Jake Frey’s startup Americana Technologies was set up last year to tap into the growing NFT market. And yesterday, per a report by Tech Crunch the startup is creating a chip that will allow brands and creators mint NFTs from physical objects.
The Game Changing NFTs creating chip by Americana
According to the report, Americana’s main product is the NFTA Universal Chip. This chip when attached to a physical object, connects the object to the blockchain. Frey believes that the inspiration for the technology comes from traditional art. According to him, imagine walking up to an artwork, scanning it with your phone and you get all the information about it and its history. That’s also how the Americana NFTA Universal chip turns any object to NFTs.
The goal of the technology recording the information surrounding a physical object on the blockchain is to prove its authenticity. It also serves as a may of monetizing the creator’s work. And to make sure they get royalties each time the object changes hands.
Furthermore Frey said that the startup’s focus goes beyond images songs and videos.
“When we talk about NFTs, there are images and songs and videos and all of these things, but the sort of lightbulb [for Americana] was that all of these things are files. Of course, files are very easy to transact on the internet, but what about everything else?”
Americana considers the other 99% of creators
Fred also added that digital artists and creators such as illustrators and 3D designers have made millions creating NFTs. But these artists and creators make up just a minority. Fred also stated that the idea behind his startup was reaching the other 99% of creators. This includes creators who are not digitally focused but create physical objects that are NFT worthy. When asked the startups customer strength or number of creators using its platforms, Fred declined to answer.
But recently, Americana raised $6.9 million in seed funding led by Seven Seven Six, with participation from OpenSea and rapper Future.
Seven Seven Six is linked to Alexis Ohanian who co-founded social networking forum Reddit. And this is a good addition for the startup because of his track record in building, nurturing and monetizing online communities.
Frey’s larger plan is to reinvest funds from the venture funds to grow Americana’s team. He also plans to add engineers and designers, and to focus on the the company’s NFTA Universal chip.
Furthermore, Frey made it known that Americana is exploring the option of integrating other blockchains like Solana. Moving away from being exclusively Ethereum based.