NFT startup Dust Labs raises $7 million from FTX and Solana Ventures

The Dust Labs startup, linked to the NFT collections y00ts and DeGods on the Solana platform, has raised a strategic investment round of $7 million.

We would like to announce that we have raised a strategic round of $7M to build out the $DUST ecosystem.

AMA with @frankdegods & our CEO @kevindegods on Thursday, September 8th. pic.twitter.com/VxzdZeu3P0

— Dust Labs (@dust_labs) September 6, 2022

FTX Ventures, Solana Ventures, as well as the NFT marketplace Magic Eden, Foundation Capital, and others participated in the round.

The Dust Labs startup, linked to the NFT collections y00ts and DeGods on the Solana platform, is oriented toward “creating software that helps NFT communities bring more value to token holders”.

Founder Frank said in an interview with Decrypt that Dust Labs is a technology company. It is not the parent entity of DeGods as with Yuga Labs and the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.

The raised funds will be directed toward building an ecosystem for the utility token DUST. It was initially launched as a reward for DeGods holders. It is the only coin that can be used to mint y00ts.

Earlier, the startup Optic, which authenticates NFTs using artificial intelligence, raised $11 million from Kleiner Perkins and Pantera Capital.

In August, the trading volume of non-fungible tokens continued to decline globally. The trend is confirmed by the leading NFT marketplace OpenSea, with its figure dipping to $500 million, according to ForkLog’s report.

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