Which assets are we talking about?
We are talking about private markets, alternative assets and illiquid assets. Specifically, we are talking about artworks, alternative investment funds and sports economic rights. To strive for much more …
Will buying a portion of a Picasso be possible?
Yes, it will be possible to invest even a small amount in a Picasso.
When do you decide to transform your Look Lateral, an internationally successful magazine, into an international art exchange combined with AI and the Blockchain?
There was a first step in the digital world, with the first dynamic showcase and e-commerce for highly selected galleries, already in 2012/2013. Later in 2016, always with the aim of opening the market to a wider audience, I discovered the fintech and blockchain world, while I was living in San Francisco, and I gave life to this new course of the project.
Niccolò, can we call you an industry veteran since your Look Lateral was born in 2016?
Surely I was the first or among the first to do several things in the art-tech and fintech / blockchain fields in general: from the concept of NFT to that of DAO, from art tokenization to our 2019 security token offering. Then, having survived the crash of 2018 and having experienced the technological and regulatory evolution of this sector as protagonists has clearly given us an important know-how that we have applied to the financial sector, and to the sport sector, with football clubs, individual athletes and horses.
How is your corporate organization structured?
We have decided to exploit that know-how to develop a legal, financial and technological infrastructure on different verticals. Consequently, the corporate structure now sees Look Lateral Inc as the parent company that provides technology and strategy for three business lines and subsidiaries which are Fimart, Sportex and DEXX, the latter being the heart of the group, the security tokens exchange which acts as a service provider for Fimart and Sportex and has its own autonomy for all other types of financial assets.
Have you carried out fundraising campaigns to finance the project?
We carried out a fund raising campaign in Italy with Fimart, but with Look Lateral we have done of the first STOs born in the United States and sold all over the world for a value of approximately two million usd. Then we sold equity for another two million dollars at a 12 millions usd valuation.
How is the banking world approaching this revolution? Did any of them show interest in your project?
The banking world is watching with great attention; all the CEOs and CTOs of big banks are figuring out how to embrace this technology because the migration from a traditional digital system to a blockchain system is something that will certainly happen in the next 5-8 years. All the banks we spoke to are interested in DEXX and in projects that go in this direction; ours I must say that it is one of the most structured on a global level and is often recognized.
Do you already have a network of art galleries to collaborate with?
Yes, we know the art market very well and there are many players with whom we already have working and friendship relationships.
Where are you with the launch of the platform?
The launch of the platform will be by the end of the year for a limited audience and in 2023 for everything else.
