Brainbase, makers of intellectual property licensing platforms Brainbase Assist and Marketplace, today announced a $3 million seed round led by Struck Capital with participation from Tectonic Capital, Bonfire Ventures, Sterling Road, and Watertower Ventures. Brainbase is focused on scaling a unique solution for the licensing community that helps both brands and licensees showcase, connect, grow and manage their businesses.
"Intellectual property licensing is fundamentally broken with the space dominated by a few players all dependent on legacy or homegrown infrastructure. In an environment where new brands are constantly emerging, the pervasiveness of social media enables them to become recognized on the world stage overnight," said Adam B. Struck, founder and managing partner of Struck Capital. "At Struck Capital, we search for passionate entrepreneurs who want to change the world and Nate and his team share that vision. Brainbase combines a fresh perspective with incredible UI/UX to fundamentally lower the barriers to entry to the IP space as a whole, rapidly increasing the total addressable market and unlocking its long tail."
The round comes on the heels of new company growth including the addition of several new clients including Sanrio, the global lifestyle brand best known for pop icon Hello Kitty® and other beloved brands, and Moomin Characters, one of Europe's leading character brands. Brainbase also announced two key senior leadership hires. Andrea Adelson joins as Head of Growth to lead the expansion of the flagship Marketplace platform. Adelson was previously Senior Vice President of Licensing for Fremantle, the producer and distributor of shows such as Family Feud, The Price Is Right and American Idol, and brings 10 years of strategic experience. Also joining the leadership team is Ted Larkins as Head of Business Development, who will focus on developing Brainbase Assist, the fastest-growing licensing management platform in the industry. Larkins was formerly Senior Vice President and General Manager of the licensing agency CPLG North America.
Along with the funding, a new member will join the board - Ray Hatoyama, an expert in IP and licensing and the chief executive officer of Hatoyama Studio and Independent Director at LINE Corp, will take a seat on the board offering strategic insight on company growth opportunities.
"We are excited and thankful to have a seasoned, global group of investors, advisors, and customers supporting Brainbase's mission," said co-founder and CEO Nate Cavanaugh. "Our vision of building a product ecosystem for licensing management and monetization is resonating well across the industry. Our team is going to remain obsessed with building the best licensing technology platform and providing a great customer experience," he added. "Those are ultimately the things that matter."
Founded in 2016 by Nate Cavanaugh, Karl Johan Vallner and Nikolai Tolkatshjov, Brainbase is a Los Angeles-based technology platform that helps companies manage and monetize their intellectual property through licensing.
