Kaleido Art
Phygital art marketplace with augmented reality experiences.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
* | N/A | $1.4m | Early VC |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Kaleido is a technology company operating at the intersection of the physical and digital art worlds, describing itself as a "phygital home for visual art." The company provides a platform and mobile app that function as a social marketplace where artists can sell their work directly to collectors. A key feature is the integration of augmented reality (AR), which allows users to scan physical artwork with their mobile device to view digital content like artist information, audio narrations, animations, and video content layered on top.
The platform was co-founded by Ian Panchèvre, an entrepreneur with a background in technology and product management at Intuit's blockchain R&D unit, and Cesar Biojo, a professional artist. Panchèvre, who holds a bachelor's degree from Yale and an MBA from Stanford, was inspired to start the company in 2018 while collecting art in Europe. The venture was revived in 2021 during the NFT boom, with Biojo joining to ensure the platform serves artists' interests. Kaleido aims to solve the problem of underwhelming online art experiences by creating a dedicated, interactive home for visual arts, akin to what YouTube or Spotify are for video and music.
For artists, Kaleido offers tools to create a web portfolio, tell their story through multimedia, and connect with collectors. For collectors, the platform provides an immersive way to experience art and verify its history. The company issues Kaleido Certificates, which are digital certificates of authenticity that activate in AR to show artwork provenance. Kaleido's business model is based on taking a 25% commission on art sold through the platform, which is free for artists to join. While initially exploring a "freemium" model, the core service remains accessible without a subscription. The platform has also launched the "Art Universe" exclusively for the Apple Vision Pro, featuring a curated roster of elite, contemporary artists in a spatial environment.
Keywords: phygital art, augmented reality art, social art marketplace, digital art platform, art technology, Ian Panchèvre, Cesar Biojo, AR art app, online art gallery, art collecting, digital certificate of authenticity, Art Universe, Apple Vision Pro, art provenance, artist portfolio, visual arts community