Startup Yuga Labs, which minted the Bored Ape Yacht Club series of NFTs, is in financing talks with Andreessen Horowitz at a valuation between $4B and $5B. If it goes through, the deal would be the first institutional investment into Yuga.

Why should we care?
Andreessen Horowitz’s interest in Bored Apes signals that NFTs are much more than a digital phenomenon, and that crypto-cultures and financial landscapes can grow offline, too. With the right buy-in from cultural figures—as has been the case for Bored Apes—NFTs can potentially jump from being blockchain-based proofs of authentication to real-life cultural brands. Yuga recently shared these aspirations on Twitter: “Our ambition is for this to be a community-owned brand, with tentacles in world-class gaming, events, and streetwear.” In this sense, a16z may be using its resources to guide an NFT boom beyond the financial and digital-art realms. Crypto-based cultures could soon see a multiplier effect by converting non-crypto communities through events and consumer goods that are more familiar to them.