Story Protocol-based AI startup Sekai raises $3 million in seed round led by Hashed

Generative AI storytelling startup Sekai announced Thursday it has raised $3.1 million in a seed round led by Hashed.

Leveraging the Story Protocol, Sekai aims to turn storytelling into a "multiplayer experience" where would-be storytellers can use its platform to co-create alongside other people with the help of generative AI. Simultaneously, Sekai wishes to provide creators with the ability to protect and earn from the intellectual property they create.

“The big IP monopolies and traditional IP structures don’t prioritize originality," Sekai CEO Kaiser Kim said in a statement. "We are combining AI and blockchain secured-IP to empower creators to explore new forms of collaborative storytelling beyond traditional silos."

As the proliferation of chatbots and generative AI tools that allow for the quick creation of illustrations and videos gathers steam, thought leaders from both the worlds of technology and entertainment expect artificial intelligence to drastically change how new media is crafted and by whom. Story Protocol, a Layer 1 blockchain primarily developed by PIP Labs, which is backed by a16z, has been marketed as a tool for tokenizing intellectual property, making it programmable in the AI era.

"By abstracting out the complexities of AI and blockchain, Sekai empowers creators to unleash their imaginations and directly connect with their audiences, offering seamless distribution for their content," Hashed General Partner Baek Kim said in a statement.

Sekai's seed raise follows the startup winning the ETHDenver general hackathon earlier this year. Other participants in the round include a16z CSX, Azuki, Orange DAO and Zypsy, according to a statement. Sekai also participated in the a16z CSX startup accelerator this year.