Yuga Labs

In April 2021, Yuga Labs launched Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), a collection of 10,000 profile-picture NFTs that combined digital collectibles with club membership. Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow are the company’s co-founders. Bored Ape Kennel Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club later expanded the related characters and community system.⁠[1][2]

On March 11, 2022, Yuga Labs acquired from Larva LabsLarva LabsLarva Labs is the art and technology duo established by Matt Hall and John Watkinson in 2005. Its projects include CryptoPunks, Autoglyphs, Meebits and Quine. The pair uses code to explore digital identity, generative art and blockchain collecting. It sold the CryptoPunks and Meebits intellectual property in 2022 while remaining independent.Open the full entry the intellectual property of CryptoPunks and Meebits, along with most of the related NFTs originally held by the developers. The deal covered these two projects and was not an acquisition of the company Larva Labs, which continued to develop other works independently.⁠[3]

On March 22, 2022, Yuga Labs announced the completion of a $450 million seed round led by a16z crypto, at a post-money valuation of $4 billion. Participants included Animoca Brands, The Sandbox, and Thrive CapitalThrive CapitalThrive Capital is an investment firm led by chief executive Joshua Kushner that builds and invests in internet, software and technology-enabled companies, with investments including Cursor and Chai Discovery. Kushner is also chief executive of Thrive Holdings, a long-term holding company.Open the full entry, among others. The valuation applies to this round, and the company planned to use the funds for expanding its team and for projects such as OthersideOthersideOtherside is a multiplayer virtual world and creator platform developed by Yuga Labs, combining games, social spaces, digital collectibles and user-created experiences. Announced in 2022 with the sale of Otherdeed land NFTs, it progressed through technical demonstrations before The Swamp and Koda Nexus opened to the public in 2025.Open the full entry.⁠[4]

In 2022, Yuga Labs unveiled Otherside, exploring ways for different NFT characters to enter a shared digital space. The project developed its virtual world through Otherdeed land plots and subsequent interactive experiences, gradually introducing community playtests and content creation.⁠[1][5]

On November 14, 2022, Yuga Labs announced its acquisition of WENEW, bringing 10KTF and its team into the business. WENEW co-founder and chief executive officer Michael Figge became Yuga’s chief content officer, and Beeple became an adviser. The deal strengthened the company’s capabilities in digital fashion and narrative production.⁠[6]

On December 19, 2022, Yuga Labs announced the appointment of Daniel Alegre, formerly president and chief operating officer of Activision Blizzard, as its new chief executive officer, with plans for him to take office in the first half of 2023. The previous chief executive officer, Nicole Muniz, became a partner and adviser and continued to take part in the company’s development.⁠[2]

In March 2023, Yuga Labs launched TwelveFold, extending its digital art work to BitcoinBitcoinBitcoin (common symbol BTC) is an open peer-to-peer electronic cash protocol, network, and native digital asset. Full nodes independently verify transactions and blocks according to the consensus rules; transactions are recorded as UTXOs, and blocks are organized into a public ledger through proof of work. Bitcoin is not issued or managed by any single institution, but using, holding in custody, and trading it still involve key, privacy, market, and legal risks.Open the full entry. The collection consists of 300 works organized into 25 sets around the theme of the four seasons, and Michael Figge took part in producing it together with other creators.⁠[7][8]

In July 2023, Yuga Labs invited about 40 community members in Los Angeles to try Otherside’s digital islands and submit feedback. This phase used short-term experiences to gradually show development progress, testing a virtual event space for BAYC and other communities.⁠[5]

In 2024, Yuga Labs took part in launching ApeChain, providing a new ecosystem foundation for community applications, digital assets, and creator experiences. ApeChain’s connections with BAYC and Otherside became part of the company’s subsequent product collaboration.⁠[1]

On February 16, 2024, Yuga Labs announced the acquisition of PROOF’s team and intellectual property, covering projects including Moonbirds, Oddities, Mythics, and Grails. Kevin Rose became an adviser after the handover, and the company planned at the time to integrate Moonbirds into Otherside; the deal amount was not disclosed.⁠[9]

On February 21, 2024, co-founder Greg Solano again became chief executive officer, succeeding Daniel Alegre. The company set out to focus further on BAYC and Otherside and established BAYC LLC so that the BAYC team could pursue club-related business in a more concentrated way.⁠[10]

On April 17, 2024, Faraway acquired Yuga Labs’ HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara along with the related NFT projects. Spencer Tucker, Yuga’s former chief gaming officer, became Faraway’s chief product officer. Kodas remained with Yuga, and the related projects continued to explore interoperability with Otherside.⁠[11]

In October 2024, Possible acquired 10KTF, and the project came to be operated by its subsidiary Kagami. Yuga and the team continued to collaborate around Otherside and ApeChain; from then on, 10KTF was no longer a project directly held by Yuga.⁠[12]

In February 2025, Meebits was transferred to the Meebit Company (MeebCo), led by Sergio Silva and backed by 1confirmation. Yuga linked this arrangement to its focus on BAYC and Otherside; Meebits can still maintain project-level collaboration within Otherside.⁠[13]

On March 3, 2025, Yuga Labs announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation of the company had concluded. This news was a public statement made by the company about the status of the investigation into itself.⁠[14]

On May 13, 2025, the intellectual property of CryptoPunks was transferred to the nonprofit Infinite Node Foundation. The organization placed the project within its work on preserving and exhibiting digital art; Yuga and the acquirer did not disclose the deal amount.⁠[15]

On May 30, 2025, Yuga Labs sold Moonbirds, Mythics, and Oddities to Orange Cap Games. Following the transfers of Meebits and CryptoPunks, the company continued to pare down the brand portfolio it had built through acquisitions, concentrating its resources on BAYC and Otherside.⁠[16]

On November 12, 2025, Otherside opened Koda Nexus, a central space containing different districts and activities. Players can log in with an email address or an X account, and the system creates a wallet in the background; collectibles such as items, badges, and characters are recorded on-chain.⁠[17]

On December 26, 2025, Improbable announced the sale of the Imporium creative studio and the Unreal Creator Platform to Yuga Labs, with the development teams moving to Yuga. These teams and tools had already been involved in producing Otherside; after the deal, Otherside continues to license Improbable’s technology and to use MSquared’s interoperability framework.⁠[18]

In March 2026, Michael Figge became chief executive officer, and the change was publicly announced on April 16; Greg Solano became chairman. Figge has focused the company on the BAYC community experience and Otherside, emphasizing in-person events, storytelling, style, and digital ownership.⁠[7][19][20]

In April 2026, Yuga Labs reached a settlement with Ryder Ripps and others in the trademark dispute over RR/BAYC. After going through an appeal, the case ended with a permanent injunction and arrangements including the handover of the related smart contracts, domain names, and remaining NFTs.⁠[21]

On May 28, 2026, Michael Figge announced that the ApeChain core technology and business development teams would work more directly with Yuga Labs, reducing the handoffs and decision-making steps that had previously existed between Yuga and ApeCo. Cam, who had separately led ApeCo, would step down from that role, and the announcement set a target of completing the transition by June 5.⁠[22]

In June 2026, the Yuga team took part in a white-hat rescue addressing a risk in Flooring Protocol, temporarily holding NFTs from multiple rescued collections. Figge coordinated resources, Quit carried out the technical work, and coffeedev identified the risk; at the time of disclosure, the team still needed to resolve the issue with the protocol’s developers before moving forward with returning the assets.⁠[23]

Yuga Labs: Official website: https://yuga.com/ (opens in a new window) , providing information on the company, its projects, and careers.⁠[1]

Bored Ape Yacht Club: A digital collectibles and community brand launched by the company. Official website: https://bayc.com/ (opens in a new window) .⁠[1]

Otherside: A virtual world and social experience project developed by the company. Official website: https://www.otherside.xyz/ (opens in a new window) .⁠[17]

Company X account: https://x.com/YugaLabs (opens in a new window) , used to post company and project updates.⁠[1]