USA – TRLab, a New York-based fine art-focused tech startup, raised US$5M in Seed funding.
The round was led by Hivemind Capital Partners and OKX Ventures. HashKey Capital also participated.The company intends to use the funds to on-board additional artists, foundations, and cultural institutions onto its platform, expand its market presence worldwide, and integrate new technologies that improve the digital art collecting experience. Co-Founded by Xin Li-Cohen, and Audrey Ou, CEO, TRLab works with artists, estates, and art institutions to conceive, produce and launch digital-first art experiences for new and established collectors. To date, the platform has hosted projects in partnership with Vogue, the Calder Foundation, contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang, and Rhizome, the digital art-focused affiliate of New York’s New Museum. Underpinning each project is the company’s educational approach, which uses online learning, competitive challenges, and digital collectibles to make fine art and art history accessible to digital-centric audiences. Using this ‘play-to-learn’ approach, the company has introduced participants from 60 different countries to the work of modern artist Alexander Calder, as part of a multi-chapter digital partnership with the Calder Foundation that continues into 2024.Several new digital art experiences with prominent artists and estates are slated for release over the next six months, along with TRLab’s immersive digital art exhibition in November.TRLab was incubated by Dragonfly Capital and launched in 2021, with early-stage support from major art collectors and tech entrepreneurs, including Pace Gallery, Animoca Brands, BAI Capital, and the founders of Artsy and Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum (RAM). The company has locations in New York and Hong Kong. 06/09/2023
