Pudgy Penguins raises $9m for IP brand expansion

Pudgy Penguins, an Ethereum-based NFT collection turned Web3 intellectual property brand, raised $9 million in a seed round in May 2023 to accelerate its transition from a digital collectible project into a broader consumer IP franchise. The round was led by crypto venture firm 1kx, with participation from investors including Big Brain Holdings, Kronos Research, the founders of LayerZero Labs, Old Fashion Research and CRIT Ventures. Pudgy Penguins’ leadership said the capital would be used to scale its team and expand its IP footprint across products and media while enhancing offerings and licensing opportunities for NFT holders. The raise came after a major turnaround for the project, which launched in July 2021 and was acquired in April 2022 by entrepreneur Luca Netz, who repositioned it as a Web3-native IP company focused on character licensing, physical merchandise and “phygital” experiences. By the time of the funding, Pudgy Penguins had already begun licensing its penguin characters for live events and physical goods such as apparel and was developing a toy line, Pudgy Toys, as well as broader entertainment ambitions through a representation deal with talent agency WME. The seed round signaled investor belief that NFT-born brands can evolve into mainstream entertainment and consumer product IP, using blockchain-based ownership as a base layer for community, licensing, and distribution.

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