Async Art, a Silicon Valley nonfungible token platform, has secured over $2 million in seed funding from at least 10 investors, highlighting the growing value proposition of programmable art.
The company announced the new raise on Wednesday, highlighting Async’s rapid growth since its February 2020 launch. In its first year of operations, Async generated over $1 million in art sales and launched a smart TV app to display digital art.
Although the company didn’t specify how it would use the funds, it indicated that onboarding new users and creating new displays were the primary focus. Async is also looking to expand its job openings. Currently, its LinkedIn page has openings for a community manager and application developer.
At least 10 investors participated in the seed round: Lemniscap, Galaxy Interactive, Signum Growth Capital, Semantic, Blue Wire Capital, Collab+Currency, Inflection, Divergence Ventures, the LAO and Placeholder.
Async described programmable art as a “new movement” that allows creators to “deconstruct their work into 'Layers' and endow them with abilities.”
Lemniscap, one of Async Art’s primary investors, described media as the next frontier for disruption:
“By enabling the shared ownership of art pieces and dynamic influence over their appearance, Async Art is turning the existing concept of art on its head and is paving the way for a whole new category of programmable media."
Async was also featured in Christie's, a major auction house that plans to offer standalone NFT works later this month. Noah Davis, a Christie’s art specialist, recently said NFTs have “seen a rapid ascent over the last few years — especially the last few months."
Async also revealed Matt Kane's "Right Place & Right Time" art in March 2020, which helped him earn a spot in the Cointelegraph Top 100. The artwork, which evolves dynamically in response to Bitcoin (BTC) price volatility, is considered a masterpiece in the emerging NFT niche.