Yuga Labs expands its NFT capabilities, acquires Wenew

Bored Ape Yacht Club owner Yuga Labs is growing its NFT capabilities through the acquisition of Wenew and its flagship NFT collection, 10KTF.

Wenew is known for its Web3-centred partnerships with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Playboy, Wimbledon, Gucci, and Puma. Wenew is home to the narrative-driven NFT collection, 10KTF.

10KTF is an interoperable digital storefront where holders from top NFT collections – such as BAYC, Cool Cats, Moonbirds – can mint and collect one-of-a-kind NFTs featuring their digital avatar on various metaverse-ready digital wearables.

The collection has attracted legions of devoted community members, gaining popularity by releasing serialized and narrative-driven content from fictional shop purveyor, Wagmi-san.

Following the acquisition, Michael Figge, co-founder and CEO of Wenew will join Yuga’s leadership team as the chief content officer. Mike Winkelmann, will join Yuga Labs as an advisor.

Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs said, “Michael Figge, Mike Winkelmann, and the Wenew team have found a way to create a captivating serialized story for web3, while also managing to tap into the passion people have for their digital avatars and customisation.

“Storytelling and world-building are foundational at Yuga and I’m thrilled that we get to work with the creative mind hive at Wenew in a much more robust way. The possibilities of what we can do together are endless.”

Yuga Labs has been building its leadership team, with the recent appointment of Spencer Tucker as its chief gaming officer and Anne Termine as head of policy. 

Figge brings a creative lens to Yuga from his experience with Possible, where he served as co-founder and creative director, having architected immersive visual experiences for the Super Bowl halftime show, Coachella, Louis Vuitton, dozens of international concert tours, and League of Legends Worlds for which he was awarded an Emmy in 2021.

Michael Figge, co-founder and CEO of Wenew said, “Yuga’s first-class contributions to story, experiences, and community were a huge inspiration. Their principles of openness inspired the interoperability of 10KTF. We’re excited to join Yuga and continue building amazing things in NFTs and web3 together.”

In addition to Figge, nearly 20 Wenew employees will move over to Yuga, bringing Yuga’s full-time staff to over 100 people around the world.