KOR Protocol Raises US$7.5M Series A to Build AI Infrastructure for the Creator Economy

Ritty Quin, CEO of KOR

KOR Protocol, the platform developing an AI-native clearinghouse for creative assets, has secured US$7.5 million in Series A funding at a US$100 million valuation. The round was led by 1kx and Blockchain Capital, with continued backing from Republic Crypto, Sfermion, Animoca Brands, Solana, Avalanche, Alumni Ventures, SevenX, and other strategic investors across digital assets, entertainment, and emerging technologies.

The funding reflects growing investor confidence that the next wave of artificial intelligence will require infrastructure capable of managing ownership, licensing, discovery, and value distribution—not simply generating content.

The capital will enable KOR Protocol to expand its licensed entertainment intellectual property (IP) network, enhance its protocol stack, and onboard more creators, rights holders, developers, and commercial partners into its ecosystem.

Why Does the AI Creator Economy Need New Infrastructure?

Artificial intelligence has dramatically reduced the cost of producing professional-quality content. However, discovering talent, securing licensing rights, managing ownership, and distributing revenue remain fragmented across today's creator economy.

KOR argues that while AI has democratized production, it has not solved the commercial infrastructure required for creators to build sustainable careers.

Its platform is designed to function as a digital clearinghouse where:

• Creative assets are registered and verified
• AI agents help guide creators toward commercial opportunities
• Labels, agencies, brands, MCNs, curators, and platforms discover talent
• Licensing and royalty payments are processed more transparently
• Revenue sharing and rights management become automated

Rather than competing with AI creation tools, KOR aims to become the infrastructure layer connecting creative output with commercial demand.

Why Is KOR Starting with Entertainment?

Entertainment represents one of the largest digital attention markets globally, making it an ideal proving ground for AI-enabled rights infrastructure.

According to KOR, the industry still depends on fragmented platform data, manual talent scouting, lengthy licensing negotiations, and outdated payment systems. These inefficiencies have become increasingly visible as AI accelerates content production.

The company believes that while AI can automate content generation, it cannot replace:

• Original creativity
• Cultural relevance
• Fan communities
• Intellectual property
• Brand equity

By modernizing the infrastructure supporting these assets, KOR hopes to improve how creators monetize their work in an AI-first economy.

Who Is Leading KOR Protocol?

KOR appointed Ritty Quin as Chief Executive Officer in late 2025 to oversee its next phase of expansion across both product development and the creator economy.

Quin holds a PhD and is a graduate of University College London (UCL). Before joining KOR, he worked at ByteDance before moving into technology marketing leadership.

Outside technology, Quin is also:

Experience	Details
Music Career	Electronic music producer signed with Live Nation Asia
Creator Economy	YouTube Partner with more than 30 million impressions
Industry Recognition	Featured on Beatport's Top 100 House Charts
Media Exposure	Played on BBC Radio 1 Dance
Live Performances	Headlined Creamfields Asia in 2025

Speaking on the funding, Quin said AI has lowered the barriers to creating professional work but has not solved how creators access partnerships, distribution, or sustainable revenue.

He believes KOR's platform can bridge that gap by connecting creators with commercial opportunities earlier in their careers.

How Much Traction Has KOR Achieved?

Since launch, KOR has reported significant ecosystem growth:

Metric	Current Scale
Lifetime users	1 million+
Connected wallets	400,000+
IP partners	1,000+
Gross revenue	US$2 million+

Its growing network includes globally recognized entertainment brands and rights holders such as:

• Black Mirror
• Beatport
• mau5trap
• Imogen Heap
• Banijay Group
• KDDI

These partnerships suggest increasing demand for standardized infrastructure that simplifies licensing and rights management across AI-powered creative workflows.

How Does KOR Protocol Work?

KOR structures its ecosystem around three primary infrastructure layers.

Layer	Purpose
Production	Establishes ownership, authenticity, provenance, and rights clearance
Distribution	Uses AI workflows to connect creators with agencies, labels, brands, and partners
Monetization	Automates licensing, payments, royalties, commissions, and revenue sharing

Together, these components aim to reduce friction throughout the creator economy while improving transparency for creators, businesses, and rights holders.

Which Applications Are Already Built on KOR?

Several products already operate on top of the KOR Protocol ecosystem.

Application	Primary Function
KORUS	Official music remixing and collaborative creation platform
Pacer	AI operating system for music strategy, audience intelligence, and release management
VRSNS	Creator ecosystem application
Streamline	Workflow and operational tools
KOR Hubs	Community and creator collaboration infrastructure

These applications demonstrate how developers can build creator-focused services using KOR's underlying protocol.

What Will the New Funding Accelerate?

The Series A funding will support several strategic priorities, including:

• Expanding licensed music and entertainment IP
• Scaling strategic partnerships across media and entertainment
• Enhancing AI-powered creator workflows
• Growing the developer ecosystem
• Increasing creator and enterprise adoption
• Preparing the next major protocol rollout

As AI-generated content volumes continue rising, KOR aims to become the infrastructure layer responsible for verifying creative assets, routing commercial opportunities, managing licensing, and settling payments across the digital creator economy.

Why This Matters

The AI economy is increasingly shifting from content generation toward value distribution. While companies continue investing heavily in AI production tools, infrastructure that manages ownership, licensing, payments, and rights management remains relatively underdeveloped.

KOR Protocol is positioning itself within this emerging infrastructure layer—an area attracting growing interest from blockchain investors and creator economy stakeholders.

The company joins a broader movement toward decentralized digital ownership, alongside ecosystems supported by Animoca Brands, Solana, and Avalanche, although its current focus remains global rather than region-specific.

For regions such as the Middle East, where organizations including Hub71, ADGM, and NEOM are investing in AI, Web3, and digital content ecosystems, platforms that simplify creator rights management could become increasingly relevant as AI adoption expands across creative industries.

 

 

FAQ

1. What is KOR Protocol?
KOR Protocol is an AI-native infrastructure platform that manages creative asset registration, rights, licensing, talent discovery, and revenue distribution for creators and entertainment companies.

2. How much funding did KOR Protocol raise?
KOR Protocol raised US$7.5 million in a Series A funding round at a US$100 million valuation, led by 1kx and Blockchain Capital.

3. Who invested in KOR Protocol?
Investors include 1kx, Blockchain Capital, Republic Crypto, Sfermion, Animoca Brands, Solana, Avalanche, Alumni Ventures, SevenX, and other strategic backers.

4. How does KOR Protocol help creators?
The platform verifies ownership, connects creators with commercial opportunities, streamlines licensing, and automates payments and royalty distribution using AI-powered workflows.

5. Why is KOR focusing on entertainment first?
Entertainment has one of the world's largest attention economies but still relies on fragmented rights management, manual talent discovery, and outdated payment systems, making it a strong use case for AI-enabled infrastructure.