Christie’s venture capital to focus on web3 and fintech

Auction house Christie’s will shift the focus of its venture capital arm to invest funds in projects that fit four key categories: web3, AI, fintech and hardware.

Summary

• Christie’s venture capital fund is expanding its focus beyond traditional art-related technologies to include innovations in AI, fintech, Web3, and hardware.
• CEO Bonnie Brennan said the stabilization of the global art market and rising participation in online auctions have prompted the firm to attract more collectors and support early-stage tech ventures.

In an exclusive interview with Caixin media, Christie’s CEO Bonnie Brennan said that the venture capital fund will invest in innovative technologies related to the art market, with a special focus on four key areas. Previously, the auction house’s venture capital fund’s focus was on web3, art-related financial products and art consumption solutions and technologies.

Now, the firm is looking to shift investments into more fields outside of art products and auctioning, namely financial technology and AI.

“We focus on four broad categories covering innovations in web3, AI, FinTech and Hardware that we believe will enable improved engagement, immersion and consumption of art for our clients, partners and creators alike,” said the venture in its official webpage.

It will continue to work towards providing funding for early-stage companies and founders at the helm of projects that they deem to be “at the intersection of art and technologies.”

In the interview with Caixin, Brennan said that Christie’s auction results this year has indicated that the art market has stabilized. Therefore, one of her main priorities since taking on the role of CEO eight months ago is to attract more art collectors.

In the past two years, the global art market experienced a decline following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021 to 2022, the market went through a strong rebound. In 2022 alone, the market cap for global art market totaled $67.8 billion, representing a 3% year-on-year increase, reaching its second-highest level to date.

Brennan said that within the last year, 80% of art collectors participated in online auctions, indicating a shift in the art auction landscape following the advancements in modern technology.

A look inside Christie’s portfolio

According to the official website, there are about 14 companies in the venture capital’s portfolio. All the projects that are listed in the site are related to one of the four areas of focus mentioned by Brennan: Web3, artificial intelligence, fintech, and hardware.

In the AI category, the fund has invested in cultural intelligence engine Art Signal, visual insights platform Collagia, and Software-as-a-Service solution EchoMark. With regards to web3, the portfolio includes mmERCH, MNTGE, Manifold, Atomic Form, and LayerZero.

So far, there are only two fintech projects in Christie’s portfolio which are Luxus and Art Money. Finally, the venture capital has also invested its funds into a number of Hardware projects including Rokbox, Dubbl, Conserv, Manifold, and Proto.