Hyy.pe plans to launch its version sub-zero on October 27, 2021 with 13 NFT collections, including CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, Cool Cats, Avastars, and Loot.
Hyy.pe, a social platform for NFT communities, has raised $2 Mn in its latest funding round led by Elevation Capital. The round also saw participation from several leading angel investors, including Ryan Adams and David Hoffman (Founders, Bankless), Santiago Roel Santos (Ro Capital), Matt Kalish (Co-Founder, DraftKings), Cuy Sheffield (Head of Crypto, Visa), and Farid Ahsan (Co-Founder, ShareChat). Previously, the company had raised $1.5 Mn from Electric Capital (announced recently).
Hyy.pe is building a platform for NFT communities to connect, share stories, and collaboratively build their history. For instance, users will be able to share what made them buy a certain NFT, the collectible’s origin story or collaborate on derived artwork. While the owners may change, those stories will continue living with the NFT. The company plans to launch with 13 popular collections initially—including CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, Cool Cats, Avastars, Loot, and Punk Comics—before expanding to include all the collections for everyone.
Hyy.pe was founded in 2021 by Supriyo Roy and Scott Lewis. At present, most NFT communities are spread across existing social media platforms like Twitter and Discord (often resulting in a sub-optimal experience). Even Scott and Supriyo connected on one of the community Discord servers as collectors. They wanted to talk about why certain NFTs were important to them, why they matter, their significance, etc., and quickly realized the lack of dedicated platforms for focused and engaging discussions on collectibles and digital art. Supriyo has deep knowledge and expertise in building consumer experiences at scale and was most recently leading the foundational product design team at Alexa Smart Home. Scott Lewis, the serial entrepreneur best known for launching DeFi Pulse, the data provider, joined the project as a co-founder. Together, their vision is to build Hyy.pe as an exclusive platform for NFT owners to engage in new forms of social interactions and community engagement.
Commenting on the funding, Supriyo Roy, Co-founder, Hyy.pe, said, “With Hyy.pe, a user can curate their NFT collection to serve as a main medium of self-expression. It really pushes forward the idea that collectively the media you own, in the form of NFTs, can establish your individuality on the internet and help you connect deeper with communities. Hyy.pe wants to be a cohesive space for a million communities.”
Scott Lewis, Co-founder, Hyy.pe, added, “I don’t like posting pictures of myself, but I still want people to *know* me. The art I like speaks to me because it addresses the points at which I connect to current and past cultural zeitgeists. That version of me is something I want to share.”
In the absence of a specialized platform, NFT communities connect on Discord and Twitter for their interactions. There is a whitespace for dedicated platforms that equips collectors and artists with tools to share their stories in a social manner. Current NFT marketplaces, such as Opensea, are e-commerce platforms that have solved well for discovery and transactions. Hyy.pe, on the other hand, is building a social network where NFT creators and owners have the freedom to establish their art collection as their identity. Through its network, the company wants to reinforce a sense of tribe—where people associate with communities based on common ideologies and interests—and encourage members to develop individual lores around each of the NFTs they own.
Vaas Bhaskar, Principal, Elevation Capital, said, “NFTs are very inherently social. The value of NFT is bolstered by the stories, interactions, derivatives, and provenance around them. We are at the cusp of new forms of social interactions and community formation that NFTs will enable. We are thrilled to partner with Supriyo and Scott to build such a social network.”
Hyy.pe’s “first build” (version sub-zero) will allow NFT holders to link their holdings on the platform, disclose their reason to buy, and publish “lores” around the NFT. As an “invite-only” platform currently, Hyy.pe will be accessible to holders of some of the most popular NFT communities. The company’s vision is to build the platform into a complete marketplace for all primary and secondary transactions of NFTs.
Hyy.pe plans to launch its version sub-zero on October 27, 2021 with 13 NFT collections, including CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, Cool Cats, Avastars, and Loot. The company will continue to hire product engineers to strengthen the platform by engaging directly with the communities and integrating feedback on user experience.
Source: Business World
