Dapper Labs has closed a $12 million funding round led by NBA stars Spencer Dinwiddie, Andre Iguodala, JaVale McGee, Aaron Gordon and Garrett Temple.
The funds will be used for further development of blockchain games including the eventual launch of NBA Top Shot out of private beta.
Other new investors in this round include Coinbase Ventures, Distributed Global, Valor Capital Group, A.Capital, BlockTower Capital, Blockchange Ventures, EONXI Ventures, Reed Company, Greenfield One, North Island Ventures, Republic Labs, L1 Digital AG and Pirata Capital.
Existing investors participating include Samsung NEXT, Andreessen Horowitz including their Cultural Leadership Fund, Union Square Ventures, Venrock, Accomplice, Animoca Brands, and AppWorks, among others.
“Crypto enables entirely new possibilities for people to create and exchange value on the internet.” said Roham Gharegozlou, founder and CEO of Dapper Labs.
“Flow is a new and easy to use blockchain that lowers barriers to entry and lets anyone join this new digital economy. The funding from this round will ensure Flow can scale to the size of projects appealing to fan bases as vibrant and demanding as the NBA and our other partner brands including Dr. Seuss, UFC, and Warner Music. Flow lets fans join the economy of their passions in a way that wasn’t possible before crypto.”
In conjunction with its new funding, Dapper Labs also announced initial results from its first phase of beta testing for NBA Top Shot, its upcoming flagship title developed for the Flow blockchain. The first 500 players on NBA Top Shot have spent thousands of hours opening packs, trading moments, and completing collections together.
NBA Top Shot was designed in partnership with the NBA and NBPA to appeal to mainstream basketball fans’ love of showcasing their knowledge and expressing their fandom. The experience captures the nostalgia of trading cards and the thrill of sneaker trading, but does it within a digital universe.
Earlier this year Dapper Labs announced major partnerships with Dr. Seuss Entertainment and the UFC, to build new gaming and entertainment experiences on Flow.