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About KYD Labs
KYD Labs is a Web3 ticketing platform built on Solana that lets venues and artists sell tickets directly to fans. Its core value is 'keep your distribution' — creators own their audience data and revenue instead of relying on intermediaries.
The platform addresses common pain points in traditional ticketing: high service fees, opaque secondary markets where scalpers profit, and lack of direct fan-creator connection. KYD Labs uses blockchain to ensure ticket authenticity, embed resale royalties that flow back to the original issuer, and enable loyalty mechanics.
In recent months, the company has focused on expanding its venue partnerships and enhancing the fan experience through features like waitlists and refund policies. It also launched TIX, a decentralized financing layer that allows event hosts to secure upfront funding backed by future ticket sales as real-world assets on-chain.
No major negative events were reported in the past two years. The platform has processed over $4 million in ticket sales and onboarded major venues, indicating steady operational growth.
KYD Labs was founded by Ahmed Nimale, a former Ticketmaster product manager, and David Barrick to tackle long-standing liquidity shortages and data fragmentation in ticketing. Built on Solana, it initially used compressed NFT ticketing.
In 2023, the company raised a $7 million seed round led by a16z Crypto, laying its financial foundation. By 2024, it served 150,000 monthly fans across 30+ U.S. venues, with over 60,000 tickets sold.
The most significant long-term milestone is the launch of the TICKS protocol, which transforms tickets from digital collectibles into real-world assets (RWAs). This allows artists and venues to borrow against future ticket sales while providing DeFi lenders with yields backed by real cash flows. KYD Labs migrated all existing tickets from compressed NFTs to TICKS, marking a fundamental shift from "ticketing + NFT" to "ticketing + DeFi." The protocol is designed not only for its own platform but as an industry standard, potentially even adoptable by traditional giants like Ticketmaster.
KYD Labs, a Solana-based Web3 ticketing platform, has made significant strides in H1 2026. The company appointed André Geest, former VP of Growth at Safe, to lead protocol design for TIX, its onchain settlement and financing infrastructure. This strategic hire signals a pivot toward institutional-grade DeFi integration. KYD also joined the Circle Alliance, embedding native USDC settlement across ticket purchases, fees, resale, artist payouts, and venue financing. The platform now serves 100+ venues, with financing tied to verified ticket cash flows rather than manual projections. Looking ahead, KYD aims to separate settlement from financing, enabling real-time liquidity alignment with event performance. The roadmap emphasizes expanding TIX as an open protocol to challenge Ticketmaster's dominance, addressing key pain points like season ticket holder retention and backend capital needs. Founder Ahmed Nimale highlighted the mission to democratize access and build interoperable fan experiences, positioning KYD as the financial backbone for live events.
Co-founders:
David Barrick (Co-founder & CTO): 10+ years building tech products from 0 to 100 in live events, advertising, and web3 developer tools. Former tech leader at Buildspace and Flipmass. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidbarrick
Ahmed Nimale (Co-founder & CEO): 10+ years in ticketing solutions at Ticketmaster, Live Nation, and VividSeats. Led product teams and launched Ticketmaster Livestream. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ahmednimale