Christie's Ventures lHe will work alongside these portfolio companies to help accelerate their progress while promoting Christie's businesses in the presentation, education and sale of fine art and luxury goods. It will start by exploring three broad categories: Web3.0 innovation, financial products related to art and solutions and technologies that allow for the uninterrupted consumption of art. Our first portfolio company fits neatly into this spectrum: Layer Zero Labs, a cross-chain interoperability company with a strong vision and business model within a large addressable market. The firm will reduce friction in a customer's ability to move assets between blockchains.
Blockchain, NFT and Art+Tech
Christie's has a long history of fostering technological innovation, launching online bidding in 2006 and being the first international auction house to hold dedicated online-only auctions in 2011. More recently, Christie's multisite auction live streaming, tools of augmented reality, support for digital NFT art and award-winning digital marketing have made the company more approachable and resilient. The a series Art+Tech Christie's Summit has already premiered its fifth edition in New York, providing a first-rate platform for the public and market leaders to explore inspiring ideas and engage in dialogue between sectors.
Christie's Ventures will build on these experiences to further solidify Christie's position as a leader in its field
Layer Zero Labs was Founded in 2021, LayerZero's vision is to create a community of developers Cross-chain, building decentralized applications that are no longer constrained by individual blockchain capabilities. With LayerZero's simple and generic messaging protocol, builders will develop decentralized cross-chain applications designed to unify the power of individual blockchains.
Devang Thakkar, the new Global Head of Christie's Ventures, he has declared: "We will focus on products and services that solve real business challenges, improve customer experiences and expand opportunities for growth, both in the art market directly and through interactions with it. Our leadership so far has provided us with an excellent vantage point and the launch of Christie's Ventures will allow us to develop further and faster with entrepreneurs who have a strong track record of building great products and businesses."
Cover image: Frank Stella's Sharpeville during a press preview on 8 July 2020 in Christie's New York © 2022 Getty, Timothy A. Clary
