AI startup KOR Protocol raises £5.6m led by 1kx and Blockchain Capital
This article covers KOR Protocol, a London-based AI startup, which has raised £5.6m in a series A funding round led by 1kx and Blockchain Capital that valued the startup at about £74.8m. The funding is intended to support development of a protocol layer for registering, routing and settling creative work in an AI-driven content ecosystem, targeting creators, labels, agencies, brands and platforms.
KOR Protocol, an AI startup based in London, has raised £5.6m in a series A funding round led by 1kx and Blockchain Capital, valuing the company at about £74.8m. The round, which brings in capital from a mix of crypto and entertainment-focused backers, aims to fund KOR’s effort to build a protocol layer for registering, routing and settling creative work in an AI-driven content ecosystem.
Why it matters
AI tools have dramatically lowered the cost of producing content, but discovery, rights clearance and timely payment remain fragmented. That gap matters because a flood of professionally made content does not automatically translate into fair compensation or matched commercial opportunities for creators. KOR positions itself as an infrastructure solution for that problem, seeking to connect creators with labels, agencies, brands and platforms through a unified system for provenance, routing and monetization.
The announcement is also notable for its investor mix. Firms active in crypto infrastructure and digital entertainment are backing a product that sits between web3 primitives and traditional media workflows, signalling continued interest from AI investors and crypto-focused venture firms in infrastructure that moves value as well as creates content.
Inside the product
KOR’s platform centres on three layers: production, distribution and monetization. The production layer records origin, authenticity, ownership and clearance for creative assets. The distribution layer uses workflow tools and intelligence to route talent and content to relevant partners. The monetization layer handles payments, splits, licensing flows and revenue tracking to speed settlement and improve transparency.
KOR says it has passed early traction milestones: more than 1 million lifetime sign-ups, about 400,000 connected wallets, over 1,000 IP partners and roughly £1.5m in gross revenue. Its IP partners include Black Mirror, Beatport, mau5trap, Imogen Heap, Banijay Group and KDDI — a mix of production companies, labels, an artist known for work on music tech, and a major telco, each providing different distribution or rights opportunities for creators.
Several apps are already built on the protocol. KORUS is a remix and release tool enabling artists to publish official music packs for fans and creators to rework. Pacer is described as an AI operating system for music that supports release strategy, audience intelligence and partner outreach. Other integrations include VRSNS, Streamline and KOR Hubs, which together aim to provide usable workflows on top of the protocol.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by 1kx and Blockchain Capital. KOR’s cap table also includes earlier backers and strategic partners from the crypto and entertainment worlds such as Republic Crypto, Sfermion, Animoca Brands, Solana, Avalanche, Alumni Ventures and SevenX. The mix of investors reflects the company’s positioning at the intersection of digital-asset infrastructure and traditional entertainment markets, where blockchain-native firms bring distribution and technical expertise while media partners provide content and licensing pathways.
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Founder perspective
Ritty Quin was appointed CEO late last year to lead product and creator-economy growth. He holds a PhD, is a UCL alumnus, worked at ByteDance in his early career and has experience as a creator, including being a YouTube Partner and a producer signed to Live Nation Asia.
In the announcement, Ritty Quin, CEO at KOR, said:
AI has removed many of the barriers to creating professional work, but it has not fixed what happens next. As both an artist and an operator, I know how difficult it is to translate strong work and audience momentum into distribution, partnerships, and sustainable revenue. KOR is building the system that connects those pieces by helping talent get recognized earlier, reach the right opportunities, and build lasting careers.
The bigger picture
KOR’s thesis echoes a broader shift in the AI era: attention and creative output are expanding, and marketplaces for discovery, clearance and payments need to catch up. If the protocol can reliably connect creators with commercial partners and speed settlement, it could reduce friction between production and monetization that currently benefits intermediaries.
For the UK and European creative industries, a successful protocol would be significant because it could make digital rights and micropayments easier to manage across jurisdictions and platforms. That matters to creators and to businesses trying to integrate licensed assets into AI-native products.
This funding round underlines continued investor interest in infrastructure that supports the movement of value as well as the creation of content. For UK and European tech and creative hubs, the development highlights a growing set of startups building tools to handle provenance, licensing and payments at scale as AI-generated and AI-assisted content proliferates.
They've invested in KOR Protocol
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