Yuga Labs Acquires Beeple’s NFT Venture WEEW and Its Pool 10KTF – NFTgators
Quick take:
- WENEW has partnered with Louis Vuitton, Playboy, Wimbledon, Gucci, Puma and others to release NFTs.
- 10KTF is an interoperable digital storefront where blue-chip NFT holders can mint and collect NFT avatars equipped in metaverse-ready digital wearables.
- WEEW co-founder and CEO Michael Figge will join Yuga Labs as chief content officer.
Yuga Labs today confirmed the acquisition of WEEW and their flagship NFT collection and virtual community, 10KTF. Launched last year, WENEW is an NFT platform founded by the famous digital artist Beeple.
Considered the “Memory Palace of the Metaverse”, WENEW has partnered with TIME, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Wasserman and Endeavour. Distributed by Endeavor’s IMG, its first NFT release was launched in partnership with Wimbledon to celebrate Andy Murray’s historic win in 2013.
The platform curates and releases NFTs of the most memorable moments in music, fashion, sports and politics. It has also previously partnered with Louis Vuitton, Playboy, Wimbledon, Gucci, Puma and others to issue NFTs at 10KTF.
10KTF is an interoperable digital storefront and community of top NFT collectors where blue-chip NFT holders of collections including BAYC, Cool Cats, Moonbirds and others can create and collect NFT avatars outfitted in metaverse-ready digital wearables created by partner fashion brands. The NFT collections have gained popularity by releasing serialized and narrative-driven content from the fictional store vendor, Wagmi-san.
“Figge, Beeple, and the WENEW team have found a way to create an engaging serialized story for web3, while managing to tap into the passion people have for their digital avatars and customization,” said Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs. “Storytelling and world-building are fundamental at Yuga, and I’m thrilled that we get to work with the creative minds at WENEW in a much more robust way. The possibilities of what we can do together are endless.”
Following the acquisition, WENEW co-founder and CEO Michael Figge will join Yuga’s leadership team as chief content officer, responsible for bringing out-of-the-box content strategies and experiences to Yuga Labs’ ecosystem. Beeple, aka Mike Winkelmann, will join Yuga Labs as an advisor.
Prior to co-founding WENEW, Figge spent 12 years as creative director at Los Angeles-based video design firm, Possible, where he developed vibrant visual identities for the world’s biggest artists including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Childish Gambino, Paul McCartney and Lady Gaga, as well as Super Bowl halftime show, Coachella, Louis Vuitton and others.
In addition to Figge, nearly 20 WENEW employees will transfer to Yuga, bringing Yuga’s full-time workforce to over 100 people worldwide. WENEW’s team of co-founders also includes Talent Manager Guy Oseary, who began representing BAYC last October.
Last week, Yuga Labs introduced a new proposal created during a consultation meeting between the company’s co-founders and Randy Chung (Melonpan) of 10KTF to preserve royalties for creators. It also launched a dedicated news portal for all ecosystem announcements.
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