Rare Apepes Secures ElevenLabs Grant for AI Voice Innovation
By Darren Smith, Arts Reporter
August 11, 2026
In a quiet but significant milestone for digital art and blockchain-based intellectual property, Rare Apepes and its parent studio Rare Labs announced today that they have been selected to receive an ElevenLabs Grant. The recognition arrives at a moment when many NFT projects from the 2021-2022 cycle have faded, yet this team has continued expanding its creative universe with deliberate focus. The grant, detailed on the official ElevenLabs startup grants page, provides substantial free access to advanced AI voice technology, including text-to-speech, conversational agents, and related tools valued in the thousands of dollars over an extended period.
CeoTim.eth, co-owner and CEO of the project, shared the news in a reflective post that captured both gratitude and forward momentum. He described taking responsibility for Rare Apepes in 2024 not as an exercise in sustaining a free-mint collection from earlier years, but as a commitment to evolve it into something more enduring. The progression he outlined moves clearly from art and culture through community and lore into gaming, innovation, and ultimately AI-powered living digital IP. “We kept building,” the team emphasized in its own announcement, pointing to concrete results already achieved: the video game RAK 3022 is now playable, and the agentic character Nubi has become an interactive AI-powered presence that users can converse with.
The grant specifically equips the studio with more tools for experimentation, enabling deeper development of characters that feel genuinely alive. ElevenLabs technology, known for its high-quality, natural-sounding voice synthesis and conversational AI capabilities, aligns closely with the project’s direction. Rather than treating NFTs as static images, Rare Labs has treated them as the foundation for an expanding narrative world. Collectors and players can already engage with elements of that world through the official game portal at rak3022.rarelabs.xyz and interact with Nubi at nubi.rareapepes.com.
This development stands out because it reflects sustained creative work during a period often labeled a bear market for NFTs. While speculative volume fluctuated and many projects stalled, Rare Apepes focused on product. The free video game reached a playable state. The AI character progressed from concept to conversational agent. The broader universe continued to grow without reliance on constant roadmap graphics or speculative promises. The team’s approach has been straightforward: build first, then show the results.
The grant itself forms part of ElevenLabs’ broader program supporting early-stage teams that integrate voice AI into real products. Eligible projects typically operate with small teams and demonstrate a clear path toward monetized use cases. For Rare Labs, the resources will support further layers of character interaction, potentially allowing Nubi and other figures within the Rare Apepes ecosystem to speak, respond, and evolve in more nuanced ways. This moves the collection beyond traditional profile-picture utility into experiential territory where ownership connects to ongoing narrative and gameplay.
Industry observers tracking on-chain art and digital IP have noted a gradual shift toward projects that treat blockchain assets as living systems rather than one-time collectibles. Rare Apepes fits that pattern. Its original art and memetic style provided the cultural entry point. Community participation and lore expanded the world. The playable game introduced interactivity. The addition of agentic AI now layers conversation and personality onto those foundations. The ElevenLabs Grant accelerates that final stage without requiring the team to divert resources from core creative work.
Collectors interested in the project can still acquire original pieces through established marketplaces, including listings available via Rarible. The official project hub at rareapepes.com continues to serve as the central point for updates, game access, and community information. The original X announcement from the leadership team remains available for those who want to read the full context of the grant selection and the philosophy behind the studio’s multi-year effort.
What makes the story compelling is its restraint. There is no exaggerated claim of market revival or sudden utility explosion. Instead, the announcement simply records that consistent building has been recognized with practical tools. In an environment where many digital art initiatives struggle to maintain relevance after initial hype cycles, Rare Apepes and Rare Labs have demonstrated that patient development of art, game, and AI layers can attract external support from a leading voice technology provider.
The grant arrives as conversational AI becomes increasingly central to how digital characters and virtual worlds engage audiences. By integrating high-quality voice capabilities, the project positions its IP to feel more present and responsive. Players of RAK 3022 and users interacting with Nubi stand to experience the next iteration of that presence soon. The team has made clear that the priority remains creation over announcement: more tools, more experimentation, more ways to make the characters feel alive.
For those following the intersection of blockchain art, gaming, and artificial intelligence, the Rare Apepes grant offers a concrete example of how an NFT-origin project can mature into a broader creative studio. The work already completed provides the foundation. The new resources from ElevenLabs supply additional capacity. What follows will depend on continued execution, the same principle the team has followed since taking stewardship of the collection.
Explore the expanding Rare Apepes universe for yourself: visit the official site, play RAK 3022, converse with Nubi, and consider collecting pieces that form part of this ongoing experiment in living digital IP. The grant marks recognition of work already done; the next chapters remain to be written by the studio and its community.
The cover image in this article was AI-generated.
