Startbahn

About Startbahn

Startbahn, Inc. is a Japanese art technology company founded in 2014 by contemporary artist Taihei Shii. The company's origins trace back to 2006 when Shii, then a graduate student at the University of Tokyo, formulated and patented the idea for a royalty fee management system for artists in Japan and the US. This concept evolved, leading to the establishment of Startbahn to address challenges in the art market concerning authenticity and value succession. Shii's background as an artist, focusing on art in the internet age, directly informed the company's mission. He holds a BA in oil painting from Tama Art University and an MS in interdisciplinary information studies from the University of Tokyo.

The company has developed Startrail, a blockchain-based infrastructure designed to assure the reliability, authenticity, and traceability of artworks. Startrail permanently records a work's information, including provenance, exhibition history, and auction results, on NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). This system allows artists to set terms and conditions for secondary distribution and use, including the automatic collection of royalty-like fees upon resale. To link physical artworks to their digital records, Startbahn provides solutions like NFC tags. The infrastructure operates on the Polygon blockchain, selected for its lower energy consumption and gas costs compared to other networks.

Startbahn's business model is centered on providing this infrastructure to a wide range of clients across the art ecosystem, including artists, galleries, auction houses, and collectors. The company offers its technology through various products, including the Startrail PORT dashboard for NFT issuance and management, and an API for businesses to integrate Startrail's functionalities into their own services. Revenue is generated through fees for NFT issuance and transfers, which are set at a fixed cost rather than variable gas fees. The company has successfully raised $10 million over two funding rounds, with a Series B round completed in May 2021. Its services have been utilized by prominent market players such as Sotheby's, SBI Art Auction, and OpenSea.