Bored Ape NFT maker announces Daniel Alegre as new boss
The startup behind Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens has named a new CEO as it ramps up plans to build a “metaverse” despite the crypto slump biting digital asset sales.
Daniel Alegre, who announced on Friday that he is stepping down as president and chief operating officer of video game giant Activision Blizzard, will join Yuga Labs in the first half of 2023. He replaces Nicole Muniz, who will become a partner and advisor.
The US-based company has been at the forefront of the frothy but lucrative digital art market, having launched the BAYC collection last year, with some items selling for millions of dollars apiece. Since then, the broader meltdown in the value of crypto-related products has led to a drop in the value of NFTs.
Alegre’s appointment comes as Yuga plans to launch a virtual world called “Otherside” next year. The plan aims to compete with tech groups like Meta and Microsoft in a race to build the so-called metaverse, where people can interact and play games in interactive online spaces.
“When it comes to the metaverse, we’re competing with giants. To catapult Otherside and our other ambitious projects to new heights, we’ve known for a long time that we wanted to bring in someone with a proven track record of building at the highest possible level,” says Yuga Lab co-founders Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow said in a blog post announcing the news.
Yuga Labs raised $450 million in a fundraising round led by Andreessen Horowitz in March this year, valuing it at $4 billion. Its Bored Ape NFTs are some of the most valued in the sector, with several celebrities including Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg and Madonna investing in the cartoon monkeys.
Yuga, less than two years old, has also acquired other popular NFT tokens, including CryptoPunks and Meebits, for undisclosed amounts.
When the sale of land in Otherside, called “Otherdeeds”, went on sale in April, the 55,000 lots represented by NFTs sold out in a record launch, generating around $300 million for Yuga. Since then, the average price of a deed has fallen 70 percent to around 2.6 ETH ($1,200).
Yuga is currently under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding securities disclosure and is facing a class action lawsuit accusing Yuga of colluding with celebrities to “artificially inflate and distort the prices” of the NFTs. The company has denied any wrongdoing.
Alegre joined Activision Blizzard in 2020, overseeing the company’s flagship titles including Duty calls and World of Warcraft.
During his tenure, the game publisher has faced allegations of workplace sexual harassment and poor working conditions and a $69 billion takeover by Microsoft, which is ongoing. Alegre’s employment ends on March 31.
Prior to that, he held several senior titles at Google over 16 years, including President of Global Retail and Shopping and President of Global and Strategic Partnerships.
Alegre said he was looking forward to working to “shape the future of the internet” at Yuga.
“The company’s pipeline of products, partnerships and IP represents a tremendous opportunity to define the metaverse in a way that empowers creators and gives users true ownership of their identity and digital assets,” he added.
