Disney Is Beefing Up its NFT Team As Digital Collectibles Boom

Christian Hetrick

Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.

Disney Is Beefing Up its NFT Team As Digital Collectibles Boom
Image from Pixabay

With the NFT craze sweeping the entertainment industry, Disney is looking for someone to lead its foray into the world of digital assets.

The Burbank-based media giant posted a job opening this week for someone to “help lead Disney’s efforts in the NFT space.” The business development manager would monitor the “evolving” NFT marketplace, set strategy and manage partnerships, according to the job posting. The position requires “knowledge of and passion for digital and NFT categories.”


NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital assets verified by blockchain technology, giving their owners proof of authenticity and ownership. Entertainment companies in the music, movie and gaming industries have been quick to sell NFTs—even if the jury is still out on whether they’re just a fad or a multibillion-dollar industry in the making.

Disney waded into the NFT world last year when it sold digital comic books and collectibles from its Marvel franchise. The company later sold digital artwork memorializing “Golden Moments” from other iconic franchises, including "Star Wars" and "The Simpsons." Buyers of the digital golden trophies, sold through NFT platform VeVe, also received three months of free access to the Disney Plus streaming service.

Representatives for Disney did not respond to a request for comment.

Last week, former Disney CEO Bob Iger predicted that NFTs are here to stay, comparing them to baseball cards. In an interview with the New York Times, he suggested that Disney’s vast library of intellectual property would put the media giant in a strong position to capitalize on digital collectibles.

“When you think about all the copyright and trademarks, [the] characters Disney has,” he said. “The NFT possibilities, they’re extraordinary.”

Other media giants have also entered the NFT space, including Warner Bros., Lionsgate and ViacomCBS. Musicians like Grimes and the Kings of Leon have joined the fray, as well. On Tuesday, popular Southern California music festival Coachella announced that it would auction off lifetime passes as NFTs.

The NFT craze has not been without controversy. Some gamers have resisted efforts to buy NFTs within their favorite games, while NFT marketplace OpenSea this week revealed that roughly 80% of the tokens minted for free on its platform are spam or scams.

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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This Week in ‘Raises’: GITAI Lands $30M, Steno Gains $15M

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Gitai Secures $30 Million in Funding to Continue Space Robotics Developments

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Secures $30 Million in Funding to Continue Space Robotics Developments
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

The funding will be used to further develop Gitai’s suite of space robots as well as build out its manufacturing footprint in Torrance. Previously Gitai announced it raised a $17.1 million Series B in March 2021; this additional raise is still part of that round.

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