Pudgy Penguins Raises $9M

The fundraise comes after a leadership change that led to an increased focus on utilizing the intellectual property.

Pudgy Penguins Raises $9M

Pudgy Penguins, a collection of Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has successfully raised $9 million in seed funding led by 1kx. The company aims to use the newly acquired capital to expand its team and intellectual property.

This funding round takes place more than a year after the Pudgy Penguins project removed its founders due to allegations of misusing treasury funds and failing to meet community objectives.

In April 2022, entrepreneur Luca Schnetzler (Netz) purchased the Pudgy Penguins rights for $2.5 million, pledging to develop the brand. Following this, the NFTs experienced a surge in value, thanks to licensing deals and social media campaigns, reaching an all-time high floor price last December. Pudgy Penguins has since grown to include live events, new ways for token owners to monetize and utilize their tokens, and physical merchandise such as books and toys.

We are thrilled to be able to continue the strong momentum we’ve built over the last year, even in a bear market.

Pudgy Penguins head of investor relations Vi Powils

Today’s milestone is a testament to the vision of our strategic partners, who recognized that Pudgy Penguins is not only a Web3 brand for crypto-natives, but also an accessible IP for everyday consumers around the world, as well as our incredibly talented team.

Pudgy Penguins head of investor relations Vi Powils

Other investors in the round included Big Brain Holdings, Kronos Research, the founders of LayerZero Labs, Old Fashion Research, and CRIT Ventures.

About Pudgy Penguins

In July 2021, the project was launched, coinciding with the booming NFT market where billions of dollars were being traded each month. The project gained popularity after being featured in a viral story in The New York Times. However, controversies emerged by early 2022, including a co-founder’s past Web3 actions and NFT holders planning to create a new token by “wrapping” their Penguins, leading to a decline in Pudgy prices.

In April 2022, Luca Netz, a serial entrepreneur, bought the project IP for $2.5 million, acknowledging that Pudgy Penguins did not have as much funding as other NFT projects. Despite the crypto market crash and a decrease in NFT sales volume, Netz’s team managed to grow the project by launching physical toys and merch, building an advisory board with leaders from Meta and Hasbro, and signing with a major Hollywood talent agency, WME, for media projects. The project has generated $250 million worth of total trading volume to date and gained popularity among NFT enthusiasts.

Netz believes that Pudgy Penguins has the potential to appeal to both Web3 communities and mainstream audiences, as it is family-friendly and inclusive. He understands what users want from the project, having purchased his first NFT from Pudgy Penguins and subsequently trading millions of dollars’ worth of NFTs.

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