Social non-fungible token (NFT) platform Hyy.pe on Tuesday said it has raised $2 million in a fresh funding round led by Elevation Capital.
The round also saw participation from several leading angel investors, including Ryan Adams and David Hoffman, founders, Bankless; Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto, Visa; and Farid Ahsan co-founder, ShareChat. Previously, the company had raised $1.5 Mn from Electric Capital.
Hyy.pe is building a platform for NFT communities to connect, share stories, and collaboratively build their history. For instance, users will be able to share what made them buy a certain NFT, the collectible’s origin story or collaborate on derived artwork.
Hyy.pe wants NFT creators and owners to have the freedom to establish their art collection as their identity.
The company plans to launch with 13 popular collections initially—including CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, Cool Cats, Avastars, Loot, and Punk Comics—before expanding to include all the collections for everyone.
“With Hyy.pe, a user can curate their NFT collection to serve as a main medium of self-expression. It really pushes forward the idea that collectively the media you own, in the form of NFTs, can establish your individuality on the internet and help you connect deeper with communities. Hyy.pe wants to be a cohesive space for a million communities,” said Supriyo Roy, co-founder, Hyy.pe.
In the absence of a specialised platform, NFT communities connect on Discord and Twitter for their interactions. There is a whitespace for dedicated platforms that equips collectors and artists with tools to share their stories in a social manner, according to the company.
“NFTs are very inherently social. The value of NFT is bolstered by the stories, interactions, derivatives, and provenance around them. We are at the cusp of new forms of social interactions and community formation that NFTs will enable. We are thrilled to partner with Supriyo and Scott to build such a social network,” said Vaas Bhaskar, principal, Elevation Capital.
With the current fundraise, the company will continue to hire product engineers to strengthen the platform by engaging directly with the communities and integrating feedback on user experience.
