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About IYK
IYK is a platform that connects physical items with digital experiences using NFC chips. Its core business is providing tools for brands to embed interactive digital content into real-world products, such as clothing, posters, or event wristbands. The main value proposition is turning physical objects into digital touchpoints, allowing users to tap their phone to access exclusive content, verify authenticity, or participate in loyalty programs. This addresses the market pain point of bridging offline engagement with online data collection, solving the problem of brands lacking direct customer feedback after a physical interaction. In the past six months (March to September 2026), IYK has focused on expanding its module library, improving the developer API, and partnering with more consumer brands in fashion and live events. However, there have been reports of NFC compatibility issues with some older smartphone models, and a privacy concern raised by users about data collection during events. No major negative incidents occurred in the last two years, but the company faced criticism for a temporary service outage in early 2026 that affected a few live activations.
IYK was founded in 2021 by Ryan Ouyang and Christopher Lee, focused on bridging the physical and digital worlds through NFC chips and blockchain technology, providing brands and creators with verifiable digital experience infrastructure.
In September 2023, IYK completed a $16.8 million seed round led by a16z Crypto, with participation from 1kx, Collab Currency, and others. This round validated its direction and accelerated its platform development.
That same year, IYK launched a self-serve platform offering no-code tools, APIs, and modular components, enabling brands to integrate NFT identity authentication, digital twins, and community rewards without custom development, lowering the barrier for digi-physical experiences.
Additionally, IYK was part of a16z Crypto Startup School early on and received investment, laying foundations for future ecosystem collaborations. Through representative partnerships with brands like Adidas and 9dcc, IYK validated the combination of dynamic NFTs with physical products, though such cases served more as technical application validation than standalone promotional events.
Ryan Ouyang: Founder of IYK. Holds a BASc in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo. Previously worked at KPMG Canada, Faire, and Matrix Capital Management, co-founded Trofi and Waitlist, and served as Technical Advisor at BLOCK::BLOCK focused on Web3 and smart contracts. Founded IYK in October 2021 to connect digital and physical experiences via NFC and blockchain.
Christopher Lee: Co-Founder and Co-CEO of IYK. With a software engineering background, he was an Associate Software Engineer at Constant Contact and then held roles as Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, and Principal Engineer at Major League Baseball. Co-founded IYK in January 2022. The two met through their NFT-related work and built IYK together.