Sorare Nears $530M in Funding Led by SoftBank
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Popular soccer non-fungible token (NFT) platform Sorare is reportedly close to securing around $532 million in it recent funding round.
Sorare is set to break the record for the biggest ever round in French tech, according to Business Insider. Multiple sources stated that the Paris-based startup is expected to secure more than $530 million in funding at a valuation of $3.8 billion, crushing the record set by ContentSquare. As it stands, the round is being led by SoftBank. According to the report, SoftBank had had a number of meetings with Sorare about the funding round back in May.
European fund Atomico is also expected to be a major contributor to the round. Other backers are reported to include asset manager Eurozeo and Blisce, a fund created by Alexandre Mars. A US fund might also be joining the round sources say. With the injection of fresh capital, Sorare’s valuation could eclipse $4 billion. Hitting that mark would mint France’s 17th unicorn with 10 coming thus far in 2021.
Despite the report, Insider also states that the CEO of Sorare, Nicolas Julia, denied that a funding round was even taking place. However, sources say the round is close to being finalized and will be officially announced soon. Additionally, none of the reported investors made any comments regarding the alleged round.
Sorare already raised $50 million this year in their Series A round in February led by Accel and Benchmark Capital.
Sorare changing the fantasy football game
In the announcement for its Series A round, Sorare stated that the company had been profitable with 52% month-on-month growth over the last year. The press release also stated that users had traded more than $4 million worth of cards in January alone.
Sorare did an amazing job of taking fantasy football, a game beloved by millions, and combined it with the NFT craze to create a unique and groundbreaking platform. Sorare, like many other NFT collectible sites, allows users to purchase packs of cards on the blockchain that can then be sold or traded with other interested parties.
What makes Sorare so different is that players can use the cards collected to go head-to-head in weekly fantasy football tournaments. Essentially, the cards you collect become your team and the stats are based on the real-world performance of players during a specific week. Some of the Sorare cards are one-of-one collectibles worth tens of thousands of dollars.
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