Curio announces $7M raise to expand growth of NFT platform and accelerate rewards program
We’re pleased to announce that we have raised $7M in an oversubscribed seed round with some fantastic investors, including Fenbushi Capital, Kenetic Capital, Protocol Labs, LongHash Ventures, Picus Capital, gumi Cryptos Capital, Cabin VC, Double Peak Group and several others including entertainment industry veterans, Marc Geiger, CEO of SaveLive and former Head of Global Music at William Morris Endeavor, and Rich Battista, former CEO of Time Inc. and former Fox Entertainment executive. We want to thank our community of users for their incredible support and the entire Curio family for their tireless efforts over the last year.
This funding round follows several key partnerships with leading collectible brands and content creators. We have partnered with the iconic collectible powerhouse, Topps, to produce NFTs from iconoclastic, cult classic Mars Attacks!. Some of our past NFT releases include collections based on the American Gods television series produced by Fremantle Productions, the Concrete Park graphic novel series published by Dark Horse Comics, and Universal Pictures’ Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. This week we’re also launching a collection from the science fiction/fantasy-themed subversive comic book franchise, Heavy Metal, which adds to our already formidable library of prime content.
What does this mean for fans?
At the heart of Curio is fandom. Our mission is simple… to connect fans to the characters, stories and moments of the entertainment brands they know and love. We believe that NFTs allow for a deeper connection between fans and creators, and establishes a two-way relationship between the brands and their fan bases.
We always ask ourselves “How can we reward fans for their loyalty and engagement with their favorite creators?” In the past, we have run challenges and raffles as a way to reward fans with bonus NFT content. However, we see an opportunity to expand beyond basic bonus items, and create a more extensive program that can create unique fan experiences not only on our platform, but across our partner ecosystem. With this new round of funding, we will be able to roll out a broader system that we feel will truly reward fans for their fandom.
To start, we will be rolling out Curio Rewards™ across the platform in the coming weeks. Structured as a customer loyalty program, Curio Rewards™ is designed to reward platform users for recurring engagement, be it with Drops, on the Exchange, on our Galleries, or simply by holding a Curio collectible item. By rewarding fans for their loyalty, we believe we can empower the next generation of “super fans” to evangelize and share their favorite content across their social universe, reaching a new audience of digital natives via blockchain technology.
NFTs (and blockchain in general) are still such a nascent technology, but we’re excited to be at the forefront of this broader digital revolution that empowers both creators and fans alike!
What’s next?
Get ready to experience more visually stunning NFT content from your favorite movies, TV shows, musical artists and graphic novels! We’re excited to announce some of our upcoming campaigns with newly signed partners; with each new collection we try to push the envelope on what’s possible now and what we can set ourselves up for in the future.
We’ll also be rolling out new features across the platform and within the NFTs themselves, including:
- Trading Packs — A highly requested feature from both our content partners and users.
- NFT Evolutions — Being able to fuse multiple NFTs together to create a shiny new (rarer) NFT!
- Fan experiences — Introducing unique experiences for fans to connect with their favorites creators (both online and offline).
- Enhanced Early Access — Providing true fans with early access for their favorite brand collections (and fighting off the nasty bots to boot!)
- Reworked challenges — Incorporating Curio Rewards™ and other new items into our challenges framework.
- Improved Trading Features — Adding new trading features to help fans complete their collections.
Connect with us!
We’d love to hear from you! Join our community on Discord or Twitter, and be sure to sign up on the platform to be the first to know about new NFT collections and challenges. We’re also on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and even Wuphf.
