1kx, Blockchain Capital back $7.5 million KOR Protocol Series A at $100 million valuation

Entertainment-focused KOR Protocol has raised a $7.5 million Series A funding round with participation from 1kx, Blockchain Capital, and others at a $100 million valuation, according to an announcement shared with The Block.

KOR Protocol describes itself as an onchain creative asset clearinghouse built on Coinbase’s Layer 2 blockchain that provides infrastructure to help verify, route and settle creative works, like music and movies. 

By registering these assets onchain, KOR argues they can be better matched "with the right labels, agencies, MCNs, brands, curators and platforms." Moreover, using stablecoins like USDC can help with payments, including "programmable splits across the people and partners involved."

"As both an artist and an operator, I know how difficult it is to translate strong work and audience momentum into distribution, partnerships, and sustainable revenue," Ritty Quin, an electronic music producer and CEO of KOR, said. "KOR is building the system that connects those pieces by helping talent get recognized earlier, reach the right opportunities, and build lasting careers."

KOR said it will use the Series A funds to continue developing its platform and for ecosystem growth and partner integrations. It is also planning to launch a token, according to the announcement. 

The protocol is not alone in seeing the value of using immutable blockchains for entertainment and other intellectual property purposes, particularly amid the emergence of AI. Earlier this year, one buzzy project, Story Protocol, relaunched as the DATA Foundation to focus on AI training data rather than general IP infrastructure.

KOR notes that it is "not building a new chain," and is instead designed to be composable with existing IP infrastructure, like "asset standards, attestation systems, agent identity frameworks, HTTP-native payments, cross-chain intents, and stablecoin settlement."

The platform provides tools for provenance and ownership, allowing creators to register their assets onchain, and AI-powered discovery and matching algorithms to route these works to audiences and distributors. When a work gets licensed, remixed, used in a campaign, or otherwise monetized, value flows back transparently to creators and rights holders.

KOR said it has surpassed $2 million in gross revenue. It also has over 1,000 partners, including Black Mirror, Beatport, mau5trap, Imogen Heap, Banijay Group, and KDDI, and over 1 million lifetime sign-ups and 400,000 connected wallets.

The announcement notes KOR is also backed by previous investors across crypto, entertainment, and emerging technology, including Republic Crypto, Sfermion, Alumni Ventures, SevenX and others.