In Brief:
- Sorare raised $680 million in Series B round led by SoftBank.
- The firm intends to branch out into other sports and expand in the United States.
- Sorare now has 600,000 active users.
Sorare, a French startup, has announced the completion of a substantial fundraising round. The company has raised $680 million in Series B financing with the help of SoftBank.
SoftBank is a Japanese tech and investment giant, sponsored its latest Series B round, and the company has a number of current crypto sector dealings, primarily through its SBI Holdings financial services subsidiary.
This $680 million Series B financing follows a $50 million Series A round that was disclosed in February, which values the company at $4.3 billion.
Along with SoftBank, Atomico, Bessemer Ventures, D1 Capital, Eurazeo, IVP, and Liontree are making their first investments in the firm, with existing investors Benchmark, Accel, and Headline also participating.
The record breaking Series B is a huge statement of intent that will greatly improve Soares NFT fantasy gaming experience for millions of sports fans.
This fund will be used to help the platform expand into other fantasy sports, recruit additional people, launch marketing campaigns with partners and players, and establish its first US office.
Sorare allows fans to exchange non-fungible token (NFT) trading cards of great players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann. The Paris-based business, which was founded in 2018, has sold $150 million in cards so far this year.
It has licenced players from more than 180 soccer clubs, including Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Juventus. It also signed a 5 year partnership contract with Laliga.
“Sorare’s game is born from our love for football and our expertise in tech. We saw the immense potential that blockchain and NFTs brought to unlock a new way for football clubs, footballers, and their fans to experience a deeper connection with each other,” stated Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare.
Between the second quarter of 2020 and the second quarter of 2021, the platform’s monthly active paying users increased by 34 times, while quarterly sales increased by 51 times. It already has 600,000 registered users.
