Key takeaways:
- London-headquartered auction house Christie’s has launched a venture capital unit called Christie’s Ventures
- Christie’s Ventures will pursue investments in art-related business developing Web3 and other disruptive technologies
- Christie’s facilitated the sale of both the most expensive NFT and painting sold to date
Leading art appraisal and auction business bets on Web3 with Christie’s Ventures
Christie’s, the world’s leading auction house, announced the launch of a new venture capital unit that aims to pursue Web3 investment opportunities in the art sector. According to a press release, the newly launched venture arm, called Christie’s Ventures, will “provide financial resources and expert support to Emerging Technology and FinTech companies creating solutions with art market relevancy.”
The fund will invest in businesses following a set of three broad categories, including disruptive Web3 technologies, financial products aimed at art use cases, and solutions that streamline art consumption.
In the official statement, Christie’s Ventures revealed LayerZero Labs as their first portfolio company. LayerZero Labs is a configurable interoperability protocol that enables cross-chain applications to communicate across different blockchains. The company’s solution allows for faster and lower-cost cross-chain transactions.
Global Head of Christie’s Ventures Devand Thakkar commented on the launch of the new fund:
“We will focus on products and services which can solve real business challenges, improve client experiences, and expand growth opportunities, both across the art market directly and for interactions with it. Our leadership has provided us with an excellent vantage point thus far and the launch of Christie’s Ventures will allow us to develop further and faster with entrepreneurs who have a strong track record of building great products and companies.”
Christie’s is one of the largest art and luxury-oriented companies in the world. Primarily known for its auction business, the company is also one of the leading art and luxury appraisal firms globally. Last year, Christie’s facilitated the sale of the most expensive non-fungible token (NFT) sold to date, Mike “Beeple” Winkelmann’s The First 5000 Days, which changed hands for $69.3 million.
In addition to serving as the platform for the sale of the most expensive digital collectible, Christie’s has also facilitated the sale of the most expensive painting sold to date, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which exchanged owners for more than $450 million in 2016.
