Digital art collective UnicornDAO has raised $4.5 million to support women and LGBTQ-led non-fungible token (NFT) initiatives, with members from all corners of the NFT space coming together to participate in the round.
UnicornDAO is led by Nadya Tolokonnikova, a social activist and founding member of the Russian art collective Pussy Riot.
Tolokonnikova has been active in the art world for over a decade and was most recently involved in the UkraineDAO project, in which an NFT of the Ukrainian flag was sold for $6.75 million to raise money for Ukraine's war effort against Russia in March.
Prominent members of the DAO include musicians Sia and Grimes, and NFT personalities Beeple and Gary Vaynerchuk. Other investments come from NFT's World of Women and Moonbirds collections, Moonpay, Polygon and Bored Ape Yacht Club company Yuga Labs. UnicornDAO is Yuga's first external investment.
UnicornDAO has so far invested $1.4 million in NFT art from underrepresented groups, according to a press release.
"Right now we are focused on supporting Web 3 artists, but in the future we would like to work with more traditional art forms," Tolokonnikova said in an interview with CoinDesk. "All of our curators are people I've met personally in the last year of my crypto journey. Our ethos is the same as Pussy Riot's for over 10 years: Bringing equality and joy to underrepresented groups."
UnicornDAO members are expected to contribute both their capital and time to advance the DAO's efforts, with initial investors granted seats on the board, according to a press release.
Public applications for the DAO will be available beginning June 21. More information will be announced at the DAO's event at NFT.NYC on the same day.