Yuga Labs and TechSTL, just announced a $200 million fund to support the development of agricultureal Non–Fungible Tokens (NFTs). The fund will be administered by TechSTL and will provide grants to Saint Louis startups developing agricultureal NFT’s.
Nichole Muniz, Yuga Labs
“We knew that no one was currently developing non–fungible tokens for agricultural purposes, but that the global agriculture market is expected to grow from $11.2 trillion in 2022 to $12.5 trillion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate of 11.1%,” Yuga Labs Managing Partner Nichole Muniz told bizblip. “We felt that this was a great opportunity for us to invest in something with real long–term potential, and that partnering with TechSTL was a no–brainer,”
The partnership is the result of nearly a year‘s effort, according to Muniz, ‘to find a way to do something with our ridiculous seed round.’ Yuga Labs is a blockchain technology company that develops NFTs and digital collectibles. It specializes in the fields of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and computer generated images of fanciful primates (the Bored Ape Yacht Club). In March, 2022 Yuga Labs raised $450M in the largest seed round of the year (and perhaps the largest ever). That round was led by Friendly Trading 2 and Coinbase with 41 other investors taking part. For perspective, the second largest seed round of 2022 was for $150 million, and also went to a blockchain startup.
“I have to admit that I have no idea what an agricultural NFT would even look like, but I couldn‘t turn down the ‘fire-hose‘ of money Yuga Labs was throwing at the partnership,” TechSTL Executive Director Emily Hemingway told bizblip via Ravelry (a social media platform for knitters). “This fund will allow us to support the development of agricultural NFTs in the Saint Louis region, helping to create jobs and spur economic growth, diversity and equity.”
Why St. Louis?
The $200 million fund is expected to be available in early 2023. TechSTL will administer the fund and will provide grants to Saint Louis startups developing agricultural NFTs. The fund will also fund mentorship, research and technical assistance to the startups, helping them to develop their projects and bring them to market. This partnership is the latest in a series of initiatives designed to spur economic growth and create jobs in the Saint Louis region. Muniz says St. Louis topped the list of potential cities because of its strong agtech development pipeline: Arch Grants, BioGenerator, BioSTL, ITEN (ed note: ITEN ceased operations while this story was being written), Danforth Center and the Missouri Technology Corp.
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