Crypto Capital is renewing its commitment to the complex relationship between artificial intelligence and intellectual property. KOR Protocol announced that it has secured $7.5 million in Series A funding led by 1kx and Blockchain Capital at $100 million. It is working on creating an on-chain platform that will be used to register creative works and transfer payments to their rightful owners.
This funding comes at a time when artificial intelligence can create new content so quickly that the industry cannot track who made it or who gets the money. This is what KOR Protocol uses to attract investors to their project and, at the same time, create crypto capital around the problem that has not yet been solved by the entire industry dealing with AI.
According to the team behind the startup, the KOR protocol will serve as a “Creative Assets Clearinghouse“Built on the Coinbase Layer 2 network. It aims to offer stablecoins as a way to ensure seamless royalty and licensing payments, eliminating slow payments in legacy entertainment infrastructure.
Why crypto funds are chasing the AI content problem
The scale of the problem is becoming more and more clear. According to the music platform Deezer dataapproximately 75,000 AI-generated songs are uploaded daily to the platform, accounting for about 44% of all new submitted songs. However, these new songs only make up about 1% to 3% of the total songs streamed.
Furthermore, 85% of AI-generated streams are considered fake and are not included when royalties are paid. KOR notes that the bottleneck is no longer the issue of content creation but rather the issue of ownership verification, rights assignment, and payment settlement.
All of this was interesting to a group of crypto and entertainment investors. Alongside the likes of 1kx and Blockchain Capital, KOR has received funds from Republic Crypto, Sfermion, Animoca Brands, Solana, Avalanche, Alumni Ventures, and SevenX. In addition, Cor Report to the cluster They will launch their own token, aligning the long-term economics of the platform with the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.
This investment represents a trend for the development of cryptocurrencies in relation to the field of intellectual property rights. In 2024, Story Protocol raised $80 million during a Series B round. Chris DixonThe founder and managing partner of cryptocurrency company a16z described the announcement as artificial intelligence that is forcing the industry to rethink digital ownership.
“What Bitcoin did for money and finance, Story does for content and intellectual property,” Dixon said, describing AI as the catalyst for a new phase of Web3 centered around programmable intellectual property. The fact that the comment mentions the story protocol and not KOR does not diminish the observation that blockchain-based proprietary systems are gaining traction in the eyes of investors as one of the most important building blocks of the AI economy.
KOR faces stiff competition in the market but not all players are using the same strategy. While some of them are creating new blockchains for intellectual property, KOR will use an Ethereum-based scaling network and work on applications for creators and intellectual property owners without forcing them to change the new blockchain ecosystem.
Comparative analysis shows that investors support different models rather than choosing a single technical model. Story Protocol creates a unique blockchain intended to be used as a base layer for programmable intellectual property.
A similar top-tier solution is planned by Camp Network but with a focus on the AI-powered provenance and equity platform. On the other hand, KOR relies on a large number of underlying smart contracts rather than launching its own blockchain, believing that content creators will have an advantage towards the already existing infrastructure of Ethereum.
As can be seen, both 1kx and Blockchain Capital are investing in both Camp Network and KOR, despite their different architectures, suggesting that the companies see long-term potential in both purpose-built IP Blockchains and middleware running on existing networks.
Entertainment is KOR’s proving ground
KOR is initially targeting the entertainment industry, where it already has measurable traction. the Firm demands It has registered over 1 million lifetime subscriptions, connected over 400,000 wallets, onboarded over 1,000 IP partners, and generated over $2 million in total revenue. The company’s key partners include Black Mirror, Beatport, electronic music label mau5trap, Imogen Heap, Banijay Group, and Japanese telecommunications company KDDI.
Platform included Three main functions: Determine ownership of creative content, direct content to appropriate labels and labels, and automate the licensing and royalty payment process. Apps that already work on KOR include: KORUS, which allows artists to release official remix packages; and Pacer, which works as an AI tool to manage music releases and interact with audiences.
KOR’s leadership also reflects its combination of music and blockchain expertise. Core Company was founded by The rarest beanwhich previously co-founded Pixelynx prior to its acquisition by Animoca Brands. Rete Queenan electronic music producer signed to Live Nation Asia and headline performer at Creamfields Asia in 2025, was appointed CEO of KOR last year.
“As an artist and operator, I know how difficult it is to translate strong business and audience momentum into sustainable distribution, partnerships and revenue,” Quinn said during the conference. Financing announcement.
According to KOR, the opportunity is not limited to cryptocurrencies only. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) World Music Report 2026global recorded music revenues were estimated at $31.7 billion in 2025, approximately 70% of which comes from streaming. It is still unclear whether blockchain technology will become the main platform for settling AI-generated artwork, but the emerging investor interest clearly indicates that KOR is making the right choice.
By choosing to rely on infrastructure that already exists, KOR stands out because it creates a different offering than many competitors — one that could be attractive if creators prioritized interoperability and ease of relying on another independent network.
