Companies Behind Azuki NFTs and Line Friends Characters Join Forces for Web3 Expansion
Chiru Labs, the Web3 startup behind NFT projects Azuki and Beanz, has entered into a partnership with IPX, the company known for the Line Friends character collection. The collaboration aims to work together on content, merchandise, retail distribution, real-life activations, and immersive metaverse experiences, with a focus on the Beanz NFTs and Line Friends characters.
IPX has expanded from Line Friends, which originated as stickers on the LINE messaging app, to become a prominent intellectual property (IP) brand. It has partnered with notable companies such as Starbucks, Netflix, McDonald's, and K-Pop band BTS. To celebrate the partnership, a billboard above the Line Friends store in New York's Times Square will display an animation featuring some of the NFT characters during NFT.NYC.
Zagabond, the founder and CEO of Chiru Labs, expressed excitement about collaborating with IPX, recognizing them as a global leader in building innovative character IP brands. Zagabond emphasized that the web3 community is an integral part of the evolving IP landscape.
Chiru Labs gained recognition for its anime-inspired NFT collection, Azuki, which has achieved significant trading volume since its launch in January 2022. The company also made headlines for introducing "physical backed tokens" (PBT) through the sale of NFT-backed golden skateboards, raising $2.5 million.
IPX plans to complement Chiru Labs' IP with its multi-faceted character IP business strategy. Logan Cho, the head of the metaverse business at IPX, expressed eagerness to unveil an expanded IP business that incorporates web3, offering collaborative opportunities for both NFT holders and character IP enthusiasts.
While the Azuki brand has faced challenges, such as the admission of abandoned previous NFT projects and a hacking incident on their Twitter account, the team has actively addressed and resolved these issues to maintain the community's trust and security.
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