David Yu

David Yu is an Auckland-based serial entrepreneur and co-founder and chief executive of VeVe Digital, the world’s largest mobile-first licensed digital collectibles platform.

Yu’s entrepreneurial instincts showed early. At 17, he founded Games R Us, a specialty hobby and entertainment store on Auckland’s Karangahape Road, funded by selling stamps and phone cards. He later built Retail Management Group, a distribution and supply chain business serving publicly listed retailers across Australasia. But it was his lifelong passion for collectibles, comics, cards, figurines, that led to his most significant venture.

Co-founded with Dan Crothers and launched in 2021, VeVe lets users buy, trade and showcase licensed digital collectibles using blockchain and augmented reality. The platform secured partnerships that would have seemed impossible for a New Zealand startup: Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, Star Wars, Pixar, Lamborghini and James Bond all feature on the platform. VeVe released the first-ever Spider-Man NFT and Disney’s “Golden Moments” digital series, selling more than 10 million digital collectibles.

The company’s growth has been extraordinary. VeVe was named the number one fastest-growing company in New Zealand by the Deloitte Fast 50 in 2023, recording 1,239% revenue growth over three years. Yu was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year for New Zealand in 2023 and went on to represent the country at the global finals.

Described by the NZ Herald as a “silent achiever,” Yu’s profile is noteworthy because he built a globally significant technology company from Auckland in a category, licensed digital collectibles, that most founders would never have attempted. His story connects a Kiwi comic-shop kid to partnerships with the biggest entertainment brands on earth.

Sources: NZ Herald · RNZ · Deloitte