Christie’s launches venture fund targeted at Web3 art projects

Christie’s, the global art and luxury brand renowned for its auctions, has announced the launch of an investment fund to promote innovative projects in the art and luxury goods ecosystem.

Announced on Monday, Christie’s Ventures will initially target financial support for projects in Web3 innovation, art-related financial products and technological solutions seeking “seamless consumption of art.”

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Devang Thakkar, the Global Head of Christie’s Ventures commented:

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.”

LayerZero Labs is ‘first investment’

Christie’s Ventures first investment is in LayerZero Labs, a company focused on advancing cross-chain interoperability in the blockchain ecosystem.

According to the announcement, LayerZero offers a strong business model and vision for the industry, especially the focus on achieving frictionless transfers between chains.

Bryan Pellegrino, LayerZero co-founder and CEO noted:

LayerZero is incredibly thrilled to partner with Christie’s Ventures. We’ve seen firsthand how Christie’s has been on the forefront of web3 and a pioneer in the space. We look forward to working with their team to find new and innovative ways to create the most accessible, frictionless experience with assets indexed over multiple blockchains.”

Founded in 1766, Christie’s has a market presence in 46 countries and made headlines in 2021 following the groundbreaking Beeple’s Everydays NFT sale.

Apart from becoming the first major auction house to undertake the digital artwork sale, it also made history as the first to accept crypto as payment.