GuardianLink.io, which offers NFT ecosystem technology framework, on Tuesday said it has raised USD 12 million (about Rs 89.2 crore) from Kalaari Capital and another private investor group. Proceeds from the series A funding will be utilised towards expanding the company’s Singapore and Japan based design labs, to strengthen the technology brand’s creative development capabilities and deepen its curative NFT packaging foundation, a statement said.
This association also marks Kalaari Capital’s first investment into the fast-growing NFT space, it added. A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore, not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files.
GuardianLink – after launching its NFT marketplace framework in 2020 – currently supports over 40 NFT marketplaces globally. So far, it has launched over 45 installations of its Marketplace Cloud with built-in Anti.Rip technology to prevent NFTs from getting copied and its Secure Vault based Legitimacy protocol. With NFTs becoming a critical part of asset monetisation for creators, athletes, artists and brands – Guardian has been on the forefront of the race to build and operate some of the largest marketplaces and most advanced creative NFTs in the space,” GuardianLink co-founder and CEO Ramkumar Subramaniam said.
This funding will be further instrumental in helping us build a stronger NFT ecosystem in India and across the globe. Kameshwaran Elangovan, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of GuardianLink, said with the industry rapidly latching onto the NFT ecosystem, the expanded research and design centre in Singapore and Japan will allow the company to provide creators with more enhanced advanced capabilities to launch their NFTs.
“It will help us boost our research and development capabilities in NFT Gaming and DeFi areas as a technology company and deepen GuardianLink’s foundation,” Elangovan added. Vani Kola, Managing Director of Kalaari Capital, said metaverse-based economy will be a key disruptor and NFTs are going to play an instrumental role in powering the digital economy of the future.
“The applications will extend across major industries including Gaming, Fashion and Retail. Keyur, Ram, Arjun and Kamesh, founders of GuardianLink, bring a tremendous vision to make NFT commerce simpler and more accessible, not only in India but over the world. They bring the technical prowess and the experience to execute. We are proud to partner with them,” she added.
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