The company was founded in 2018 by Andy Gray, David Moore and James Morgan. All three co-founders will join eBay.
eBay CEO Jamie Iannone said in a statement
eBay is the world’s first stop for people looking for the perfect, hard-to-find or unique collectibles, and with this acquisition we will continue to be the leading site as our community increasingly adds digital collectibles.
KnownOrigin has built an impressive, passionate and loyal community of artists and collectors, making them the perfect addition to our community of buyers and sellers. We look forward to welcoming these innovators to the eBay community.
A month before this acquisition, eBay Inc. partnered with web3 platform OneOf to launch its first NFT collection. The company’s new “Genesis” series of NFTs will interpret the iconic athletes on Sports Illustrated covers over the years in 3D and animation. eBay says the surge in the collectibles market has prompted its first collaboration in the NFT space.
Although eBay has a strong presence in the online shopping space, the company will have less work to do as it competes with dozens of crypto-native NFT marketplaces that already exist. However, its acquisition of KnownOrigin shows that the company is taking NFTs seriously.
