News & Views
Rad announces new funding from Ayre Ventures; plans to build cross-blockchain NFT management platform on the BSV Blockchain
This article was originally published on CoinGeek on March 21, 2022.
Rad, the innovative content distribution and NFT streaming platform, has secured significant funding in a round led by Ayre Ventures; Intersect VC, who are investors in Dapper Labs and Triller; former New England Patriot Super Bowl Champion and Pro Bowler Richard Seymour’s 93 Ventures; Alvin Kwan, former head of Corporate Development at Fox and Board Member at Fubo TV; Rusty Matveev, who is CSO at Calaxy and formerly a partner at MSG Ventures; Revere VC; and Jason Campbell, former quarterback for the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders.
Rad recently launched NFTV, redefining video streaming by combining major content creators and studios with future foundational technologies like web3, blockchain, and virtual and augmented reality (XR). It’s the first network to make NFTs accessible via a rapidly expanding network of over 500m devices worldwide – including Sony PlayStations 4 & 5, Android TVs and Apple platforms. Rad currently offers an unprecedented range of Gen Z-focused entertainment spanning gaming, music, on-demand video, live events, and sports. Rad has done content deals with the likes of Disney, NBCUniversal, Fox, Showtime, Warner Brothers, Sony, Complex Magazine, Whistle Sports, Cinedigm, Esports TV, Anthem Sports & Entertainment, and hundreds of others, and is trusted by the biggest content and hardware companies in the world.
Rad’s streaming platform is powered by Ara, which is a P2P ecosystem for content creators that uses an Ethereum-based token (ARA) for governance, incentives, and staking with royalties for NFTs sold through their platform. The platform is built to incorporate numerous chains and will make discoverability of content and NFTs across chains more efficient and approachable to creators and consumers alike. Rad’s integration of the Bitcoin SV (BSV) blockchain will include support for BSV-based NFTs with on-chain storage of large NFT files including full-length movies, video holograms and AR/VR content. Rad will also leverage the BSV blockchain’s low-cost and high-scaling capacity for managing and tracking NFTs across multiple chains.
Ayre Ventures joins existing investors The Tornante Company which is Michael Eisner’s fund, Sony Innovation Fund, A+E Networks, WWE, Warner Music Group, and Disney via the Disney Accelerator.
Commenting on the funding round, Rad CEO Tony Mugavero said:
“Rad couldn’t be more excited to partner with Ayre Ventures and support the BSV ecosystem. Consumers buying, and creators making movies, XR, and clips leveraging blockchain-based technologies need low cost and high throughput transactions that compliment high performance streaming,” said Tony Mugavero, CEO of Rad. “Blockchain technology should be largely transparent to consumers and creators, and they’ll always go for the most cost-effective and performant option, which the BSV blockchain solves for.”
Rad CMO Brooklyn Earick added:
“We are pumped to offer our users a fast and inexpensive option to scale at enterprise levels on Rad. We foresee a future where creators can tokenize everything, digital and IRL, to fund content creation, art collections and more. BSV will allow our users to both think long-term and execute quickly without the worry of what gas fees might be that day.”
Ayre Ventures founder Calvin Ayre commented on his group’s $1.5m investment in Rad, saying:
“BSV is the perfect home for future-focused companies like Rad that have outgrown the constraints imposed by other public blockchains. I’m thrilled to partner with Rad as they push the boundaries of what a streaming platform has to offer and meet the public’s insatiable demand for an ever-widening variety of digital entertainment options.”
Rad previously secured investment from a number of prominent entities, including A&E Ventures, Sony Corporation of America, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., Warner Music Inc., and World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Rad’s media partners include Disney, Fox, NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS and Warner Music.
About Rad
Rad is redefining streaming for the modern era with NFTs, on-demand, live events, and TV featuring the biggest content creators and studios in the world; all powered by future foundational technologies like blockchain and XR. Discover the best in Music, Movies & TV, Comedy, Sports, Gaming and more! Rad supports on demand, live, holograms, 180°, 360°, 3D content and NFT collectibles (non-fungible tokens). Watch thousands of hours of content, join watch parties, buy limited edition NFTs, get XR experiences, and collect crypto rewards.
Discover more at rad.live and download our iOS app, Android TV app, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, or PSVR apps.
About Ayre Ventures
Ayre Ventures, founded by celebrated entrepreneur and philanthropist Calvin Ayre, provides capital to scalable, high-growth businesses within the BSV blockchain ecosystem, the only infinitely scaling enterprise public blockchain. The Group targets investment in innovative ideas and ambitious projects that are ‘positively disruptive’, supporting their expansion with the Group’s extensive network and industry partners.