and
platforms:
creators
supply
content,
and
platforms
provide
demand.
This
balance
is
being
disrupted
by
advances
in
generative
AI.
AI-powered
search
engines
now
offer
comprehensive
answers
directly,
reducing
traffic
to
original
content
websites.
Additionally,
social
networks
are
increasingly
populated
with
AI-generated
images
and
videos,
often
trained
on
original
human-created
content
without
proper
attribution
or
compensation.

Introducing
Story
Protocol

Story
Protocol
aims
to
address
these
issues
by
providing
a
blockchain-based
solution
where
creators
can
register
their
intellectual
property
(IP).
This
enables
creators
to
track
and
monitor
the
use
of
their
content,
ensuring
their
legal
and
economic
rights
are
protected.
By
simplifying
licensing
and
standardizing
IP
registration,
Story
Protocol
encourages
widespread
sharing
and
collaboration.

Projects
already
building
on
Story
Protocol
include:

• 
  Magma:
  A
  collaborative
  art
  platform
  that
  allows
  artists
  to
  register
  their
  IP
  and
  set
  rules
  for
  commercial
  use,
  remixing,
  and
  AI
  usage.
• 
  Sekai:
  An
  AI
  storytelling
  platform
  that
  facilitates
  co-creation
  of
  immersive
  stories
  through
  simple
  prompts.
• 
  Ablo:
  A
  platform
  enabling
  users
  to
  customize
  and
  remix
  fashion
  using
  generative
  AI,
  with
  Story
  Protocol
  handling
  IP
  registration
  and
  revenue
  sharing.

The
Team
Behind
Story

Story
Protocol
is
led
by
CEO
and
co-founder
Seung
Yoon
Lee,
who
previously
sold
his
company
Radish
Fiction
to
Kakao.
His
co-founder,
Jason
Zhao,
studied
computer
science
at
Stanford
and
worked
at
DeepMind,
bringing
extensive
technical
expertise
to
the
project.

The
goal
of
Story
Protocol
is
to
establish
a
foundational
infrastructure
that
underpins
a
new
economic
covenant
between
creators
and
platforms,
ensuring
creators
are
fairly
compensated
in
an
AI-driven
world.

Future
Prospects

a16z
crypto’s
investment
in
Story
Protocol
reflects
its
belief
in
the
need
for
modern
solutions
to
protect
creator
rights.
As
AI
continues
to
evolve,
the
importance
of
ensuring
fair
compensation
for
creators
cannot
be
overstated.
Story
Protocol’s
approach
updates
traditional
intellectual
property
law
for
the
digital
age,
making
it
easier
for
creators
to
benefit
from
their
work.

For
more
information,
visit
the

a16z
crypto
website.

Image
source:
Shutterstock