Fine art tech startup TRLab raises $5m to accelerate growth

Fine art-focused tech startup TRLab announced it has raised $5 million in seed round funding, led by two investment firms at the forefront of blockchain technology innovation: Hivemind Capital Partners and OKX Ventures. HashKey Capital, a digital asset and blockchain leader, also joined the round.

The successful close marks a second major fundraising round for the women-led company, co-founded by Xin Li-Cohen, a non-executive Deputy Chairman at Christie's, and led by CEO and co-founder Audrey Ou. TRLab was incubated by Dragonfly Capital and launched in 2021, with early-stage support from major art collectors and tech entrepreneurs, including Pace Gallery, Animoca Brands, BAI Capital, and the founders of Artsy and Shanghai's Rockbund Art Museum (RAM).

From its locations in New York and Hong Kong, TRLab works with artists, estates, and art institutions to conceive, produce and launch digital-first art experiences for new and established collectors. To date, TRLab's platform has hosted projects in partnership with Vogue, the Calder Foundation, contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang, and Rhizome, the digital art-focused affiliate of New York's New Museum. Underpinning each project is TRLab's educational approach, which uses online learning, competitive challenges, and digital collectibles to make fine art and art history more accessible to digital-centric audiences. Using this 'play-to-learn' approach, TRLab has introduced participants from 60 different countries to the work of modern artist Alexander Calder, as part of a multi-chapter digital partnership with the Calder Foundation that continues into 2024.

The new capital will be used to on-board additional artists, foundations, and cultural institutions onto TRLab's platform, expand the company's market presence worldwide, and integrate new technologies that improve the digital art collecting experience. Several new digital art experiences with prominent artists and estates are slated for release over the next six months, along with TRLab's first-ever immersive digital art exhibition in November.

Audrey Ou,  Co-founder and CEO, TRLab: "We are proud to have the support and commitment of Hivemind and OKX Ventures as we pioneer a new way to conceptualize and collect fine art. TRLab has always occupied a unique space among digital art and Web3 platforms, and the success of our mission-driven approach shows there is ample demand for digital-centric art experiences that foster a deeper understanding of fine art and individual artists."

Hivemind and OKX Ventures cited TRLab's differentiated value proposition as a key factor in their investment decisions, and plan to offer strategic support to TRLab in key markets worldwide.

Matt Zhang, Founder and Managing Partner, Hivemind Capital Partners: "At Hivemind, we strongly believe in the potential of long-form generative art and see the broader digital native art as the next major art genre, all empowered by blockchain technology. With TRLab's curated vision and exceptional partnerships, they are ideally positioned to spearhead the digital art renaissance, seamlessly blending world-renowned artistry with cutting-edge technology. We're thrilled to support Audrey, Xin, and the entire TRLab team in their mission to shape the future of digital cultural heritage."