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KV1 (1)

Startbahn Presents “Made in Japan 3.0: Defining a New Phy-gital Reality”, an NFT Pop-Up at K11 Art Mall With Leading Japanese Artists and Designers Including TOMO KOIZUMI and ANREALAGE 

__Startrail is the recipient of a grant from the Ethereum Foundation which will be used to develop its smart contracts security and open-source capabilities with the goal of furthering the recognition, registration, and decentralization of its blockchain infrastructure.__
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![9a170d0f227328f0604a4157e2040ea5](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/uJvPvZJLogdCwbcYpQxNs/e8e35b1820b2203562a86bf474de00a3/9a170d0f227328f0604a4157e2040ea5.webp)
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Startrail, a blockchain infrastructure built by Startbahn, has received a grant from the Ethereum Foundation to further promote reliable management of artwork certificates and provenance through Ethereum solutions. With the grant, we aim to make our smart contracts open-source, interoperable, and ultimately expand the reach of our infrastructure in the global art market.
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Startrail’s team includes experts who are passionate about blockchain technology and have experience in building early blockchain projects. We also work with people from the art industry, such as artists, gallerists, curators, who understand the revolutionary potential of blockchain for the art world. Startbahn’s CEO, Taihei Shii, is himself an artist and tech entrepreneur. Since 2016, he has been using public blockchain technology to strengthen provenance records and develop resale royalty rights distribution systems.
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With the grant from the Ethereum Foundation, Startrail’s technology will be improved for the artists and institutional partners already using the platform. Enterprise clients such as large galleries, museums, and artist studios will also benefit from Startrail’s continued development of smart contracts. 
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Shifting to a more decentralized platform is part of Startbahn’s larger mission to decentralize our solutions and protect the rights of artists, collectors, and other art participants in their transactions on NFT marketplaces. We also hope to bring our partners to the Ethereum community by introducing new types of participants to Ethereum such as traditional galleries and museums. 
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Learn more about the Ethereum Foundation: 
[https://ethereum.org/en/community/grants/ ](https://ethereum.org/en/community/grants/)
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Read about the Ethereum Foundation January 2022 - Japan Local Grants Edition announcement:
[https://blog.ethereum.org/2022/02/24/japan-local-grants-round/](https://blog.ethereum.org/2022/02/24/japan-local-grants-round/) 
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__■ About Startbahn__
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Startbahn is a leading Japanese art tech company providing blockchain infrastructure to empower stakeholders across the entire art market spectrum. Startbahn operates Startrail, a sustainable and scalable blockchain infrastructure that assures the reliability, authenticity, and traceability of artworks, including NFTs. Statbahn’s clients include notable auction houses, artists, galleries, private collectors, and content holders, amongst others. 
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[https://startbahn.jp/en/](https://startbahn.jp/en/)
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__■ About Startrail__
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Startrail is a sustainable and scalable blockchain infrastructure that assures the reliability, authenticity, and traceability of artworks, including NFTs. Startrail has a strong focus on the art ecosystem and a long-term perspective to protect and increase artworks’ value. Startrail maintains and assures the value of artworks by permanently recording provenance as well as auction and exhibition history. Artists can also set terms for their issued artworks, including royalty rights, that may be triggered after their primary sale.
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[https://startrail.io/en/](https://startrail.io/en/)
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__■ For Press Inquiries__ 
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Startbahn, Inc.
Risa Mizuno
pr@startbahn.jp

9a170d0f227328f0604a4157e2040ea5

Startrail Receives A Grant From The Ethereum Foundation For The Development of Decentralized and Interoperable Smart Contracts

__Miyako Capital Corporation, University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC), and several other investors support round to accelerate Startbahn’s expansion of infrastructure for its provenance blockchain and interoperable NFTs.__
 
![スクリーンショット 2021-04-22 11.00.34](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/4CWsS3arrcsDurMlAoynx0/1f98f8ea154a505490cefc3273a0b4a2/____________________________2021-04-22_11.00.34.png)
 
Startbahn, the leading art tech company in Asia, has developed Startrail, a sustainable and scalable blockchain infrastructure that assures the reliability, authenticity, and traceability of artworks, including NFTs. Startrail maintains and assures the value of artworks by permanently recording important information such as provenance on the blockchain. With its smart contract feature, Startrail allows the automatic execution of rule sets, including royalty rights, protecting the rights of art world stakeholders. 
 
Startbahn also provides Startbahn Cert., a blockchain certificate issuing service on the Startrail infrastructure. Each certificate can be paired with an IC tag attached to the physical artwork, strengthening the proof of authenticity. Startbahn Cert. is currently already in use by major galleries, art fairs, collectors, artists, arts colleges, and foundations. 
 
With this funding, Startbahn will accelerate its international expansion by continuing to invest in Startrail to assure interoperability for the new generation of NFTs, and will also further improve the Startbahn Cert. application. 
 
The round of investors included: Miyako Capital, The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Co., Ltd (UTEC), Miwa Taguchi, OPS, INC., SX Capital, Inc., TBS Innovation Partner, LLC, iSGS Investment works Inc., Yoshihisa Nakano and Seiichiro Yamamoto. 
 
Startbahn’s CEO, Taihei SHII commented: “We have been working on blockchain projects in the art domain for a long time. I myself am a contemporary artist, so our vision, from the beginning, has been to create an ecosystem and environment for the art industry that will have permanence. Now that we have gained recognition and trust in the Japanese market, and the global NFT market continues to develop, I believe that this is the best time for us to expand our ecosystem worldwide.” 
 
<h1>About Startbahn Inc.,</h1> 
 
Startbahn provides technology needed by artists and art world stakeholders to provide and assure value in art, including Startbahn Cert., a service that issues blockchain certificates for artworks, and Startrail, a blockchain infrastructure. 
 
Company name: Startbahn, Inc. 
CEO: Taihei Shii 
Established: March 26, 2014 
Address: #255 South Clinical Research Building, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8485, JAPAN 
 
HP: <a href="https://startbahn.jp/en/">https://startbahn.jp/en/</a>
 
<h1>For Inquiries About This Release</h1> 
 
Startbahn, Inc. 
Risa Mizuno 
pr@startbahn.jp

スクリーンショット 2021-04-22 11.00.34

Startbahn Raises US$10 Million in Series B Funding

__Startbahn, Inc. (Head office: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter Startbahn) provides blockchain and backend systems for content companies to start their NFT business. Using our backend system, companies can keep their brand appeal and build an NFT service around their content. Moreover, the NFTs minted by using our system can be traded across services with their own ruleset, which is difficult to do in the current NFT market. With our carefully designed Headless NFT Solution, companies can protect and nurture their content even in the secondary distribution.__
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![アートボード-10](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/6rDtXn6kppMHEZ9ISdcGgb/22cee59ede42c0de74798cac7284b57e/__________________-10.png)
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Startbahn develops an infrastructure and services to ensure the reliability and authenticity of artworks by utilizing blockchain and NFT. In response to the recent NFT movement, we have received a number of inquiries from prominent content companies regarding the implementation of NFT. In order to meet their needs, Startburn has launched a new Headless NFT Solution, providing systems and solutions to help content companies launch NFT services. 
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__Examples of services where NFT can be implemented__
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E-Commerce (BtoC, CtoC)
Games (trading cards, etc.)
Social network services
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Launching an NFT service requires the hiring of scarce blockchain engineers and a lot of development time. Moreover, frequent system updates are required to keep the service running. By using this solution, you can reduce these costs and time, and focus on building and operating the service itself. It also provides a secondary distribution management system, which is important for protecting and nurturing content over the long term.
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Companies can use this system not only for introducing NFT to services already in operation, but also as a foundation for building services from scratch. We also provide support for business planning and strategy development using NFT.
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![startbahn chart1 english nyuukou 2400-1920x1007](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/3lWebVcFpflB69MsCFuqL/dfbf067b98e151d4ac69526fa47538c3/startbahn_chart1_english_nyuukou_2400-1920x1007.jpg)
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__Strengths of the Headless NFT Solution Provided by Startbahn__
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__１. Secondary Distribution Management across Services__ 
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NFTs have been attracting a lot of attention in recent years, but there are many problems in their distribution. In particular, it should be noted that existing NFT services are not compatible with each other, making it difficult to manage secondary distribution and use across services.
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Digital content theoretically never degrades permanently, and once published as NFT, it remains on the blockchain. In order to protect and nurture content, Startbahn strongly recognizes the importance of long-term management of its rights and information, and has created a system that can manage secondary distribution.
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By using this solution, it becomes possible to set and inherit not only basic information of the content and its publisher, but also its ruleset and its royalty fees. We are planning to announce the compatibility system with existing NFT marketplaces including those with global recognition in the future.
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__２. Linking to Physical Objects__
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Startbahn has been carefully building a system to link real artworks with blockchain information. By using the IC tag technology provided by Startbahn, it is possible to link NFT information with real objects as well as digital ones. It is also possible to distribute both physical products and their digital twins as NFT. 
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__３. User-Friendly Experience__
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Most NFT services require users to bear the cost of gas (transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain) due to their structure. On the other hand, with Headless NFT Solution provided by Starbahn, users do not have to pay for the gas, so they can use the service more easily since we have implemented a system that the operating service can take over the burden of the gas cost.
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We also provide an effective solution for blockchain secret key management, which is a major barrier for users. With our system, they can manage their key by just logging in with their Google account or their email address.
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__４. Inexpensive and Sustainable System__ 
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In Ethereum, the cost of gas continues to rise. In addition, concerns about the environmental impact are increasing due to the large amount of electricity consumed. Measures to deal with these issues are essential for the operation of services using Ethereum.
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In response to this situation, we at Startbahn have been devising various measures. For example, we have adopted a layer 2 solution called Polygon. It allows us to build a sustainable service by reducing electricity consumption as well as gas costs.
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__５. Support for a Variety of Content__
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To date, Startbahn has built a system that supports the value assurance of artworks. The system has already been used for thousands of artworks, including high-priced works. In 2020, we have started the joint-business with Wacom Inc. and pixiv Inc. to support the value assurance of a variety of content. In March 2021, Shueisha Inc. has launched a system to support the value assurance of manga art, which is now sold worldwide. 
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__Shueisha has launched global sales of "manga-art". Startbahn's blockchain certificate supports the inheritance of its value as an artwork".__
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[https://startbahn.jp/en/smah-20210301/](https://startbahn.jp/en/smah-20210301/)
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![SMAH PR RCC 20210218-min-1](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/3O6u8CM4kvURUA08Ldz5v9/760cbd408d38958acb5603b91f384429/SMAH_PR_RCC_20210218-min-1.png)
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Examples of Functions Provided by Headless NFT Solution 
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![startbahn chart2 english nyuukou 2400-1920x1007](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/6uCy90FeO8KWvYVMuuG1zz/05e82bfe0525ca599be86358e77326f4/startbahn_chart2_english_nyuukou_2400-1920x1007.jpg)
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For companies that are considering building more advanced applications, we can also provide a fully customized system.
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__For Inquiries About This Release__ 
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Startbahn, Inc.
Business Development
biz@startbahn.jp< 
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__About Startbahn, Inc__
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Startbahn provides technology needed by artists and art world stakeholders to provide and assure value in art, including Startbahn Cert., a service that issues blockchain certificates for artworks, and Startrail, a blockchain infrastructure.
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__For more information in Startbahn Cert__
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[https://cert.startbahn.io/en](https://cert.startbahn.io/en)
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__For Inquiries About This Release (For Media Person)__
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Startbahn, Inc.
Risa Mizuno
pr@startbahn.jp

アートボード-10

Startbahn Has Launched an Headless NFT Solution for Corporate Customers, based on the Concept of Protecting and Nurturing Content over the Long Term.

__Startbahn, Inc. (Location: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Taihei Shii, hereinafter Startbahn),collaborating with Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President＆CEO: Hiroshi Igarashi, hereinafter Dentsu) and the Dentsu Innovation Initiative (Hereinafter, DII), an organization that promotes R&D affiliated with Dentsu Japan Network, has developed an NFT business construction support service for companies that handle content. To protect and nurture content over the long term, we support the construction of NFT businesses to provide new experiences and mutual relationships to all stakeholders involved. The service will be available from both Startbahn and Dentsu starting today.__
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![startbahn-dentsu](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/5j6qIbM1vS3X3c29kBePlD/f631bfaa24673a9eff7ed016e7d25002/startbahn-dentsu.jpg)
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Startbahn leverages blockchain and NFT technology to build the infrastructure to ensure the reliability and authenticity of artworks. In response to the demand from content holders due to the recent movement of NFT, we started offering a new Headless NFT Solution in May 2021. We provide blockchain and backend systems for content companies to launch NFT services.
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In order for the content's value to be inherited, we recognized that long-term management of rights and information is vital. For this reason, we sought to solve the current issue of the NFT market. We managed to realize the interoperability among different NFT services to enable the management of secondary distribution and use of the content.
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We will start providing more comprehensive services in collaboration with Dentsu, which has planning and creative expertise based on content value and fan sentiment as well as corporate network. Also, we collaborate with DII, which has R&D knowledge about technology and markets.
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In addition to the NFT issuance and management system, we provide comprehensive systems and solutions that content holders need to start the NFT business, from sales strategy to interface planning and development. Besides inheriting the value of content, we support the construction of NFT businesses that match the characteristics and brand value of each content on the premise of improving the experience and relationships of all stakeholders, including creators and fans.
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![NFTリリース図 page-0001](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/o7eJFeohIECCZqT3AGbuB/dbe07ee47d8fb32539a0416acfa52988/NFT________________page-0001.jpg)
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__Characteristics of Blockchain Infrastructure by Startbahn__
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__Secondary distribution management system that is important for protecting and nurturing content over the long term.__
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In addition to information on content and issuers who mint NFTs of their content, terms of use and royalty settings can be inherited across services.
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__User-friendly mechanism__
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*You do not need to prepare a wallet on your side, and you can log in with your Google account or email address.
*Payment in legal tender is also possible 
*Gas fees (transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain) can be taken over by the operating service. 
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__Inexpensive and sustainable mechanism__
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Reduced transaction fees and power consumption by adopting a new second layer solution called Polygon.
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__Linkage with physical objects__
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By utilizing the IC tag technology, it is possible to link not only digital content but also physical objects with NFT information.
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__Comment from Mr. Takeda, Dentsu Content Business Design Center__
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We believe that Startbahn's technology and past achievements will provide effective solutions to the issues faced by IP holders. Currently, there are many speculative and short-term NFT purchases and sales. However, with Startbahn, we together will implement new experiences and services that contribute to building long-term relationships between IP holders and their fans.

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__About Startbahn, Inc.__
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Startbahn is a company that aims to realize a richer society by providing the technology needed by artists and all people involved in art around the world. We are promoting the construction of "Startrail," an infrastructure for art distribution and evaluation utilizing blockchain technology. In addition, as a service to connect to Startrail, we are developing our own online service, "Startbahn Cert." and blockchain joint business with corporations and organizations.
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Company Name: Startbahn, Inc.
CEO: Taihei Shii
Establishment: March 26th, 2014
Address: #255 South Clinical Research Building, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8485, JAPAN.
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HP: [https://startbahn.jp/en/](https://startbahn.jp/en/)
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About Startrail: [https://startrail.io/en/](https://startrail.io/en/)
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About Startbahn Cert.: [https://cert.startbahn.io/en/](https://startrail.io/en/)
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__Inquiries Regarding This Project__
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Startbahn, Inc.
Business Development Department
biz@startbahn.jp
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__Contact Information Regarding this Press Release (For the Media)__
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Startbahn, Inc.
Public Relations Officer: Risa Mizuno
pr@startbahn.jp


startbahn-dentsu

Startbahn Starts Providing NFT Business Construction Support Services in Collaboration with Dentsu. Comprehensive supports for content holders to start NFT business from system development to strategy and planning.

Startbahn, Inc. which develops various businesses with a focus on Art x Technology, has increased the capital allocation to a third party by approximately 100 million yen undertaken by UTEC.
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__We will develop three businesses through this financing.__
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1) Construction of art x block chain network specialized in management of culture and arts
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2) Providing “Startbahn BCM” (provisional name), an in-house web service linked to the Art x Blockchain network
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3) Joint development of blockchain x corporate
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__▼Details__
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[https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000004.000016730.html](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000004.000016730.html)
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Also, Nikkei and TechCrunch Japan posted articles.
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[https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO32637810V00C18A7000000/](https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO32637810V00C18A7000000/)
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[https://jp.techcrunch.com/2018/07/05/startbahn-fundraising/](https://jp.techcrunch.com/2018/07/05/startbahn-fundraising/)


Raised 100 million yen from UTEC. Planning to publish the new service from the end of September.

Startbahn will gradually start a project to revitalize the art market using blockchain in collaboration with many players in Japan.
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__■ Introduction of each company__
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__・ Tanseisha Co, Ltd.__
Utilization of blockchain technology on “B-OWND”, a platform that will be able to sell and distribute Japanese arts and crafts worldwide starting next spring.
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[https://www.b-ownd.com](https://www.b-ownd.com)
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__・ BTCompany Co., Ltd.__
Examination and step-by-step verification of the use of blockchain certificates at the “OIL by Bijutsu Techou”, a participatory art EC service scheduled to start in the spring of 2019.
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[https://bijutsutecho.com/](https://bijutsutecho.com/)
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__・TAGBOAT__
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Discussion on both services and technology for the development of blockchain authentication service in Asia's largest art EC mail order "@GALLERY TAGBOAT"
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[http://tagboat.com](http://tagboat.com)
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__・Busunit__
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Purchase works, propose to purchase art works for collectors, and use issuance of blockchain certificates at Tokura, which provides exhibitions and insurance services.
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[http://busunit.jp](http://busunit.jp)
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__・ Amatium__
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Use of blockchain API provided by Startbahn and ownership certificate by smart contract in digitization of artwork and distribution management of works.
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[http://amatorium.com](http://amatorium.com)

artblockchain

Startbahn Inc. start engaging in revitalization of art market with blockchain, by tieing up with companies in Japan.

Startbahn, Inc. working on the “Art x Blockchain”, raised 310 million tyen from UTEC, SX Capital and Dentsu.
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We will also report on the strengthening of the management system on March 1st, and the addition of 2 people as Sawako Ohno from AnyPay has assumed the post of COO, Ryutaro Katayama from Christie's has assumed the outside director.
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__▼Details__
[https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000008.000016730.html](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000008.000016730.html)

Raised 310 million yen from UTEC, SX Capital and Dentsu. Sawako Ohno from AnyPay has assumed the post of COO, Ryutaro Katayama from Christie’s has assumed the outside director.

__Startbahn and SBI Art Auction will start joint projects such as proof of ownership of art works using blockchain technology in April 2019, aiming to revitalize the art auction market.__
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__■ Overview__
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Developed content linked to SBI Art Auction sponsored “Modern and Contemporary Art” on “Startbahn.org”, a blockchain certificate issuing service operated by Startburn. The blockchain certificate will be given to the successful bidder who wishes.
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![sbi markets](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/BOzf3gbfHcWZRgWeggBK0/01019b6c45d79b91a9658cfb1afa1a4d/sbi_markets.png)
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__▼Details__
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[https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000009.000016730.html](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000009.000016730.html)

sbi markets

The First in Japan! Issuing a blockchain certification on art piece bidded at an auction – startbahn and SBI Art Auction tied up.

__Startbahn, Inc. working on “Art x Blockchain”, raised money from “SBI AI & Blockchain fund” operated by Venture Capital's SBI Investment.__
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![stb sbi-1024x310](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/5pagdP6TCbLSUJOFQx2zem/d5fa572ac2436118efe393268b03864e/stb_sbi-1024x310.png)
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Startbahn is already planning to roll out blockchain technology from within 2019 through a business alliance with SBI Art Auction.
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The purpose of this fundraising and business alliance is to jointly seek new forms of art utilization utilizing the SBI Group's know-how such as “art” and “blockchain” and disseminate them worldwide.
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[https://prtimes.jp/a/?f=d16730-20190521-8541.pdf](https://prtimes.jp/a/?f=d16730-20190521-8541.pdf)


stb sbi-1024x310

Startbahn raised money from SBI Investment. Closer cooperation in a activities of Art and Blockchain with SBI group.

SMADONA, which is planning to offer an “art co-owned platform”, and the start van working on “Art x blockchain”, have partnered to develop a co-owned service utilizing the Art Blockchain Network.
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Encourage more people to interact with art and work on interoperability of blockchain with the aim of realizing a world where everyone can enjoy and support art. 
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![stb sma logo-1-300x43](//images.ctfassets.net/oj6q4dp9lpx9/5EdMlda7Bt58n1gSeNGt0K/66e01dd8e078d7d62d9af76e323d00b4/stb_sma_logo-1-300x43.png)
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We believe that managing the history of small rights and certifying copyright management through blockchain will create opportunities for many people to get involved in art.
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In addition, we believe that the cost of contracts and management when owning small rights will be reduced, and that it will lead to an increased opportunity for the evaluation of works and artists themselves.
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▼Details
[https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000012.000016730.html](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000012.000016730.html)

stb sma logo-1-300x43

Tie-up with SMADONA, Inc. for mutual operation where more than one person own an art piece on blockchain.

__Startbahn, Inc. (headquarters: Tokyo; CEO: Taihei Shii), an “art x blockchain” startup in which contemporary artist serve as its representatives, has, since 2018, pushed forward with carrying out verifications in order to introduce, to the everyday world, artwork certification that uses numerous art-related groups and a blockchain. In the run up to the world release of the Art Blockchain Network (tentative name; “ABN”), which is a cutting-edge infrastructure that links art-related services, we are hereby announcing that, on October 15, 2019, we will release a whitepaper. Before releasing that whitepaper, we have set up ateaser site on which global partners can contact us.__
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The ABN is an infrastructure whose design and construction was developed by Startbahn, that guarantees trust and value in the arts and culture, and that supports further advancement in the arts and culture.
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__■ Innovative characteristics of the ABN__
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__A design in which credibility is relentlessly pursued__
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The design guarantees the accuracy of sources and provenances of artworks, which are required to maintain and improve credibility in the art-world. In addition, we will keep our sights on resolving the oracle problem concerning the linking of artworks themselves to information on the blockchain until it is resolved.
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__Providing new methods for managing distribution__
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The ABN will provide various new methods that will come about thanks to guaranteed sources and provenances, a structure in which a portion of the sale amount is returned to the producer in each transaction, divided ownership of artworks, and copyrights management and transactional rules management when artworks are distributed for the second time and thereafter.
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__Updatability and interoperability that is focused on the future__
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The ABN combines expandability and updatability such that credibility in the continually growing and changing art-world is always maintained. We will carry out appropriate systematic upgrades that will be based on governance by people involved in the art-world and make a reality interoperability with other blockchain projects that are attempting similar aims.
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__■ On October 15, the art world will welcome a new era__
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ABN is an Ethereum-based network whose design and construction was developed by Startbahn, Inc.
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After the release of ABN on the testnet in October 2018, numerous major media outlets reported that Startbahn, Inc. is a blockchain startup to watch. Many artists, galleries, major art E-Commerce operators, and auction houses in East Asia and elsewhere have already joined. Based on the plentiful feedback we received from these partners, __we will release a whitepaper in October 15.__
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Furthermore, in order to maintain the publicness of ABN and operate it in a stable manner, we plan to establish the ABN Foundation (General Incorporated Association) and, while taking in viewpoints from various persons connected to the art industry, we plan to manage ABN as a shared base for the art industry.
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We are currently accepting advance registrations, and fielding inquiries, on our teaser site ([https://artblockchainnetwork.com](https://artblockchainnetwork.com)).
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Applicable persons:  Groups and individuals who are connected to the art industry, irrespective of whether they are operating for-profit or not-for-profit, such as artists, management galleries, collectors, auction houses, operators providing EC services, art galleries, and foundations 
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Applicable items: All artworks for which artwork certification can be utilized, such as the target items, works of art, works of craft, photography, and digital art
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Structure: Ethereum (supports ERC721)
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Release Dates: *__The whitepaper is planned for release on October 15, 2019
Planned for release on the mainnet in January 2020__*
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__■ Call for partners to build a new-art world together with us__
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Since the release of ABN on the testnet, around 30 corporations and groups have joined ABN, including the one of the largest art auction company in Asia, EC services that handle first rate works of art and craft, and Asia’s largest art E-Commerce operator.
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__Plan to start providing part of the API at the same time at the whitepaper release__
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All corporations and groups will not necessarily have enough blockchain engineers. Due to that, we plan to set up an API. To persons who have registered their email address by using our teaser site, we plan to provide, as necessary, reference information on the future API and other such information on updates.
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Applicable persons: Users of art EC services, CtoC commerce in which selling and buying is possible between individuals, and website building and blog services that can be managed by individuals such as Wordpress; all operators who manage work of art online
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Applicable items: All artworks for which artwork certification can be utilized, such as works of art, works of craft, photography, handmade items, and digital artworks
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Release date: Sequentially from October 2020 onwards
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Inquiries: Startbahn, Inc.; biz@startbahn.jp
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__■ ABN will create an environment that will guarantee confidence and value in the arts and culture for the next 100 years, a time when technology will have greatly advanced__
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Our mission is to support art in a world of advanced technology. What has advanced through technology is not merely artworks that have been created with computers; in the art industry, the frontier of what humans can manage with manual procedures alone has been exceeded—for example, copied artifacts are widely distributed, highly accurate counterfeit works are made with the latest technology, and false trust is cleverly created in a network. The era in which secondary distribution could be managed with the use of expert techniques is over, and, currently, we feel that we are in circumstances in which preserving value is in danger and there is a threat of market collapse.
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However, although value is being endangered by technology, some art has risen up due to technological advancements. We are now at the turning point of an era, and technological advancements, such as those in the Renaissance, which arose at a turning point in the distribution of information, give birth to new artistic issues and interests and enliven the arts and culture. In the midst of that environment, we don’t merely use technology to create a system that manages provenances and prevents counterfeits; we think about the possibilities that will be born from new arts and culture that rise up from an environment that was created to guarantee value.
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As to art in the mainstream, which has been the basis for art overall, we will, of course, keep a close eye on what might become art in the future. And we will traverse the past, present, future, countries, races, cultures, and other kinds of categories and create a comprehensive infrastructure that manages art used by all of humankind.

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__■ Overview of Startbahn, Inc.__
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Company Name:      Startbahn, Inc.
Representative:   Taihei Shii, CEO
Location:                  Minami-Kenkyu-To 255, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 
Establishment:          March 26, 2014 
Contact information for inquiries related to this release
Email Address:         press@startbahn.jp


Start of call for global partners in the run up to the world-wide release of the whitepaper on October 15 by Startbahn, Inc., the “art × blockchain” Japanese startup

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