Presidio Ventures Makes Strategic Investment in Web3 Pro, Inc.; Will Leverage Sumitomo's Network to Enhance Value of Enterprise NFT Platform

NEW YORK, July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Presidio Ventures, a Sumitomo Corporation of Americas ("SCOA") Group Company, has joined a bridge round for Web3 Pro, Inc. ("Web3 Pro"), a white-label enterprise Non Fungible Token (NFT) platform company headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.  Web3 Pro will use the funds from this round to continue expansion of its global team, build a next generation enterprise-grade suite of software in the NFT and Web3 area, and enter into numerous industry verticals including entertainment and music and sports.

"We're excited to enter into the Web3 world and expand our media and entertainment business horizon through our investment into Web3 Pro," said Mr. Doug Kuribayashi, CEO of Presidio Ventures.  "We believe that Sumitomo Corporation's expertise and significant experience in the media, entertainment, digital and commerce business, together with its widespread customer base in consumer business will add value to Web3 Pro in the future."

Christian Ferri, a blockchain pioneer and author on the subject, and the CEO and Founder of Web3 Pro, said "We are excited to bring on Presidio Ventures as an investor and supporter of our expanding platform. With their resources and access to Sumitomo's global network, we are confident we can continue to scale our company and enter into new markets, providing a unique offering across various industries."

The term "Web3" is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web based on blockchain technology, which incorporates concepts such as decentralization and token-based economics. Serving as SCOA's venture capital arm, Presidio Ventures anticipates myriad opportunities to help scale and apply Web3 Pro's unique solution throughout the company's vast business network. Sumitomo Corporation has extensive experience within the media and entertainment sector and possesses a wide network of industry partners, businesses and consumer customers.  Web3 Pro's technology has the potential for enterprise-level customers to evolve their Web2.0 websites and business into emerging Web3 enabled ones using NFTs as a utility so that they can attract younger generation customers in this post-COVID digitized world.

NFTs are traded in marketplaces such as OpenSea, used in games and metaverses such as Crypto Kitties and Sandbox respectively.  According to Financial Times, $41 billion has been spent on NFTs to date, making the market for digital artwork and collectibles almost as valuable as the global art market.  As the market grows and matures, NFTs are being used as "utilities" for companies and projects to provide customers with rights to participate in physical events, access to metaverse festivals, receive priority to purchase upcoming merchandise, tokens and NFTs, and much more.

About Presidio Ventures

Established in 1998 with offices in Silicon Valley, Boston and Los Angeles, Presidio Ventures has invested in more than 200 companies over the past twenty years. Presidio's expansive network of Sumitomo affiliates and subsidiaries helps the company tailor support for start-ups, ensuring that new companies can succeed from early-stage investment all the way to IPO. Founded in Sumitomo's centuries-old business philosophy of shared prosperity, Presidio looks for opportunities to partner with entrepreneurs in key industries that shape the way we live. For more information visit www.presidio-ventures.com

About Sumitomo Corporation of Americas

Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York City, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) has eight offices in major U.S. cities. SCOA is the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world's leading traders of goods and services. As an integrated business enterprise, the firm has emerged as a major organizer of multinational projects, an expediter of ideas, an important international investor and financier, and a powerful force for distribution of products and global communications through a network of offices worldwide. Its core business units include Tubular Products, Environment and Infrastructure, Steel and Non Ferrous Metals, Transportation and Construction Systems, Chemicals and Electronics, Media and IOT Applications, Real Estate, Mineral Resources and Energy, and Food. For more information, visit www.sumitomocorp.com.

About Web3 Pro

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Web3 Pro Inc. is the #1 Web3 onramp for enterprises. The company has been pioneering the NFT, digital goods, and digital records industry since 2018, continuously grounded in their foresight that NFTs will drive business into the future.

With Web3 Pro's suite of tools, executives across functions are gaining a new, effective set of capabilities enabled by Web3.

1. NFT PRO ™ - The #1 enterprise-grade, Web3 marketing engagement tool, enabling CMOs to drive increased retention, higher CLV, cross-sell and up-sell while gaining net-new insights about user preferences by demographics, geography, and spending.
2. GEER: White-label marketplace for IP owners to distribute their digital likeness inside any digital environments such as video games, metaverses and AR/VR applications
3. NFR as a Service (NAAS): Enterprise grade configurable tokenization back-end allowing instant NFR capabilities and power any NFR based use case requiring authenticity, trackability, programmability of records

Web3Pro's clients include Lamborghini, Ducati, Atari, Adidas, Juventus, and Sotheby's, and the company board includes the former President of Samsung, the Global CEO of Giorgio Armani, the founder of Guitar Hero, and the former Head of Marketing of Lionsgate.

SOURCE Sumitomo Corporation of Americas