Anime-themed Azuki eyes 'post-NFT world' with hire of former Hollywood exec

Top-tier NFT brand Azuki announced on Thursday that it has hired veteran entertainment executive Steve Chung as Chief Operating Officer as the company seeks to expand beyond digital collectibles.

Chung, whose experience includes working in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, will be tasked with helping Azuki grow its fanbase and revenue opportunities. 

"In some ways, we're in a post-NFT world," Chung told The Block. "[But] we have 50,000 amazing characters that are owned by individuals who are super passionate about that community … and there is a very clear path toward using that as the next leverage, telling the story."

In a bid to build upon the popularity created largely during the bull run of 2021, popular NFT brands like Bored Apes, Pudgy Penguins , Azuki, and others are increasingly pivoting towards traditional business strategies such as content creation, gaming and merchandising. The need to transform and transition comes as royalties for NFT creators have withered dramatically.

Chung pointed to Azuki releasing an animated series based on the collection’s IP and how that could help the brand tap into the larger, wildly-popular world of anime. The first episode, produced with the help of traditional Japanese anime creators, according to Chung, is already out. The YouTube clip of the first episode has more than 1 million after about a month.

The one time Fox executive said Azuki’s anime theme is what sets it apart from rival NFT brands. "Where we can differentiate with Azuki is we're not a generic object or animal. Not to disparage anybody, but we have a theme. It's the anime culture that's our differentiation," he said.

Steve Chung. Image: Chiru Labs.

In March, Azuki also announced it had teamed up with Arbitrum Foundation in another initiative geared towards creating a web3 network which targets anime fans. Azuki is created by Los Angeles-based Chiru Labs.

Previous to joining Azuki, Chung served as Chief Global Officer for Korean entertainment juggernaut CJ ENM Entertainment after working for Fox Corporation. The Stanford and Harvard grad started his career at Goldman Sachs, according to his LinkedIn profile.