Taiwanese animation artist pplpleasr's video platform "Shibuya" secures funding from a16z, with participation from Terry Tsai and KD.
Taiwanese animation artist pplpleasr's decentralized video platform "Shibuya" launched earlier this year has secured a $6.9 million funding round led by a16z. The platform's first animation series "White Rabbit" will release its third chapter in January next year.
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Shibuya Valued at $50 Million
According to announcements by Shibuya on Medium and a report by Fortune magazine, the decentralized video platform "Shibuya" has raised $6.9 million in seed funding led by a16z Crypto and Variant Fund, valuing the company at $50 million. Other investors include:
American socialite Paris Hilton
NBA star Kevin Durant
Aave founder Stani Kulechov
Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai
pplpleasr, the founder of Shibuya and a Taiwanese animation artist, stated that Shibuya represents the culmination of everything she has learned in her career. From crowdfunding and tokenization to empowering creators, the platform has gone from initially raising over $1.5 million through NFTs to producing its first animated series "White Rabbit," and now receiving institutional funding to support platform development.
She mentioned that the funds will be used for new projects, new creators, UI/UX designers, and expanding the engineering team.
Why Create Shibuya?
When launching the platform earlier this year, pplpleasr described Shibuya as a decentralized video platform with features akin to Netflix, the original content platform Vimeo, and crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, dubbing Shibuya as the decentralized Hollywood.
Her early work experience made her realize the highly politicized nature of funding in Hollywood and the high production costs of film animation. She told Fortune magazine that this Web3-based business model is a better choice for creators compared to the highly centralized power structure of the traditional film industry:
"If I were to do this the traditional way, I would need to go through Hollywood, and now, I don't have to wait for anyone's approval."
Shibuya users can purchase Producer Pass NFTs to vote on platform decisions and the storyline of the animations. The first animated series, "White Rabbit," has reached its third chapter since its launch this year and is set to be officially released on January 10th next year.