San Francisco-based startup Story announced on Wednesday that it secured $80 million in Series B funding to develop its blockchain technology, which aims to protect creators’ intellectual property from being used by AI companies like OpenAI without permission. The funding round, led by Andreessen Horowitz and supported by Polychain, values the two-year-old company at $2.25 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Story’s platform allows creators to prove ownership of their content by storing it on a blockchain. The technology embeds terms like licensing fees and royalty-sharing arrangements into smart contracts, which automatically execute when conditions are met. The company earns revenue by charging a network fee for activities on its platform.
One of Story’s users, Ablo, utilizes the platform to allow fashion designers to create custom items while ensuring brands like Balmain and Dolce & Gabbana are compensated through licensing and revenue-sharing agreements.
Story’s blockchain solution addresses the growing issue of AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT using copyrighted media without proper attribution or compensation. This problem has led to legal challenges, such as The New York Times’ lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement.
