Dapper Labs has raised $305 million in a funding round led by Coatue and included investments from Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant.
Dapper Labs, the company behind the highly successful CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, has received $305 million in funding. Investors include Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant, with the entire round being led by investment firm Coatue.
The new funding puts the company’s valuation at a staggering $2.6 billion — an incredible feat for a team that started small only a few years ago. An anonymous source offered these figures to USA Today. Dapper Labs is one of those fairy tale success stories of crypto.
Coatue was optimistic about how non-fungible tokens (NFT) could transform sports, saying,
“NBA Top Shot is one of the best demonstrations we’ve seen of how quickly new technology can change the landscape for media and sports fans…we’re excited to follow the progress with everything happening on Flow blockchain and use our platform with the Boardroom to connect with fans in a new way.”
Dapper Labs is currently working on Flow, a platform that developers can use to build NFTs systems. The NBA Top Shot itself was built on Flow. It appears that the idea is to expand to more sports and teams.
NFTs have also received approval from the likes of Mark Cuban, who called it a “real market.” Highlights have already sold for as high as $208,000. However, the overall NFT market has seen single pieces go even higher to a record $69 million.
Dapper Labs Leading NFT Charge
Dapper Labs is one of the pioneering teams behind NFTs, which have recently taken the world by storm. Far back in 2017, the company released the incredibly popular CryptoKitties, which continues to hold tremendous sway. Following that success, it launched NBA Top Shot, an even more successful program where NBA highlights are tied to NFTs.
The sports industry is one of the key target areas for NFTs because it’s ideally suited for it. Teams and franchises can tie highlights, collectibles, merchandise, and exclusive offers into NFTs.
Fervent fan bases find a lot of value in these items. Platforms like Chiliz, which has partnered with the likes of Barcelona and Juventus, have also highlighted this demand in sports.
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