Fox Corporation backs Eluvio’s $100M raise as part of its content plan for NFTs

U.S. mass media company Fox Corporation has made a strategic investment in digital content management firm Eluvio to help develop Fox’s nonfungible token business.

An announcement on Aug. 25 reported that Fox Corporation’s investment marks the completion of Eluvio’s Series A funding round at a valuation of $100 million. Eluvio is a company dedicated to managing, distributing and monetizing premium content via blockchain.

Under the new agreement, Eluvio will provide the technology for Fox Entertainment’s and Bento Box Entertainment’s recently launched NFT business and creative unit according to the announcement.

In mid-June, Fox partnered with Hollywood animation studio Bento Box to launch Blockchain Creative Labs, a $100 million creative division providing content creators, intellectual property owners, and advertising partners blockchain solutions to build, launch, manage, and sell NFTs.

Eluvio’s Content Fabric open protocol blockchain network has been built for owner-controlled storage, distribution and monetization of digital content at scale. The platform provides live and file-based content publishing in addition to NFT minting backed by smart contracts providing proof of ownership and access control.

Fox and Bento will be leveraging Eluvio’s technology to attract a wider market of content creators, media partners, and advertising clients. It will enable the companies to launch and market new NFT collections linked to popular content and TV shows.

Eluvio’s blockchain has also been praised for its eco-friendliness by avoiding energy-intensive mining and using a more efficient (but less decentralized) proof-of-authority consensus.

Related: How the NFT market leveraged blockchain tech for explosive growth

Paul Cheesbrough, Chief Technology Officer and President of Digital for Fox Corporation touted the technology:

“At FOX, we believe that the blockchain, and the overall shift towards a more decentralized web, is providing creators with a wealth of opportunities to reach consumers with exciting new experiences.”

CEO of Blockchain Creative Labs and co-founder of Bento Box Entertainment, Scott Greenberg, stated that there is a great opportunity in tokenized media on the blockchain, adding “we will build this business as we together chart the future for the NFT market.”

In May, Fox announced it was teaming up with the Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon on a NFT marketplace for its series Krapoplis, an animated comedy set in mythical ancient Greece.