Venture capital powerhouse a16z Crypto has taken a bold step into the live events arena by spearheading a $7 million seed round for KYD Labs, a dynamic blockchain-based ticketing platform. The move, announced today, signals a potential shake-up in the way artists and venues interact with their audiences—granting them unprecedented control over ticket sales, fan data, and revenue streams.
Blockchain-Based Efficiency
KYD Labs, co-founded by Ahmed Nimale and David Barrick, is on a mission to revolutionize the ticketing industry. Nimale, a former product manager at Ticketmaster, brings a wealth of experience to the table, while Barrick leverages his expertise from creating the ad-tech platform Flipmass. Together, they’re tackling an age-old issue: the loss of revenue by artists and venues to secondary sales and traditional ticket platforms.
The platform, built on the increasingly popular Solana blockchain, offers a streamlined ticket-purchasing experience that requires just a phone number—no crypto wallet needed. This user-friendly approach has already shown impressive results at iconic venues like New York’s Le Poisson Rouge (LPR), where ticket sales have skyrocketed by 30%, coupled with millions in newfound revenue. This trend mirrors broader efforts in the industry to integrate blockchain with consumer-friendly payment options, as seen in Mesh’s addition of Apple Pay for crypto transactions.
“Since adopting KYD’s tools, we’ve been able to double our return on investment and significantly improve overall efficiency,” Shannon Wiles, Marketing Director at LPR, noted with enthusiasm.
Expanding Horizons
KYD Labs isn’t stopping at New York venues. With $4 million in ticket sales and over $1 million in revenue amassed over the past year, the company has ambitious plans to broaden its reach to more than 100 U.S. venues by 2026. And looking beyond domestic borders, the aim is to eventually power live event commerce at major arenas worldwide.
To bolster these efforts, KYD Labs plans to introduce two new protocol layers: the $KYD token, which will provide financial backing for venues and tours, and the $TIX reward token, incentivizing fan loyalty in a manner akin to airline miles. These innovations are designed to foster community engagement while enhancing financial stability for artists and venues. This approach aligns with other tech giants like Google, which is exploring blockchain’s potential to enhance user privacy, as detailed in our coverage of Google’s blockchain integration for age verification.
A New Era in Ticketing?
By leveraging blockchain technology, KYD Labs is positioning itself as a formidable alternative to traditional ticketing behemoths. It promises greater autonomy for creators and a frictionless experience for fans, raising questions about whether this trend can continue amidst a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Nimale, a speaker at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2025 in Toronto, encapsulated the ethos driving KYD Labs: “We built KYD, which stands for ‘Keep Your Distribution,’ to make sure no artist or venue ever has to ask again for something that is rightfully theirs.”
With such transformative potential, the live event sector could very well be on the cusp of a new era. Yet, as with any technological shift, the road ahead is paved with both challenges and opportunities—leaving industry observers to speculate on the long-term impact of blockchain in ticketing.
In the meantime, KYD Labs, backed by a16z Crypto’s substantial investment, is poised to navigate these uncharted waters, setting the stage for a potentially seismic change in the way we experience live events.
Source
This article is based on: a16z Crypto Leads $7M Round in KYD Labs That Aims to Transform Ticketing Industry
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Steve Gregory is a lawyer in the United States who specializes in licensing for cryptocurrency companies and products. Steve began his career as an attorney in 2015 but made the switch to working in cryptocurrency full time shortly after joining the original team at Gemini Trust Company, an early cryptocurrency exchange based in New York City. Steve then joined CEX.io and was able to launch their regulated US-based cryptocurrency. Steve then went on to become the CEO at currency.com when he ran for four years and was able to lead currency.com to being fully acquired in 2025.
