Story Protocol is a Layer 1 blockchain designed for intellectual property, letting creators register works as programmable on-chain IP assets with attached licensing terms, attribution, and automated royalties. In the generative-AI era, where content is endlessly remixed and used to train models, Story aims to make IP traceable, licensable, and monetizable, so original creators and contributors are compensated when their work is used, including by AI systems. The protocol provides a 'Proof-of-Creativity' framework and programmable licensing primitives that turn IP into composable, transactable assets. Co-founded by Jason Zhao and SY Lee, Story raised an $80M Series B led by a16z crypto, with Polychain Capital, Endeavor, and Samsung Next participating, bringing significant backing to its vision of an open IP layer for AI and web3. It sits at the intersection of tokenized IP, AI, and on-chain provenance.
Story Protocol
ActiveProgrammable IP blockchain for tracking and monetizing AI-era content
Total raised
$80M
1 round
Stage
Series B
Team
51-200
since 2022
Pricing
Freemium
free plan
Founded
2022
Palo Alto, United States
Agent-ready
API
Score 55/100
Purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain for IP
On-chain registration of IP assets
Programmable licensing terms
Automated royalty distribution
Proof-of-Creativity attribution framework
Provenance for AI-trained content
Composable, transactable IP primitives
Developer tooling for IP apps
55/100
Developing
MCP server
Public API
Webhooks
OAuth 2.0
SDKs
— Series B $80M incl. Endeavor +3
Capital network
$134M raised ·4 backers·10 network links
- Backers4
- Shared portfoliocompanies these backers also fund
- Extended networkfunds that co-invest alongside them
VAST Data
Unifying software layer for AI infrastructure
AI Developer ToolsAI Infrastructure
Upscale AI
Pure-play AI networking infrastructure
AI Developer ToolsAI Infrastructure
Dash0
AI-native observability platform built on OpenTelemetry
AI InfrastructureAI Data Engineering
Noma Security
End-to-end security for agentic AI
AI InfrastructureAI for Cyber Defense
VoltaGrid
VoltaGrid provides hybrid power solutions that reduce emissions, optimize energy loads, and lower costs for industrial applications and data centers.
AI InfrastructureAI Energy
Vespa.ai
Big-data serving engine for vector and lexical search
AI SearchAI Infrastructure
- What is Story Protocol?
- A blockchain for intellectual property that lets creators register, license, and monetize IP on-chain.
- How does Story relate to AI?
- It provides provenance and royalties so creators are compensated when content is used, including by AI.
- Who funded Story?
- Its $80M Series B was led by a16z crypto with Polychain, Endeavor, and Samsung Next.
- What is Proof-of-Creativity?
- Story's framework for attributing and tracking IP and its derivatives on-chain.
Discussion
Sign in to join the discussion.
Sign inExplore more around Story Protocol
Contextual paths to related AI startups, deals and rankings.