Artfi raises $3.26M to build a fine arts NFT marketplace

Artfi, an NFT (non-fungible token) startup, on Tuesday, said it raised $3.26 million worth of funds at a valuation of 100 million in a funding round led by private investors.

The round saw the participation of Sheikh Hend Al Qassemi, a member of the ruling family of Sharjah, Raza Beig (Director of Landmark Group, UAE), and several angel investors.

The company aims to use the fresh capital to expand its team and build an NFT marketplace for fine arts NFTs.

Founded by Asif Kamal, Artfi is building a platform for trading fine arts and fractionalising the NFT ownership. The startup has onboarded paintings of artists Sacha Jafri and VS Gaitonde.

Asif Kamal, Founder and CEO of Artfi, said, “Artfi was launched with a vision to make art accessible to everyone. With Artfi, we are making it possible that rather than selling one painting to one individual, we will utilise blockchain technologies to fractionalise the piece of art into 5,000 to 10,000 pieces. So democratising it this way will give people exposure to the most exclusive asset class as fractional ownership in a painting as NFTs."

The company intends to launch its first collection of fine art NFT in August. It is working to create a museum in the metaverse, where the art collection will always be accessible.