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Photography is a growing market within the NFT industry, and Justin Aversano has helped lead the movement with his <\/span>increasingly in-demand Twin Flames project<\/span><\/a>. Now Quantum Art, the <\/span>Ethereum<\/span><\/a>-based <\/span>NFT<\/span><\/a> platform that he co-founded last fall, has raised a Series A round to onboard even more creators and expand its focus beyond photography.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, Quantum Art\u2014which Aversano co-founded with Kris Graves, Alexx Shadow, and Jonas Lamis\u2014announced that it has raised $7.5 million as part of a Series A round led by True Ventures via partner and noted NFT enthusiast, Kevin Rose.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTrue Ventures is thrilled to lead this investment round in Quantum,\u201d Rose told <\/span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i> via an emailed statement. \u201cWe believe that community building tied to curation of diverse artists is a key to unlocking digital culture. We think that the Quantum team has positioned themselves to be a leader in <\/span>Web3<\/span><\/a><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Additional participants in the round include <\/span>NFT creator and investor Gary Vaynerchuk<\/span><\/a>\u2014who also owns two <\/span>Twin Flames<\/span><\/a> pieces\u2014as well as the NFT-centric<\/span>\u00a0Flamingo DAO<\/span><\/a>. Additional unnamed art collectors and NFT personalities also took part, per the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n Lamis told <\/span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i> that Rose began talking to the team right when Quantum Art launched during NFT.NYC 2021 last November. Quantum Art planned to raise its Series A sometime in the first half of 2021, following its $1 million seed round last year, but Lamis said that Rose \u201cdropped a term sheet on us\u201d the following day after discussing Quantum\u2019s future.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne word got out that we were raising, a bunch of other people wanted to participate as well,\u201d said Lamis. \u201cAnd so we had an opportunity to loop in our other favorite investors and NFT collectors in the community, and friends of Quantum who also joined in the round.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Quantum Art was inspired by popular <\/span>Ethereum generative art platform Art Blocks<\/span><\/a>\u2014which has generated well over $1 billion in trading volume to date, per <\/span>CryptoSlam<\/span><\/a>\u2014albeit with an initial focus purely on photography. The platform has launched projects from photographers such as Graves, Amy Elkins, Erica Simone, and Alberto Rizzo to date.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe first few months have been focused on the community and connecting collectors to the best artists,\u201d Aversano told <\/span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i>. \u201cIt\u2019s been extremely rewarding to see the two come together and explore this new industry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n An NFT works like a receipt or a deed of ownership for a unique digital item. Photography is one use case for NFTs, along with digital artwork, profile pictures, music, video game items, and more. The wider NFT market exploded in 2021, generating some <\/span>$25 billion worth<\/span><\/a> of trading volume, according to DappRadar.<\/span><\/p>\n Quantum Art launched on the back of Aversano\u2019s own rising star in the photography space, with his Twin Flames collecting amassing fans like Vaynerchuk.<\/span><\/p>\n In October, Aversano sold a Twin Flames NFT alongside a set of physical prints <\/span>for $1.1 million<\/span><\/a> at a live Christie\u2019s auction, <\/span>topping the sale prices<\/span><\/a> of work from the likes of Ansel Adams and Diane Arbus. Aversano had previously sold a Twin Flames piece via Sotheby\u2019s as well.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Quantum Art began exclusively with curated drops chosen by the core team, but it has recently expanded to bring in work from photographers chosen by the community. Like Art Blocks, Quantum now has multiple collection tiers between its Curated and Community brands.<\/span><\/p>\n While photography is Quantum Art\u2019s big hook for now, Lamis sees the platform\u2019s unique approach to drops\u2014with most projects featuring between 50 and 100 distinct NFT images, each dropped randomly to buyers\u2014as another key differentiator. Quantum is now looking to expand beyond photography into other artwork formats, all while maintaining that curated drop style.<\/span><\/p>\n Demand for photography NFTs has grown even since <\/span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i> profiled Aversano back in October<\/span><\/a> and explored the rising market. Isaac \u201cDrift\u201d Wright\u2019s <\/span>\u201cWhere My Vans Go\u201d collection<\/span><\/a> has received significant attention lately, for example, with pieces selling for upwards of 60 ETH ($187,000) each in recent weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n Quantum Art\u2019s own curated collection has generated more than 1,500 ETH (over $4.7 million at present) in secondary sales, per <\/span>OpenSea<\/span><\/a>. Aversano said that he\u2019s seen \u201cexponential growth\u201d in the photo NFT space and expects further momentum ahead, with Quantum Art offering a way for creators to enter the space\u2014and for collectors to discover a diverse array of work.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI fully expect this to continue in 2022,\u201d said Aversano, \u201cas more artists and collectors become aware of the power behind NFTs, and how lives can change for the better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQuantum evolution<\/b><\/h2>\n