a16z crypto joins $7 million funding round for KIKI World

Estée Lauder NIV, a16z crypto back $7 million funding round for blockchain-based beauty brand KIKI World

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UPDATED: April 9, 2024, 10:47AM EDT

Quick Take

The community commerce firm KIKI World raised $7 million in fresh funding.
a16z crypto, The Estée Lauder Companies’ New Incubation Ventures (NIV) and others backed the round.
KIKI World offers users blockchain-based rewards, collectibles and community experiences centered around beauty products.

KIKI World, a blockchain-based community commerce firm, raised $7 million in a funding round.

a16z crypto and The Estée Lauder Companies' New Incubation Ventures participated in the round, which received additional support from Double Down, 2Punks Capital, Advancit, RedDao, OrangeDao and the NFT influencer GMoney.

KIKI World offers users blockchain-based rewards, collectibles and community experiences centered around beauty products. The firm uses web3 infrastructure to help get customer input on new products, particularly in cosmetics, fragrances and other items. Customers vote on what products they want to see and earn points and digital tokens. The firm intends to launch a new platform allowing creators, brands and fans to launch engagement campaigns and perks in April 2024.

"KIKI's founding team brings a complementary mix of experiences across beauty and tech. It's been rewarding to see their dedication to bringing their expertise to web3 and seeing them grow from a participant in our Crypto Startup Accelerator program to now fostering a thriving KIKI community," said Arianna Simpson, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, in a statement. "We are thrilled to support KIKI's vision to build digital-physical experiences that empower their customers to co-create and co-own their products."

Blockchain-based rewards

Launched in May 2023, KIKI World offered products, such as a peel-off nail polish, with implanted chips that reward customers each time they used the item. KIKI World users could also claim an Ethereum-based digital membership card called a KIKI World Pass for their participation.

"The KIKI World Pass is an on-ramp to the world of web3 and the first step towards a world where customers have a true stake in the products they help create and take more control of their data and identity online," KIKI World wrote in a release.

The firm's marquee backer, cosmetics giant The Estée Lauder Companies, disclosed net sales of $3.52 billion for its financial quarter ending Sept. 30, 2023, and $15.16 billion in the past four quarters and has a market cap of nearly $53 billion, according to Yahoo Finance.

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About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.