Yuga Labs acquires Beeple’s WENEW, 10KTF project

Yuga Labs, operator of the popular NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has acquired startup WENEW and its flagship NFT project 10KTF.

WENEW was founded in June 2021 by Beeple, who collaborated on the first NFT video produced by pop diva Madonna. Its first physical work “HUMAN ONE” sold for US$28.9 million at a Christie’s auction in New York at the end of the same year. 

10KTF is a digital storefront where holders from top NFT collections (BAYC, Cool Cats, Moonbirds, and others) can mint and collect one-of-a-kind NFTs featuring their digital avatar on various digital wearables. The collection is centered on a fictional shop purveyor, Wagmi-san, and offers story-driven content.

After the acquisition, Beeple will become an advisor to Yuga Labs while WENEW chief executive Michael Figge will become Yuga Labs’ chief content officer. About 20 WENEW employees will be absorbed into Yuga Labs, bringing its full-time staff to over 100 people around the world.

“Figge, Beeple, and the WENEW team have found a way to create a captivating serialized story for web3, while also managing to tap into the passion people have for their digital avatars and customization,” said Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs. 

“Storytelling and world-building are foundational at Yuga and I’m thrilled that we get to work with the creative mind hive at WENEW in a much more robust way. The possibilities of what we can do together are endless.”