Here's a wild stat for you: intellectual property is worth over $61 trillion globally. That's bigger than the entire crypto market, stock market... basically bigger than almost anything. And yet, if you're a creator trying to protect your work or get paid when someone uses it? Good luck.
You'll need lawyers, lengthy contracts, expensive legal battles, and even then, once your work is online, tracking who's using it is nearly impossible. And don't even get me started on AI companies scraping your content to train their models without asking permission or paying you a dime.
Enter S.Y. Lee—a Korean entrepreneur who sold his last startup for $440 million and decided his next mission would be to fix the entire broken system of intellectual property. The result? Story Protocol, a blockchain that just launched in February 2025 and is already valued at $2.25 billion.
This is the story of how a serial founder, a Google DeepMind product manager, and a team of absolute grinders built what they're calling "programmable IP"—and why it might just change how every creator, artist, and AI company in the world handles intellectual property.
The Founder Who Couldn't Stop Building
Let's start with S.Y. Lee, because his background is honestly insane.
Born and raised in Seoul, Lee went to Oxford University where he studied philosophy, politics, and economics. But he wasn't just hitting the books—he became the first Asian president of the Oxford Union, one of the world's most prestigious debating societies. This wasn't some honorary position. Lee was organizing debates with world leaders, celebrities, and thought leaders while still in his early 20s.
After Oxford, he worked as a freelance journalist and even tried to build a crowdfunding platform for journalists called Byline.com. It didn't take off the way he hoped, but it taught him something important: the traditional models for content creation and monetization were broken.
So in 2016, at just 26 years old, Lee founded Radish Fiction—a mobile app for serialized storytelling. Think of it like Netflix, but for bite-sized fiction you could read on your phone during your commute.
The concept was brilliant. Instead of publishing entire novels at once, Radish released stories chapter by chapter, kind of like old-school soap operas. Readers would buy "coins" to unlock new chapters. Writers could publish directly on the platform and actually make money—some were earning $15,000 per month just from their stories.
It worked. Really well. By 2021, Radish had millions of users and was one of the top storytelling platforms in the world.
Then came the exit: Kakao Entertainment (part of South Korea's tech giant Kakao) acquired Radish for $440 million in 2021.
Lee was 31 years old and financially set for life. He could've retired. Instead, he stayed on as Kakao Entertainment's Global Strategy Officer, overseeing investments and M&A deals worldwide.
But he kept noticing the same problem over and over again: creators were getting screwed.
The Problem That Wouldn't Go Away
Here's what Lee saw during his time running Radish and working in the content industry:
Problem #1: Registering IP is expensive and complicated
If you're a small creator and want to officially register your intellectual property, you're looking at thousands of dollars in legal fees. Most creators simply can't afford it.
Problem #2: Tracking usage is impossible
Once your content is online, good luck knowing who's using it. Your art could be on a thousand websites, your music could be in a hundred YouTube videos, and unless you manually hunt them down, you'll never know—and you'll never get paid.
Problem #3: AI is making it worse
By 2022-2023, generative AI was exploding. Companies like OpenAI, Stability AI, and Midjourney were training their models on millions of images, texts, and creative works—often without permission and definitely without compensation.
Artists would see AI generate images in their exact style. Writers would see AI spit out text that mimicked their voice. Musicians watched AI recreate their sound.
And the creators? They got nothing.
As Lee put it: "Big Tech is stealing IP without consent and capturing all the profit. The current state of AI destroys the incentive to create original IP. This surely will be negative for AI if no one has an incentive to create something original for AI to train upon. It's inadvertently suicide in the long run."
He wasn't wrong. If AI companies keep taking content for free, eventually creators will stop creating. And then what does AI train on?
Lee realized this wasn't just a content problem—it was an existential crisis for creativity itself.
The Lightbulb Moment: What If IP Was Programmable?
Somewhere in 2022, Lee had an idea that would change everything.
What if intellectual property could work like code on GitHub?
Think about it: on GitHub, you can see who wrote every line of code, who forked a project, who contributed what. Licensing is built into the system. If someone uses your code, there's a clear record. Collaboration is seamless.
Why couldn't IP work the same way?
What if you could register your art, music, writing, or even an AI model on a blockchain, and then program in the rules for how it can be used?
- Want people to remix your work? Cool, set a 10% royalty fee.
- Want to license it for commercial use? Define the terms in a smart contract.
- Want to track every derivative work someone creates? The blockchain records it automatically.
This wasn't just about protecting IP. It was about making IP liquid, composable, and collaborative—turning it from a static legal concept into a programmable asset.
Lee called it "Programmable IP."
And in 2022, he left his cushy role at Kakao to build it.
Assembling the Dream Team
Lee knew he couldn't do this alone. He needed world-class technical talent. So he brought in two co-founders who were absolute heavy-hitters:
Jason Zhao – Former product manager at Google DeepMind (Google's AI research lab). Zhao spent years working on cutting-edge AI and knew firsthand how AI companies were consuming massive amounts of data without compensating creators. He understood both the AI side and the creator side of the problem.
Jason Levy – Former content lead at Episode, one of the biggest mobile storytelling platforms (think interactive choose-your-own-adventure stories). Levy knew the entertainment and IP world inside and out.
Together, this team had:
- Media and entertainment expertise (Lee and Levy)
- Deep AI knowledge (Zhao)
- Blockchain and Web3 experience
- Startup experience and exits under their belt
They also brought on a killer team of operators from companies like Dapper Labs (the team behind NBA Top Shot), Harmony Protocol, and Google. These weren't first-time founders figuring things out—these were seasoned builders who knew how to scale.
$140 Million in Funding Before Most People Knew They Existed
In September 2023, Story Protocol emerged from stealth with a $54 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the most prestigious VC firms in the world.
But the investor list was bonkers:
- Paris Hilton's 11:11 Media
- Bang Si-hyuk (founder of HYBE, the company behind BTS)
- Samsung Next
- Polychain Capital
- Roham Gharegozlou (founder of Dapper Labs/NBA Top Shot)
- Nicolas Berggruen (billionaire investor and founder of the Berggruen Institute)
This wasn't just crypto VCs betting on blockchain hype. This was entertainment moguls, AI investors, and tech giants all saying: "Yes, this IP problem is massive, and Story Protocol might actually solve it."
Then in August 2024, they raised another $80 million in Series B, also led by a16z, bringing their total funding to $140 million and valuing the company at $2.25 billion.
For context: Story Protocol was barely two years old and hadn't even launched its mainnet yet.
The Tech: How Story Protocol Actually Works
Okay, let's talk about how this thing actually works without getting too technical.
Story Protocol is a Layer 1 blockchain—meaning it's its own standalone blockchain, not built on top of Ethereum or anything else. It's specifically designed to handle intellectual property, which requires dealing with complex "IP graphs" (basically, tracking how one piece of IP connects to and derives from another).
Here are the key pieces:
1. IP Assets (The Foundation)
When you register something on Story Protocol, it becomes an IP Asset—basically an NFT, but way more powerful.
This isn't just a JPEG stored on a blockchain. It's a smart contract account (using the ERC-6551 standard) that can:
- Hold other assets
- Execute transactions
- License itself automatically
- Track all derivative works
- Distribute royalties
Think of it like giving your IP its own bank account and brain.
2. Programmable IP License (The Legal Bridge)
Here's the genius part: Story Protocol created something called the Programmable IP License (PIL).
This is a legal contract template that's recognized in the real world but executed on the blockchain. When you set terms for how your IP can be used, those terms are legally binding, not just "blockchain promises."
So if someone violates the terms? You're not just relying on blockchain governance—you have actual legal recourse.
3. Proof of Creativity Protocol (The Engine)
This is the system that tracks everything:
- Who created what
- Who licensed what
- How derivative works connect to original works
- Revenue distribution across all contributors
It's like Git for IP. Every change, every use, every collaboration is tracked transparently and immutably.
4. AI Agent Integration (The Future)
In December 2024, Story introduced ACTP/IP (Agent Transaction Control Protocol for IP), which allows AI agents to buy, sell, and license IP from each other automatically.
Imagine: an AI model needs training data. It finds your dataset on Story Protocol, automatically licenses it according to your terms, pays you in crypto, and trains itself—all without human intervention.
That's the vision.
The February 2025 Launch That Shocked Everyone
On February 13, 2025, Story Protocol officially launched its mainnet, called Homer (a nod to the ancient Greek poet).
Along with it came the $IP token, which:
- Powers transactions on the network
- Is used for governance (token holders vote on protocol changes)
- Pays creators and validators
The tokenomics were designed to be community-first:
- 58.4% of the 1 billion token supply goes to the community, ecosystem, and foundation
- 21.6% to early backers
- 20% to core contributors
Major exchanges immediately announced support: Coinbase, Binance, OKX, KuCoin, Bybit, Bitget—basically everyone.
And the market responded. Within a week of launch, the IP token surged 149% in 24 hours, hitting $6.72. Pre-market trading had already valued it at a $3.5 billion fully diluted valuation.
The hype was real.
Real Projects Already Building on Story
But here's what really matters: actual adoption.
Story Protocol isn't just a white paper and a token. There are already over 200 teams building on the platform, with more than 20 million IP assets registered.
Some cool examples:
Magma – A collaborative digital art platform with 2.5 million users where teams can create art together in real-time. All IP ownership and revenue splits are managed automatically through Story Protocol.
Mahojin – Building a decentralized version of Hugging Face (the GitHub for AI models). Data providers can register their datasets as IP Assets, and AI developers can license them transparently.
VeeFriends – Gary Vaynerchuk's NFT project is exploring Story Protocol for managing IP rights of his characters.
And there are projects in gaming, music, film, AI training, and more—all using Story's infrastructure to manage IP in ways that were impossible before.
The Challenges: It's Not All Perfect
Let's be real—Story Protocol faces some serious challenges:
1. Legal Complexity
Story Protocol isn't trying to replace the legal system. They're trying to work with it. But IP law varies massively by country. What works in the US might not work in China or the EU. Getting global legal recognition is a massive undertaking.
2. Adoption Hurdles
Most creators don't understand blockchain. Getting millions of artists, musicians, and writers to register their work on a blockchain is a huge education and UX challenge.
3. The Centralization Question
Some critics argue that having a VC-backed company build the "decentralized IP layer" is inherently contradictory. If Story Protocol controls too much, is it really decentralized?
4. Competition
They're not the only ones working on IP management. There are other projects like VeeFriends, SharpShark, and traditional companies building blockchain IP solutions.
5. AI Companies Might Just Ignore It
The biggest challenge? What if major AI companies simply don't participate? If OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google decide they'd rather keep scraping the open internet than paying licensing fees through Story Protocol, the whole system could fail to gain critical mass.
Why This Might Actually Work
Despite the challenges, there are reasons to be optimistic:
1. The Team Is Legit
S.Y. Lee already built and sold a $440M company. Jason Zhao worked at DeepMind. This isn't some random team of crypto bros—these are proven operators with deep industry connections.
2. The Funding and Backers Are Insane
$140 million from a16z, HYBE, Samsung, and Paris Hilton isn't just money—it's access. Lee has relationships with major entertainment companies, AI labs, and tech giants.
3. The Problem Is Getting Worse
As AI gets more powerful, the IP issue becomes more urgent. Eventually, regulators will step in. Story Protocol is positioning itself to be the infrastructure layer when that happens.
4. The Tech Actually Works
This isn't vaporware. The mainnet is live. Projects are building. Creators are registering IP. The proof of concept is there.
5. It's Not Zero-Sum
Story Protocol isn't asking creators to choose between traditional IP systems and blockchain. It's offering an additional tool. You can still register your copyright with the US Copyright Office and also put it on Story Protocol for additional protection and monetization.
The Vision: A New Creative Economy
Here's how S.Y. Lee and the team imagine the future:
Phase 1 (2025-2026): Onboard Creators
Get millions of creators to register their IP. Make it dead simple. Prove the value.
Phase 2 (2026-2027): Build the Ecosystem
Get platforms, marketplaces, and applications to integrate Story Protocol. Think: a music streaming service where artists automatically get paid for every play through smart contracts. A stock photo site where every download pays the photographer instantly.
Phase 3 (2027-2030): The AI Integration
AI companies start using Story Protocol to license training data transparently. AI agents buy and sell IP from each other. The entire AI economy runs on Story's infrastructure.
Phase 4 (2030+): The IP Economy
Intellectual property becomes as liquid and tradable as stocks or real estate. You can invest in a musician's entire catalog, buy fractional ownership of a movie franchise, or trade AI models like you trade crypto.
IP becomes programmable, liquid, and accessible to everyone—not just corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
What This Means for Regular People
If Story Protocol succeeds, here's what changes:
For Creators:
- Protect your work without expensive lawyers
- Get paid automatically when your work is used
- Track exactly how your IP is being used across the internet
- Collaborate with others without complicated legal agreements
For Fans:
- Actually support the creators you love (money goes directly to them, not middlemen)
- Own fractional shares of your favorite artist's IP
- Participate in the creative process (like fan fiction, but official and compensated)
For AI Companies:
- Access high-quality, licensed training data transparently
- Avoid legal battles over copyright
- Build models with provenance and attribution baked in
For Everyone:
- A fairer, more transparent creative economy where value flows to the people actually creating it
The Bottom Line
S.Y. Lee's journey from a $440 million exit to building a $2.25 billion blockchain for intellectual property is one of the most ambitious bets in Web3 right now.
Is it guaranteed to succeed? No. There are huge technical, legal, and adoption challenges ahead.
But here's the thing: the IP problem is real and getting worse. Creators are getting screwed. AI is making it worse. The current system is broken.
Story Protocol might not be the perfect solution, but it's a damn compelling attempt. And with $140 million in funding, a world-class team, actual adoption happening, and a mainnet that's already live, they're further along than almost anyone else trying to solve this problem.
Whether you're a creator worried about AI stealing your work, an AI company looking for licensed training data, or just someone who cares about a fairer internet—Story Protocol is worth watching.
Because if they pull this off, they won't just build a successful blockchain. They'll fundamentally change how creative work is valued, protected, and monetized in the digital age.
And that's a story worth following.
What do you think? Will blockchain solve the IP problem, or is this just more crypto hype? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
Top comments (1)
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