Vancouver-based Dapper Labs, Inc., the company behind the consumer-facing Flow blockchain and digital collectables platform NBA Top Shot has raised US$250 million in new funding.
Led by Coatue, the new round brings together existing investors a16z, GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Version One Ventures with new investors including BOND and GIC.
Warner Music Group joined an $11 million investment round in Dapper Labs in September 2019.
Dapper Labs reports that its flagship sports-focused digital collectables platform NBA Top Shot, which is still in open Beta, grew by 30x in 2021, with more than $780 million in collectibles bought and sold.
In addition, the company says that it has more than 1.1 million registered accounts of which over 48% own at least one “moment”, and over 13 million transactions.
Dapper Labs says it will use the new capital to continue to scale and support major additional brand-driven sports, entertainment and music based products coming online and being developed on the Flow blockchain.
Platforms that use the Flow blockchain include NFT platform RCRDSHP, which recently closed a multi million dollar seed round.
Flow is used by over 3,000 developers, artists, creators and brands. Recently, Google Cloud was unveiled as Flow’s cloud provider.
It will also support soon to be released experiences from UFC, Genies and Warner Music Group and more.
“Dapper Labs is growing quickly but we’re just scratching the surface of what this new technology can do for people.”
Roham Gharegozlou, Dapper Labs
“Dapper Labs is growing quickly but we’re just scratching the surface of what this new technology can do for people,” said Roham Gharegozlou, CEO, Dapper Labs.
“We’re excited to partner with our incredible investors to scale NBA Top Shot and launch our upcoming titles as well as unlock the potential of the open ecosystem building on Flow.”
“Coatue has been investing in technology trends for over 20 years and web 3.0 is one of the most exciting trends we’ve seen.”
Dan Rose, Coatue Ventures
Dan Rose, Chairman, Coatue Ventures said: “Coatue has been investing in technology trends for over 20 years and web 3.0 is one of the most exciting trends we’ve seen.
“We think Dapper Labs is a leader in the space at the infrastructure level with Flow blockchain and in the application layer with NBA TopShot.
“We continue to be impressed by Roham’s strong leadership and vision and we could not be more proud to partner with him and the entire team at Dapper.”
“Blockchain and crypto are foundational underpinnings for the next wave of technology evolution.”
Mary Meeker, BOND
Mary Meeker, General Partner of BOND, said: “Blockchain and crypto are foundational underpinnings for the next wave of technology evolution.
“With NBA Top Shot and a compelling pipeline of products to come, Dapper Labs is leading the way with the innovative Flow platform. We are excited to be a part of this journey – and its next iterations – with Roham and team.”Music Business Worldwide