Solana-based creator engagement platform DRiP has raised $8 million in a seed funding round led by NFX, Coinbase Ventures and Progression — a fund started by former TikTok executives.
According to a statement shared with The Block, DRiP's pre-seed lead Placeholder, 6th Man Ventures and over 30 angel investors also participated in the round. A valuation and the structure of the round were not disclosed.
The project stated the fresh capital would be used to accelerate creator onboarding, launch a consumer-facing mobile app, expand the development of creator tools and platform features and boost marketing efforts to attract new users.
DRiP originally targeted July for its mobile app release on Android and iOS, which includes a natively embedded wallet, DRiP co-founder Vibhu Norby previously told The Block. However, the actual timing depends on the respective app stores, he said at the time.
The DRiP platform enables creators to distribute their work directly to fans as digital collectibles on the Solana blockchain, including exclusive images, video, audio and other multimedia content. It leverages Solana’s low cost per transaction to facilitate tips from subscribers in any amount rather than purchases.
The project claims that these micropayments can directly add "meaningful revenue" to the creator rather than being siphoned off by the platform. However, its auction feature allows premium content to be sold to the DRiP community.
“We’re building a better content experience that balances fair monetization for creators, with access to owned premium content for fans that can never be censored or taken away,” Norby said. “With micropayments, subscribers can tip any amount to their favorite creators with one click. This unlocks a new reality for creators: they keep the majority of the money they earn from their efforts while being able to truly reward their top supporters with collectibles they can keep, sell, or trade.”
DRiP aims to address the dominance of web2 aggregators like YouTube and Instagram, which the team describes as “enriching gatekeepers at the expense of creators.” It claims 550 DRiP creators have sent 170 million collectibles to more than 2 million unique wallets over the past two years.
“Just as YouTube stars have influenced mainstream culture, DRiP creators will shape the future of digital art, music, gaming and storytelling,” Progression co-founder and General Partner Mark Linao said. “By leveraging the power of micropayments and a creative community built on shared passions, Drip usurps gatekeeping platforms, amplifies underrepresented voices, and connects creators directly to their fans.”
While the platform uses Solana for payments and is one of the most active platforms on the blockchain outside of DeFi, the data is hosted on the decentralized storage protocol Arweave.
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