By Srinath Srinivasan
Zebi is a full-stack core blockchain network from Hyderabad with offices across USA, UAE and Singapore. The network is similar to other blockchain networks like ethereum, NEO and so on; it allows for adopters to be a part of it and build solutions on top of it. While the startup has worked on various applications for enterprises so far, its latest offering, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), is expected to bring more adopters of blockchain on to their network.
“NFTs are like collectibles, limited in number with a certain value to them,” says Pruthvi Rao, co-founder and CEO, Zebi. “It is like a property you own. The prices go up or down based on demand and then if you want, you can sell them. Once you sell, the ownership transfers to the buyer,” he explains.
NFT can represent or contain any piece of content. “It could be a video, a photograph, or a work of art,” says Rao.
Zebi, which has so far raised $15 million in funding, says NFTs will open up a huge market in itself. “Wherever there is a chance for content and media, there can be NFTs,” says Rao. This does not mean that a particular piece of media content will not be available on the web. “What we see as videos or other multimedia is only a copy of the original. There will still be those copies online even if there are NFTs of a particular piece of content,” explains Rao.
NFTs do not fall under the distribution business and will not disrupt it. “If some NFT is available for sale on our network, you can buy it. There is no distributor involved and there is no question of commissions,” he says. This opens up a new range of business opportunities for brands. “Soon we will see a lot of people creating content based on the technology and spreading awareness about the technology, which opens up new job opportunities. And as for creating NFTs, companies like us will facilitate that. For businesses, it becomes a brand building activity and a new stream of revenue,” says Rao.
Recently it worked with Gaames Unlimited, a licensee of International Cricket Council, to create NFTs for the cricket ecosystem.
