Today French blockchain startup Sorare announced that it raised a $50 million Series A funding led by Benchmark. Other participants in the round include Accel, Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian, Gary Vaynerchuk and Barcelona striker Antoine Griezmann. The startup has now raised $60 million to date.
The company operates a fantasy football (soccer) collectible game that uses non fungible tokens (NFT), ensuring the player’s card is unique. Based on the Ethereum blockchain, the cards are tradable with a unique Christian Ronaldo card recently selling for $102,000. Sorare has signed 126 soccer clubs, including big names such as Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus.
In the last three months, the company says its volumes have grown 52% per month. Back in January 2020, it was trading $60,000 worth of cards which increased to $4.2 million in January 2021.
For football clubs, these sorts of games enable them to engage with a global fanbase. The startup’s ambition is to onboard the top 20 football leagues globally.
“Sorare was born from our love for football. We’re building a gaming experience fueled by passion where fans can connect with football and a global community. On Sorare, they can truly own the game,” said Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia.
In May 2019, Sorare raised just over $500,000 in a pre-seed round that included Ethereum development house ConsenSys. Last July, it followed that up with a $4 million seed round led by e.ventures which was later extended to $10 million.
“Sitting at the intersection of fantasy football and sports collectibles, Sorare is revolutionizing the way fans across the world engage with and enjoy sports. In just a year, Sorare has built an incredible viral community and secured partnerships with more than 130 football clubs, including five European Champions,” said Andrei Brasoveanu, Partner at Accel.
More to follow.
