Greg Solano & Wylie Aronow, Bored Ape Universe Creators

Each of the 10,000 Bored Ape tokens depicts a colorful cartoon primate with a unique look—sailor hat, 3D glasses, bunny ears, etc. Owning one has been a major crypto-universe status symbol, with people paying millions of dollars for access to the virtual club. Yuga’s funding round, which included investors such as Andreessen Horowitz (Bloomberg LP, which owns Bloomberg Businessweek, has invested in Andreessen Horowitz), was more about Yuga’s Bored Ape-themed metaverse, which is still under development. Yuga has deals with several brands, including Adidas AG for virtual and real-life Bored Ape gear.

Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano met as college students in Florida and bonded over a passion for creative writing. Following other pseudonymous crypto founders, such as Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, the two kept their identities secret—Aronow went by Gordon Goner, and Solano by Gargamel—until BuzzFeed News revealed their real names in February.